Sport and Performance Psychology
Lecture 1: General introduc1on and mo1va1on, 11-09-2024
World no. 1 athletes s/ll are not perfect → everyone can improve
The perfect race/match is an una:ainable goal, everybody makes mistakes even experts in a
certain area
Performance = poten.al performance – performance losses
All players underachieve under pressure, even the very best players
For each successful shot there are more unsuccessful shots (e.g. basketball)
The winners of the game are the athletes with less performance losses
“It’s about overcoming your mistakes in the race and remaining composed”
Strive for ‘perfec/on’, but do not expect perfec/on
How do you compose when something goes wrong, why Olympic athletes don’t need to be
perfect. → main ques/on of the course
Mental side of sport
How important it is to have control over what you do/how you play, you have no control on
all other factors
Mental training is typically directed at avoiding performing losses: To teach, develop, and
maintain mental skills that help athletes to focus exclusively on “How you play” while
ignoring distrac/ons, including internal distractors or self-generated concerns arising from
,one’s own thoughts and feelings, and external distractors such as weather condi/ons, the
click of a camera, or ac/ons by opponents or others = help "to remain composed"
How you play = how you can play – performance losses
Applied sport psychology, as a sub-field of performance psychology, is about enhancing
athletes’ performance and helping them reach their poten/al in sport (not mental health)
- However, part of the sport psychologists’ job responsibili/es is to be able to provide
therapeu/c services, likely by referral to a clinical specialist.
Mental toughness
Hardiness is a constella/on of personality characteris/cs that enables people to mi/gate the
adverse effects of stressful situa/ons
1. Control: the capacity to feel and act as if one could exert an influence in the situa/on
in ques/on.
2. Challenge: the habit of perceiving poten/ally stressful situa/ons as posi/ve
opportuni/es rather than as threats.
3. Commitment: /ckability or the extent to which an individual is likely to persist with a
goal or work task.
Fire and ice situa/on → willing to win and accep/ng
looses
Fundament of mental toughness ( 4C’s Model of
Mental Toughness) = Hardiness + (4) Confidence: a
strong belief in one’s ability to complete a task
successfully.
, How important is the mental side of sport?
Sports are 90% mental → DISAGREE
If people lack the competence, that is, do not have the fitness, strength, and technical and
tac/cal skills required, the mental piece is completely irrelevant
- Competence or skill level, rather than mental factors, determines fluctua/ons in
performance
- Low-skilled individuals typically perform inconsistently, even in low pressure
situa/ons
Sports are 90% mental → AGREE
When compe/ng against an opponent of similar ability, mental factors make the difference,
because mental factors are more sensi/ve to pressure situa/ons than physical, technical, and
tac/cal factors.
The correct answer may be that it is not possible to determine the weight of each separate
component because ‘weight’ is a func/on of (among others) person, /me, context, and
moment and the difference components (body and mind, Yin & Yang) are actually
inseparable.
Mental factors, as part of a holis/c system, are cri/cal predictors of performance gains and
performance losses.
How you play is influenced by:
- Exper.se, or the capacity to perform = ‘How you can play’
o Gene/cs
o Prac/ce and Training
- Opportunity to perform
o Social support
o Athlete support programs
o Birthdate (“the rela/ve age effect”)
o Birthplace
- The mind to perform
o Personality traits
o Psychological skills and mo/va/onal orienta/ons
Research shows that more successful athletes display higher levels of mo/va/on, command
a wide range of mental skills, display higher levels of mental toughness and resilience,
including higher levels of confidence and perceived control, be:er abili/es to cope with
adversity (e.g., problem solving and ability to re-focus), and have greater resistance to
‘choking’.
Mental prac/ce should focus on
1. Enhancing the ability and mo/va/on to effec/vely self-regulate during performance.
2. Developing the competencies to u/lize when performing.
3. Op/mizing the opportuni/es to perform well (e.g., materials, food, sleep).
Lecture 1: General introduc1on and mo1va1on, 11-09-2024
World no. 1 athletes s/ll are not perfect → everyone can improve
The perfect race/match is an una:ainable goal, everybody makes mistakes even experts in a
certain area
Performance = poten.al performance – performance losses
All players underachieve under pressure, even the very best players
For each successful shot there are more unsuccessful shots (e.g. basketball)
The winners of the game are the athletes with less performance losses
“It’s about overcoming your mistakes in the race and remaining composed”
Strive for ‘perfec/on’, but do not expect perfec/on
How do you compose when something goes wrong, why Olympic athletes don’t need to be
perfect. → main ques/on of the course
Mental side of sport
How important it is to have control over what you do/how you play, you have no control on
all other factors
Mental training is typically directed at avoiding performing losses: To teach, develop, and
maintain mental skills that help athletes to focus exclusively on “How you play” while
ignoring distrac/ons, including internal distractors or self-generated concerns arising from
,one’s own thoughts and feelings, and external distractors such as weather condi/ons, the
click of a camera, or ac/ons by opponents or others = help "to remain composed"
How you play = how you can play – performance losses
Applied sport psychology, as a sub-field of performance psychology, is about enhancing
athletes’ performance and helping them reach their poten/al in sport (not mental health)
- However, part of the sport psychologists’ job responsibili/es is to be able to provide
therapeu/c services, likely by referral to a clinical specialist.
Mental toughness
Hardiness is a constella/on of personality characteris/cs that enables people to mi/gate the
adverse effects of stressful situa/ons
1. Control: the capacity to feel and act as if one could exert an influence in the situa/on
in ques/on.
2. Challenge: the habit of perceiving poten/ally stressful situa/ons as posi/ve
opportuni/es rather than as threats.
3. Commitment: /ckability or the extent to which an individual is likely to persist with a
goal or work task.
Fire and ice situa/on → willing to win and accep/ng
looses
Fundament of mental toughness ( 4C’s Model of
Mental Toughness) = Hardiness + (4) Confidence: a
strong belief in one’s ability to complete a task
successfully.
, How important is the mental side of sport?
Sports are 90% mental → DISAGREE
If people lack the competence, that is, do not have the fitness, strength, and technical and
tac/cal skills required, the mental piece is completely irrelevant
- Competence or skill level, rather than mental factors, determines fluctua/ons in
performance
- Low-skilled individuals typically perform inconsistently, even in low pressure
situa/ons
Sports are 90% mental → AGREE
When compe/ng against an opponent of similar ability, mental factors make the difference,
because mental factors are more sensi/ve to pressure situa/ons than physical, technical, and
tac/cal factors.
The correct answer may be that it is not possible to determine the weight of each separate
component because ‘weight’ is a func/on of (among others) person, /me, context, and
moment and the difference components (body and mind, Yin & Yang) are actually
inseparable.
Mental factors, as part of a holis/c system, are cri/cal predictors of performance gains and
performance losses.
How you play is influenced by:
- Exper.se, or the capacity to perform = ‘How you can play’
o Gene/cs
o Prac/ce and Training
- Opportunity to perform
o Social support
o Athlete support programs
o Birthdate (“the rela/ve age effect”)
o Birthplace
- The mind to perform
o Personality traits
o Psychological skills and mo/va/onal orienta/ons
Research shows that more successful athletes display higher levels of mo/va/on, command
a wide range of mental skills, display higher levels of mental toughness and resilience,
including higher levels of confidence and perceived control, be:er abili/es to cope with
adversity (e.g., problem solving and ability to re-focus), and have greater resistance to
‘choking’.
Mental prac/ce should focus on
1. Enhancing the ability and mo/va/on to effec/vely self-regulate during performance.
2. Developing the competencies to u/lize when performing.
3. Op/mizing the opportuni/es to perform well (e.g., materials, food, sleep).
