Sport psychology
Book: a critical introduction to sport psychology
introduction to sport psychology
In sport, it’s very important to think with your mind. You have to think that you can do it.
Training and practice are also important.
For example, research on the “peak performance” experiences of athletes as well as in-depth
interviews with Olympic champions indicate that mental toughness and the ability to
concentrate effectively are among the factors which distinguish top athletes from less successful
counterparts. Some people belief that the key to mental toughness is a level of self-belief.
Sport scientist refer to 4 factors;
- Physical: fitness, strength and stamina
- Technical: proficiency with which athletes can execute fundamental skills
- Tactical: planning and decision making
- Psychological: → familiar but yet mysterious: anxiety. Momentum and
concentration
Confidence: the belief that one has the internal resources, particularly abilities to achieve
success. Self-belief is the cornerstone of mental toughness.
- Self-efficacy according to bandura: belief that someone has the capability to achieve a
goal.
- Confidence is largely belief-based rather than fact-based, it requires constant
replenishment
Mental toughness:
- Mental toughness is widely regarded as the key to sporting success.
- Little agreement on what the construct itself means
- Hardiness
- 4-key component
- Mental toughness: high sense of self-belief and an unshakeable faith that they can
control their own destiny.
- Mental toughness
questionnaire
What factors influence the mental
demands of a given sport
Golfers should be able to learn to
concentrate. They can do this by
learning to restructure the gam ein
their minds.
,lecture 1, sport and performance psychology, general introduction and motivation
Ryan Holiday: you can control how you play. Focus on the things you can control.
People should see it as a single-shot contest between themselves and the target at
which they are aiming in stead of a competition to others. → mindfulness.
social facilitation: individual athletic activity is facilitated by the presence of others
Control the controllables
How you play = how you can play - performance losses
How you play: is what you show on the field, in a performance situation
How you can play: when you play, try to reach your level. Try to increase this
Performance losses: reduce this as most as possible. What can you do to do this? Teach and
develop mental skills and try to avoid internal distractions and external distractions(like the
weather)
Mental side of support focuses on the performance and on your mental skills during
performance.
Mental skills: APA(acknowledge, practice, act)
The importance of the mental side of sport:
Mental toughness is important. You have to discuss what you mean with mental toughness
because there are different ideas of what mental toughness is.
How do we define it?
Hardiness is a constellation of personality characteristics that enable people to mitigate the
adverse effects of stressful situations(kracht van mensen om de nadelige effecten van
stressvolle situaties te verzachten)
- Control: the capacity to feel and act as if one could exert an influence in the situation in
question
, - Challenge: the habit of perceiving potentially stressful situations as positive opportunities
rather than as threats
- Commitment: stickability or the extent to which an individual is likely to persist with a
goal or work task.
the 4-c’s model: Hardiness + Confidence: a strong belief in one’s ability to complete a task
successfully.
- Litle agreement exists about what the construct itself actually means or about what
theoretical mechanisms underlie it
- Making sense of this profusion of definitions of mental toughness and theories about
how to develop it, requires you to develop and showcase a critical understanding of
relevant
We got different perspectives:
1. Physical
2. Technical
3. Psychological
4. Tactics
Disagree on sport is 90% mental and the other half is physical:
- If you do not have the strength, tactics and techniques, the mental piece is completely
irrelevant
- People tend to overestimate the impact of mental factors. That is, amateur athletes tend
to explain their inconsistency or lack of progress to mental factors.
- However, low-competent individuals typically perform inconsistently, also in low pressure
situations. Thus, competence rather than mental factors determine performance
Agree:
- When competing against an opponent of similar ability, mental factors make the
difference. Why? Mental factors are more sensitive to pressure situations. Mental factors
determine your physical, technical and tactics.
- That is, mental factors determine athletes’ performance losses
- And mental factors facilitate the development of expertise
How can we explain the development of the world’s best player?
- Genetics
- Practice and training
- Anthropometric and physiological factors
- Early specialization vs. sampling and play
- Opportunity to develop yourself
At an individual level: for example Max Verstappen, why is he so good? He had the opportunity
to perform at a young age.
, - Social support
- Athlete support programs
- Birthdate (‘the relative age effect’)
- Birthplace
The mind to perform:
- Personality traits
- Psychological skills and motivational orientations
Paper the great british medalists project:
There is now empirical evidence that more successful athletes:
- Display higher levels of motivation
- Command a wide range of mental skills(goals-setting, anxiety control and selftalk)
- Display higher levels of mental toughness and resilience, including:
- Higher level of confidence and percieved control
- Bettr abilities to cope with adversity
- Greater resistance to ‘choking’
Implications for mental practice
Mental practice should be focused on(performance gains):
1. Enhancing the ability and motivation to effectively self-regulte during performance
2. Improving one’s expertise
3. Optimizing opportunities to develop and to train
Mental practice should be focused on(performance losses):
1. Enhancing the ability and motivation to effectively self-regulate during performance
2. Developing the competencies to utilize when performing
3. Optimizing the opportunities to perform well(sleep, food, etc.)
Conclusions:
- mental skills are a critical part of the high performance package, its impact differs across
sports, individuals, situations and moments.
- Similar to any other skill, mental skills should be learned and practiced. There
are typically no ‘quick fix solutions’ → APA(acknowledge, practice, act).
- Apart from its inaccuracy, yogi’s berra’s statement makes no sense, body and mind are
inseparable(how you feel has impact on how you perform)
Motivation(chapter 2)
Book: a critical introduction to sport psychology
introduction to sport psychology
In sport, it’s very important to think with your mind. You have to think that you can do it.
Training and practice are also important.
For example, research on the “peak performance” experiences of athletes as well as in-depth
interviews with Olympic champions indicate that mental toughness and the ability to
concentrate effectively are among the factors which distinguish top athletes from less successful
counterparts. Some people belief that the key to mental toughness is a level of self-belief.
Sport scientist refer to 4 factors;
- Physical: fitness, strength and stamina
- Technical: proficiency with which athletes can execute fundamental skills
- Tactical: planning and decision making
- Psychological: → familiar but yet mysterious: anxiety. Momentum and
concentration
Confidence: the belief that one has the internal resources, particularly abilities to achieve
success. Self-belief is the cornerstone of mental toughness.
- Self-efficacy according to bandura: belief that someone has the capability to achieve a
goal.
- Confidence is largely belief-based rather than fact-based, it requires constant
replenishment
Mental toughness:
- Mental toughness is widely regarded as the key to sporting success.
- Little agreement on what the construct itself means
- Hardiness
- 4-key component
- Mental toughness: high sense of self-belief and an unshakeable faith that they can
control their own destiny.
- Mental toughness
questionnaire
What factors influence the mental
demands of a given sport
Golfers should be able to learn to
concentrate. They can do this by
learning to restructure the gam ein
their minds.
,lecture 1, sport and performance psychology, general introduction and motivation
Ryan Holiday: you can control how you play. Focus on the things you can control.
People should see it as a single-shot contest between themselves and the target at
which they are aiming in stead of a competition to others. → mindfulness.
social facilitation: individual athletic activity is facilitated by the presence of others
Control the controllables
How you play = how you can play - performance losses
How you play: is what you show on the field, in a performance situation
How you can play: when you play, try to reach your level. Try to increase this
Performance losses: reduce this as most as possible. What can you do to do this? Teach and
develop mental skills and try to avoid internal distractions and external distractions(like the
weather)
Mental side of support focuses on the performance and on your mental skills during
performance.
Mental skills: APA(acknowledge, practice, act)
The importance of the mental side of sport:
Mental toughness is important. You have to discuss what you mean with mental toughness
because there are different ideas of what mental toughness is.
How do we define it?
Hardiness is a constellation of personality characteristics that enable people to mitigate the
adverse effects of stressful situations(kracht van mensen om de nadelige effecten van
stressvolle situaties te verzachten)
- Control: the capacity to feel and act as if one could exert an influence in the situation in
question
, - Challenge: the habit of perceiving potentially stressful situations as positive opportunities
rather than as threats
- Commitment: stickability or the extent to which an individual is likely to persist with a
goal or work task.
the 4-c’s model: Hardiness + Confidence: a strong belief in one’s ability to complete a task
successfully.
- Litle agreement exists about what the construct itself actually means or about what
theoretical mechanisms underlie it
- Making sense of this profusion of definitions of mental toughness and theories about
how to develop it, requires you to develop and showcase a critical understanding of
relevant
We got different perspectives:
1. Physical
2. Technical
3. Psychological
4. Tactics
Disagree on sport is 90% mental and the other half is physical:
- If you do not have the strength, tactics and techniques, the mental piece is completely
irrelevant
- People tend to overestimate the impact of mental factors. That is, amateur athletes tend
to explain their inconsistency or lack of progress to mental factors.
- However, low-competent individuals typically perform inconsistently, also in low pressure
situations. Thus, competence rather than mental factors determine performance
Agree:
- When competing against an opponent of similar ability, mental factors make the
difference. Why? Mental factors are more sensitive to pressure situations. Mental factors
determine your physical, technical and tactics.
- That is, mental factors determine athletes’ performance losses
- And mental factors facilitate the development of expertise
How can we explain the development of the world’s best player?
- Genetics
- Practice and training
- Anthropometric and physiological factors
- Early specialization vs. sampling and play
- Opportunity to develop yourself
At an individual level: for example Max Verstappen, why is he so good? He had the opportunity
to perform at a young age.
, - Social support
- Athlete support programs
- Birthdate (‘the relative age effect’)
- Birthplace
The mind to perform:
- Personality traits
- Psychological skills and motivational orientations
Paper the great british medalists project:
There is now empirical evidence that more successful athletes:
- Display higher levels of motivation
- Command a wide range of mental skills(goals-setting, anxiety control and selftalk)
- Display higher levels of mental toughness and resilience, including:
- Higher level of confidence and percieved control
- Bettr abilities to cope with adversity
- Greater resistance to ‘choking’
Implications for mental practice
Mental practice should be focused on(performance gains):
1. Enhancing the ability and motivation to effectively self-regulte during performance
2. Improving one’s expertise
3. Optimizing opportunities to develop and to train
Mental practice should be focused on(performance losses):
1. Enhancing the ability and motivation to effectively self-regulate during performance
2. Developing the competencies to utilize when performing
3. Optimizing the opportunities to perform well(sleep, food, etc.)
Conclusions:
- mental skills are a critical part of the high performance package, its impact differs across
sports, individuals, situations and moments.
- Similar to any other skill, mental skills should be learned and practiced. There
are typically no ‘quick fix solutions’ → APA(acknowledge, practice, act).
- Apart from its inaccuracy, yogi’s berra’s statement makes no sense, body and mind are
inseparable(how you feel has impact on how you perform)
Motivation(chapter 2)
