Sports Psychology Scenario one: It’s the bottom of the ninth, the count is full, the bases are loaded, and the game is tied.
Scenario two: On the eighteenth hole, there’s a ten-foot putt that could win the match.
Scenario three: In a championship game, with the score tied, a penalty kick is awarded ninety minutes into the game.
These three scenarios all involve athletes facing high-pressure situations where winning is at stake.
These types of scenarios can occur in any sport and at any level of competition.
Athletic competitions at all levels have witnessed significant advancements in various areas.
As competition becomes more intense and talent levels increase, athletes now need to possess both physical and mental strength to achieve their highest performance level.
Sport psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on improving athletes’ mental skills to enhance their sports performance. This concept has been around since the early days and was first experimented by Norman Triplett in the nineteenth century (Jarvis). The first sport psychology laboratory was established by Carl Diem at the Deutsche Sporthochschule (German Sport University Cologne) in Berlin, Germany in 1920 (Careers in Sport Psychology).
Sport psychology in the United States started with Coleman Griffith, who established the first sport psychology laboratory called the Athletic Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois. He is widely acknowledged as the “father of sport psychology” (Jarvis). The International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) was founded in 1965, and soon after, the Chicago Sport Psychology Group was created (Careers in Sport Psychology). In 1985, the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) was established.
The formation of these three sport psychology organizations has generated interest and development in the field of sport psychology in both the United States and Europe. Sport psychology is concerned with examining the psychological and mental factors that affect and are influenced by participation, achievement in sports, exercise, and physical activity. Furthermore, it involves applying the knowledge acquired from this research to everyday circumstances (Careers in Sport Psychology). Athletes frequently seek guidance from sport psychologists for three main objectives: enhancing performance, dealing with stress related to competition, and recovering from injuries (Careers in Focus).
A sport psychologist can enhance an athlete’s performance by strengthening their mental skills. Mental skills can be divided into five categories (Cockshott). The first category focuses on an athlete’s goals, which should consist of both direction and a minimum performance standard in order to be achievable. Goal setting helps guide athletes towards their objectives and allows them to develop mastery and skill acquisition (Cockshott).
Sport psychologists assist athletes in reaching their objectives through goal orientation and intrinsic motivation. There exist two categories of goal orientation, namely outcome goal orientation and performance goal orientation. Outcome goal orientation revolves around quantifiable achievements, such as a winning record. Performance goal orientation, on the other hand, centers around an athlete’s personal growth and proficiency in skills (Cashmore). Additionally, imagery serves as a second mental skill that has the potential to enhance an athlete’s overall performance.
According to Cashmore, imagery is the process of mentally visualizing an event in order to manifest it in reality. This method is frequently employed before a competition or training session, under the guidance of a sport psychologist like Cockshott. By utilizing imagery, athletes can improve their ability to make decisions by imagining different situations they might encounter during a competition. Moran emphasizes that for imagery to be successful, it should involve multiple senses like touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell.
An athlete’s performance relies heavily on their capacity for concentration and focus. Concentration, as defined by Cashmore, entails controlling one’s attention. Moran further categorizes concentration into three dimensions. The first dimension involves athletes consciously exerting mental effort to prioritize crucial aspects in a given situation, as stated by Moran. The second dimension, referred to as selective perception, enables athletes to focus on specific events or information while disregarding potential distractions. Lastly, the third dimension involves multitasking.
An athlete should possess the capability to execute two skills simultaneously at a superior level, such as a proficient soccer player being capable of retaining ball possession while actively searching for opportunities to pass or score. To improve an athlete’s focus, a sports psychologist can utilize indirect techniques like psychometric, experimental, or neuroscientific evaluations (Moran). Self-assurance is a crucial element of an athlete’s mental abilities that empowers them to excel in competitive scenarios. Confidence symbolizes a profound belief in oneself.
According to Cockshott, an athlete’s self-confidence allows them to have positive thoughts, a care-free attitude during competition, and excellent skill execution. Confidence in an athlete can be categorized into different dimensions, such as physical ability, adaptability, psychological and perceptual skills, learning potential, fitness and training level, and decision-making (Weinberg). Nevertheless, both low confidence and excessive confidence can lead to reduced performance by the athlete.
Competition brings pressure, which leads to stress. Athletes use sport psychology to deal with this stress. Weinberg defines stress as a significant imbalance between physical and psychological demands and the ability to respond, particularly when failure can have important consequences. An athlete’s stress can be divided into four stages. The first stage is the environmental demand, where an athlete faces a demand. The second stage is the perception of this demand.
During the first stage, the athlete becomes aware of the degree of physical or psychological “threat.” The second stage involves the stress response, which may manifest as alterations in concentration, muscle tension, or anxiety. The final stage encompasses the behavioral response, wherein an athlete can either surpass their stress and succeed or succumb to stress and fail. By identifying the root cause of an athlete’s stress and assessing their reaction to stress, a sport psychologist can aid in alleviating their stress.
A sport psychologist can assist athletes in managing stress by teaching them stress management techniques, including progressive relaxation, breath control, and meditation (Cockshott). Additionally, motivation plays a significant role in an athlete’s performance. Sports psychologists approach motivation from two different perspectives: the trait-centered view, where motivation is considered a characteristic of the athlete.
The athlete’s personality and goals drive their motivation. The situation centered view addresses athletes whose motivation fluctuates with changing circumstances. Sport psychologists can assist athletes in developing motivation by following five guidelines. These guidelines involve considering the situation and personal factors, understanding and identifying the athlete’s various motives, assessing how environmental factors impact motivation, and exploring the factors that influence motivation.
Athletes strive for achievement motivation, which encompasses their drive to excel, conquer challenges, outperform others, and take pride in utilizing their talents. This motivation is influenced by factors such as the situation, personality, emotions, and environment (Weinberg). It serves as a vital mental skill that provides athletes with a competitive advantage over rivals. However, due to intensified competition in sports at all levels and the physical demands of aggressive play and rigorous training sessions, athletic injuries have become widespread among athletes.
Weinberg states that in sports settings, around seventeen million athletes are injured annually. While physical factors are the primary cause of these injuries, psychological factors also have an impact. Psychological factors, including personality traits, stress levels, and attitude, have been identified as contributing to athletic injuries. By offering psychological intervention, sport psychologists can assist athletes in their recovery from injuries. The rehabilitation process consists of three phases.
The first phase is referred to as the injury and illness phase. During this phase, sport psychologists help athletes cope with the emotional aspects associated with their injuries. In the second phase, known as the recovery and rehabilitation phase, sport psychologists aid athletes in maintaining motivation and adhering to rehabilitation protocols. Finally, the third phase focuses on the athlete’s return to full activity and emphasizes their ability to compete and excel.
Sport psychology utilizes the concept that “The mind is stronger than the body” (Jarvis) to aid athletes in rehabilitating their physical injuries. Nowadays, numerous elite athletes argue that their sport is predominantly mental, consisting of ninety-nine percent mental strength and only one percent physical capability. To achieve success in their respective fields, athletes must now possess two distinct strengths. They can physically train with their personal trainers and simultaneously undergo psychological training with sport psychologists. Incorporating mental skills into competitions can significantly impact the outcome, potentially determining victory or defeat.
