PE 560: SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
COURSE SYLLABUS -- FALL 2010
1. COURSE OBJECTIVES
Most people think sport psychology deals with how to “psych up” or “psych out” athletes. While
that is part of the story, sport psychology is concerned with many other phenomena of equal importance
to sport participation. PE 560 will introduce you to the broad range of applied sport psychology. The
course objectives include:
1. To understand how psychological variables influence participation and performance in sport
and physical activity.
2. To understand how participation in sport influences the psychological characteristics of the
individual athlete.
3. To acquire skills and knowledge about sport psychology that you can apply as a coach,
athlete, or other practitioner (so you can “psych out” your opponent and at last become a
winner!).
Attached is an outline of the topics to be covered in PE 560, the readings with which you will be
expected to become familiar, and a description of course projects.
2. CLASS PARTICIPATION/CASE STUDIES (25% Course Grade)
PE 560 IS A READING COURSE!!! That means that you should expect a significant amount of
reading each week. It’s an old saying, but nevertheless true, that you’ll get out of this course just what
you put into it. IN ORDER TO REALLY DEVELOP A PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY FROM THIS COURSE, YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL OF THE
WEEKLY READINGS!!!
Let me explain why I feel course readings are so important. Time often limits what I can go over in
class to only major conceptual and empirical issues, so in order for students to develop a full
understanding of a motivational topic and to utilize it, you must supplement in-class discussion with
knowledge gained from the assigned readings.
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2.1 CASE STUDIES
To provide more of a hands-on flavor to the class, we’ll have you complete 15 case studies
throughout the semester that will comprise a good portion of your class participation grade. Make two
copies of each case study, the first to hand in at the beginning of class and the second to use as part of
our small group discussion. Case study points cannot be made up, so you must be in class that day
(i.e., or have a university-sponsored excuse) and case studies must be turned in at the beginning of
class to receive any points.
3. COURSE EVALUATION
The Final will be an open-book, open-note essay exam, comprised of approximately one 30-point,
six 20-point, and four 10-point questions, and students will have some choice about the 10 questions
they answer from the pool of 17-18 questions. Your final semester grade will be computed as follows:
3.1 Final Exam
35%
3.2 Course Projects
(a) Term Paper
(b) Mental Skills Miniprojects
40%
15%
25%
3.3 Class Participation/Case Studies
25%
___________________________________________________________________________
TOTAL
100%
4. COURSE PROJECTS
Two course projects will be required for PE 560, totaling 45% of your course grade. This strong
emphasis on course projects reflects not only a desire to educate you about the psychological aspects of
sport but also a commitment to help you apply your knowledge in meaningful and practical ways,
whether you are a physical educator, coach, recreation specialist, athlete, or aspiring sport psychologist.
4.1 PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS MINIPROJECTS (25% Course Grade)
Five times throughout the course, students will conduct 1-2-week-long miniprojects in order to gain
“hands-on” experience about a specific course topic or psychological skill being studied. Handouts
specifying specific details of each project will be provided when assignments are made. All
assignments will culminate in a written minipaper describing the results of the individual project and
are due at the beginning of the class period on the due date. All projects are selected to not only further
you knowledge of course content, but to also be of practical relevance to you. For example, during our
discussion of “personal science,” students will familiarize themselves with the problem-solving process
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by conducting diet/weight control, exercise and/or time management projects. For the diet/weight
control miniproject, students will record their eating and exercise patterns for one week, develop
alternate strategies to change those patterns in some meaningful way, and finally choose the best
alternatives and try them out during Week 2. Possible miniproject topics include:
1. Competition/Personality
2. Motivation
3. Personal Science
4. Imagery/Physical Relaxation
5. Self Talk
4.2 TERM PROJECT & ORAL REPORT
(20% Course Grade)
The Term Project is one larger project that you will work on all semester. For the Term Project,
you have three options to choose from: (a) a Literature Review, (b) a Coach Project, or (c) an Athlete
Project. First, the Lit Review requires you to choose a sport psychology topic of interest to you, review
all the relevant research on the topic, and writeup that Review along with practical implications for the
practitioner. The latter two options allow you to choose a program for implementing Mental Skills
Training (MST) based on whether your MST needs are primarily those of a program developer such as
a physical educator/coach or those of a participant such as an athlete or other individuals desiring
personal change. Select ONE of these three options that are described more fully below. A Term
Project prospectus will be due Wednesday, September 29.
4.2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW: If you choose this option, you will select a topic in sport
psychology and review the available research literature (i.e., professional journals such as Journal of
Sport and Exercise Psychology, The Sport Psychologist, Journal of Sport Behavior, International
Journal of Sport Psychology, and Journal of Applied Sport Psychology). From the findings of your
review of relevant theory and research, you are to develop implications that would be useful to the
practitioner such as coaches and athletes. Your written term paper therefore will consist of two parts:
(a) a review of the scientific literature, and (b) implications for the practitioner. Your 15-minute oral
report will present only the implications, and you will deliver the report as if you were addressing the
target population for which your implications are intended (e.g., coaches). The written report shall
consist of not more than 14 typed, double-spaced pages. You are responsible for providing each
member of the class who wants one with an electronic copy of your paper as well as turning in two
copies to me, one I will keep and the other I’ll return with my comments. Due date for the paper as
well as the 15-minute oral presentations is Wednesday, December 1.
4.2.2 COACH’S PROGRAM: If you choose this option, your role will be primarily that of a
program developer. You will be asked to design a season-long MST program for yourself (i.e., self
change program), your PE class, your exercise class or team you coach. The MST program must be
geared for a specific age level and activity/sport and detail exactly what you would do and how you
would do it. That is, you will need to specify (a) what mental skills you have included, (b) what
priority you have established for teaching those skills, and (c) your rationale for the decisions you
made. Next you need to construct a complete seasonal/yearly practice plan for group and/or individual
MST practice. This plan should include what types of practice exercises you would use, how much
practice time you would employ for each, and how the focus, volume, and intensity of training would
change throughout the program. Finally, you should include how you will monitor individual practice
and assess progress in skill development. Evaluation of this project will be based on a typed, doublespaced paper of at least 8 but not more than 15 pages that outlines your program including sample
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lesson plans. This paper is due Wednesday, December 1 and your oral presentation will be made the
same day. You are also responsible for making an electronic copy of your paper for all class members
who want one as well as submitting 2 copies to me, one I will keep and the other I’ll return with my
comments.
4.2.3 ATHLETE’S PROGRAM: If you select this option, your role will be primarily that of a
participant. Choose this option only if you want to create positive personal change because you will
carry out your own psychological skills improvement program by selecting and practicing two or more
of the mental skills studied in class for a one-month time period. This type of hands-on self-study
should greatly supplement your understanding of Mental Skills Training and hopefully help motivate
you to put your knowledge into practice once the course has ended.
The MST self-improvement option will be completed individually in direct consultation with me.
You will be required to:
(1) Practice at least two mental skills a minimum of 10 minutes daily for one month. Last day to
start this project is November 8.
(2) Monitor your progress in developing mental skills by keeping a daily log of your practice that
you will turn in at the conclusion of the project along with your reaction paper.
(3) Meet with me once a week to practice skills, monitor progress, and troubleshoot problem areas.
(4) Write a 3-10-page “reaction paper” describing your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with
your Personal MST Program. Your paper is due Wednesday, December 8.
(5) Make a 12-15-minute presentation on the mental training program you developed, how you
implemented the program, and how you evaluate its effectiveness.
If possible, pre- and post-testing will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of your Personal
MST Program. Grading will be roughly one-third on effectiveness of the program, one-third on daily
practice and log-keeping, and one-third on your reaction paper and general cooperation and effort on
the project. This option involves more on-going time and effort and is therefore more geared to
individuals who are serious about self-improvement in a specific area. Nevertheless, it is open to
anyone in the class who is willing to make a firm commitment to mental skills training. Further
information on the MST Program can be gained by talking with me directly.
 EACH STUDENT IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A TERM PROJECT PROSPECTUS BY
SEPTEMBER 22.
 SUBMIT 2 COPIES OF YOUR REACTION PAPER. I WILL KEEP ONE AND RETURN
THE OTHER TO YOU WITH MY COMMENTS.
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5. KEY POINTS (10% Course Grade)
I give difficult exams and students in the past have asked both how to better prepare for the exams
and whether they could do extra work to bring up their test scores. The option I have developed is
designed to do both. Basically, you just jot down 3 Key Points for each reading and turn these in each
week. I like this strategy because writing down Key Points forces you to read the material more
carefully in the first place and provide a good review of what you’ve read. Thus, the Key Points would
count 10% of your course grade and the remaining percentages of your Course Grade would be
adjusted by decreasing Class Discussion and the Final Exam by 5% each.
However, this Key Point option is strictly voluntary, and you may choose to do it or decide that this
extra work is unnecessary. If you want to do Key Points, just start jotting down three (3) key ideas for
each reading on a sheet of notebook paper and turn these in each class period when the readings are
due. The total number of points you accumulate from the Key Points you complete will be divided by
the total number of points possible if all Key Points were completed correctly to determine your grade.
For example, if you get 95 out of 100 points, 9.5 points will be counted toward your final grade.
6. INSTRUCTOR: Damon Burton, Ph.D.
Office:
Office Hours:
Home:
Email:
107 PEB, Division of HPERD 885-2186
2:30 M-F or by appointment
1215 Tamarack 883-1495
dburton@uidaho.edu
7. REQUIRED TEXTS
7.1 Williams, J.M. (Ed.; 2010). Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak
performance (6th Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill.
7.2 Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
7.3 Readings on reserve in PEB cage.
PE 560 COURSE OUTLINE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SESSION
DATE
TOPIC
PAGES
IN TEXT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
8/23 (M)
Course Introduction
2
8/25 (W)
Role of Theory/Intro to Sport Psych
3
8/30 (M)
Intro to Sport Psych/Competition
5
-------1-17
--------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SESSION
DATE
PAGES
IN TEXT
TOPIC
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
9/1 (W)
Competition/Flow
169-188
5
9/8 (W)
Flow
--------
6
9/13 (M)
Personal Science
7
9/15 (W)
Intro to MST
361-391
8
9/20 (M)
Goal Setting
201-220
9
9/22 (W)
Goal Setting
10
9/27 (M)
Relaxation
11
9/29 (W)
Energization
12
10/4 (M)
Self Talk
13
10/6 (W)
Self Talk [P3]
14
10/11 (M)
Imagery
267-299
15
10/13 (W)
Imagery
--------
16
10/18 (M)
Motivation Theory [P4]
59-80
17
10/20 (W)
Intrinsic Motivation
--------
[P1]
--------
--------[P2]
247-266
-------305-335
--------
NO CLASS – AASP CONFERENCE
*****
10/25-10/27
18
11/1 (M)
Applied Motivation
19
11/3 (W)
Energy Management
221-246
20
11/8 (M)
Energy Management
--------
21
11/10 (W)
Energy Management/Attention
22
11/15 (M)
Attention
-------
23
11/17 (W)
Stress Management
--------
*****
11/22-11/26
[P5]
NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING VACATION
6
--------
336-358
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SESSION
DATE
TOPIC
PAGES
IN TEXT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24
11/29 (M)
Stress Management/Self-Confidence
81-105
25
12/1
(W)
Self-Confidence COACH/TERM PROJECT DUE --------
26
12/6
(M)
Mental Plans
27
12/8
(W)
Mental Plans
28
12/15 (W)
-------ATHLETE PROJECT DUE
--------
FINAL EXAM (3:30 – 7:00 PM)
PE 560 SUPPLEMENTAL READING LIST
Session 2. (8/25) Intro to Sport Psych
1. Griffith, C.R. (1928). Psychology and athletics. New York: Scribner. (LIBRARY RESERVE
ONLY -- Read Preface, Table of Contents, & Chapter 1; Skim rest of book).
2. Martens, R. (1987). Science, knowledge, and sport psychology. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 29-55.
Session 3. (8/30) Competition/Philosophy
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Coaching philosophy. Sport psychology for coaches.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Session 6. (9/13) Personal Science
1.
Mahoney, M. & Mahoney, K. (1976). Elements of successful self control. Permanent weight
control (pp. 30-45). New York: Norton.
Session 7. (9/15) Intro to Mental Skills
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Introduction to mental skills training. Sport psychology for
coaches. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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Session 9. (9/22) Goal Setting
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Goal setting. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
Session 11. (9/29) Relaxation/Energization
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Relaxation/Energization. Sport psychology for coaches.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Session 13. (10/6) Self Talk
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Self talk. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
Session 15. (10/13) Imagery
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Imagery. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
2. Martens, R., & Burton, D. (1982). Sport imagery training. Psychological skills training for
athletes. Unpublished manuscript, University of Illinois.
Session 17. (10/20). Motivation Theory/Intrinsic Motivation
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Motivation. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
2. Weinberg, R.S., & Gould, D. (2003). Feedback, reinforcement, and intrinsic motivation.
Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (3rd Ed., pp. 123-151). Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics.
3.
Greene, D., & Lepper, M.R. (1974). How to turn play into work. Psychology Today, 8, 49-54.
Session 20. (11/8) Energy Management
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Energy management. Sport psychology for coaches.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Session 22. (11/15) Attention
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Attention. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
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Session 23. (11/17) Stress Management
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Stress management. Sport psychology for coaches.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Session 25. (12/1) Self Confidence
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Self-confidence. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign,
IL: Human Kinetics.
Session 26. (12/6) Mental Plans
1. Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. (2008). Mental plans. Sport psychology for coaches. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics.
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