Sport and Exercise Psychology

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Sport and Exercise Psychology

• March 30, 2007

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What is sport and exercise psychology?

• The scientific study of the behavior of people
  engaged in sport and exercise activities and the
  application of the knowledge gained (Gill, 2000).

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Why study sport and exercise psychology?

• 1. to understand how psychological factors affect
  a persons motor performance.
• How does anxiety affect a b-ball players
  accuracy in free-throw shooting?
• Does lacking self-confidence influence a childs
  ability to learn to swim?
• How do a coachs reinforcement and punishment
  influence a teams cohesion?
• Does imagery training facilitate recovery in
  injured athletes and exercisers?

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Why study sport and exercise psychology?

• 2. to understand how participating in physical
  activity affects a persons psychological
  development.
• Does running reduce anxiety and depression?
• Do young athletes learn to be overly aggressive
  from participating in youth sport?
• Does participation in daily physical education
  classes improve a childs self-esteem.
• Does participation in college athletics enhance
  personality development?

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Who do sport and exercise psychologists work with?

• Elite athletes
• Children
• Persons who are physically or mentally disabled
• Seniors
• Average participants
• Goal to achieve maximum participation, peak
  performance, personal satisfaction, and
  development through participation.

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What roles do sport and exercisepsychologists
play?

• Research Role
• Advance knowledge within the field
• Motivation and children and youth sport
• Imagery influences on golf putting
• Running program and anxiety reduction
• Share findings with colleagues and participants
  in the field.
• Allows for advances, discussion, and debate at
  professional meetings and in journals.

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What roles do sport and exercisepsychologists
play?

• Teaching Role
• Teach university courses
• Exercise Psychology
• Applied Sport Psychology
• Social Psychology of Sport
• Personality Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Motor Learning and Control
• Sport Sociology

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What roles do sport and exercisepsychologists
play?

• Consulting Role
• Individuals or teams
• Develop psychological skills to enhance
  performance and training.
• U.S. Olympic Committee
• Major universities to small colleges
• Coaching clinics and workshops
• Fitness industry
• Sports medicine or PT clinic

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What do I need to do to become a certified
consultant?

• AAASP certification
• Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport
  Psychology
• www.aaasponline.org
• Advanced coursework in psychology and sport
  sciences
• 400 hours of supervised consultation

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What topics would I work with athletes/exercisers
on?

• Personality
• Motivation
• Arousal/Anxiety
• Team Dynamics
• Group Cohesion
• Leadership
• Communication
• Imagery
• Self-Confidence

• Goal Setting
• Concentration
• Exercise Adherence
• Athletic Injuries
• Addictions
• Burnout
• Youth Sport
• Aggression
• Character Development

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What type of sport and exercise psychology suits
you?

• Clinical sport psychologists
• extensive psychology training
• treat athletes and exercisers with emotional
  disorders (severe depression, suicidal
  tendencies, eating disorders, substance abuse,
  etc.)
• licensed by state boards to treat emotional
  disorders
• also have training in sport psychology and sport
  sciences

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What type of sport and exercise psychology suits
you?

• Educational sport psychology specialist
• extensive training in sport and exercise science,
  PE, kinesiology and the psychology of movement.
• advanced training in psychology/counseling
• NOT licensed psychologists
• mental coach

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Whats new?

• Growing interest in acquiring training in
  psychological skills/applied work.
• Greater emphasis on counseling and clinical
  training.
• Ethics and competence issues are hot issues.
• Specializations and subspecialties are developing
  (Exercise psych and life skills development
  through sport)
• Tension between academic versus applied sport
  psychologists.

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Whats new?

• Qualitative research is on the rise.
• Applied sport psychology opportunities on the
  rise part-time
• Sport psychology is being recognized as very
  useful for more than just athletes (PE, coaches,
  fitness, AT)
• Sport psychology is a form of positive psychology
  (business, artists, dancers, musicians, surgeons)