In our society today it seems like sports rule the land. Everywhere we look,
there is some kind of sporting event going on or being televised. Almost
everyone could be considered a fan of at least one sport. Some people follow
sports like a religion. With such an increased focus on sports, the athlete’s
performances are put under a microscope. This puts more pressure on athletes to
give a winning performance. No longer do athletes play for fun, they play to
win. This isn’t happening just on the professional level; it is happening on
all levels of sport. From little league to backyard football, the goal is to win
at all cost. With this increase pressure, athletes are looking for more and more
ways to better their performance. One such way, which is now gaining popularity,
is Sports Psychology. Though this isn’t a new field, its popularity is just
beginning to take off. There is still a lot of skepticism about the validity or
worth while of the practices used. The following is a review of a number of
articles that outline different studies done that show how athletes can improve
their performances. The articles were found using a database search of PsychInfo.
Keywords such as increased performance, psychological practices, and sports were
used to narrow the search. What is Sport Psychology? Over the years there have
been many different definitions offered as to what Sport Psychology is. One of
the best ways to look at it is to ask what does a psychologist do? A
psychologist does a variety of things. They provide psychological assessment,
crisis intervention, and psychological service. Just to name a few broad areas.
All of these are areas that can also be useful to an athlete. A lot of the tools
used by a sport psychologist are adapted directly from clinical psychology.
Concepts such as Freud’s Psychodynamics, Caltel’s Personality Test, and The
Piagetial Cognitive Theory are widely used. (Sloubanov, 1999) All of these are
critical tools used by a sport psychologist to assist an athlete with his or her
problem. Sport psychology involves preparing the mind of an athlete, just as one
prepares the body. Sport psychology is an emerging field in the worlds of
psychology and athletics. What Methods are Used? The problem that an athlete is
facing will dictate what type of approach a sport psychologist takes. Issues
such as motivation, self-efficacy, and depression are common in the athletic
arena. (Miserandino, 1998, p. 287) Athletes can also suffer greatly from anxiety
and stress. (Holm, Beckwith, Ehde, Tinius, 1995, p. 463) Any of these conditions
can be detrimental to ones competitive ability. Techniques such as mental
imagery training and relaxation techniques can be used to attack problems in
these areas. (McKenzie, Howe, 1997, p. 196) Marianne Miserandino’s research
was focused on failure, and why athletes believe that they don’t accomplish
their goals. She learned that starting at young age, athletes are told that
failure comes from their lack of ability. This is called learned helplessness. (Miserandino,
1998, p. 287) In her study she approached this problem by splitting her subject
into two groups. One group received feedback about their shooting techniques and
were told that lack of effort was the reason for missed shots, not lack of
ability. The other group received only feedback on their techniques. After her
4-week study was done, the group that received the positive reinforcement showed
more mastery of the skills and greater improvement than their counterparts. (Miserandino,
1998 p. 286) Another study also used basketball free throws as the basis for its
study. Craig Wrisberg and Mark Anshel did this study. It looks at the
effectiveness of applying cognitive techniques to improve performance of
shooting free throws. (Wrisberg, Anshel, 1989, p. 95) Participants in the study
were asked to shoot a number of free throws to provide a baseline for the study.
Over the next three days, the athletes were giving instruction in between
shooting sessions. They were introduced to mental imagery as a way to help with
their shooting. The results showed a significant improvement in shot percentages
of the players. (Wrisberg, Anshel, 1989, p. 99) The Holm, Beckwith, Ehde, and
Tinius study also looked at the use of cognitive approaches to athletic
performance. They we interested in the role of stress and anxiety. College
athletes were split into two groups. One group participated in daily two-hour
group sessions that introduced them to a variety of cognitive-behavioral
interventions. These methods were discussed and practiced. The subjects were
also asked to do a homework assignment outside of the group sessions. This went
on for seven weeks. At the end of the study, the group who went through the
program showed a significant decrease in anxiety, increases in academic
performance, and increase in successful athletic performance. (Holm et al.,
1995) Where is the Research Going G. Fitts opened the first lab associated with
sport psychology in 1895.(Sloubanov, 1999) Since his experiments on behaviorism
and stimulus/response, there has been much progress and many changes. Sport has
gone through a great metamorphosis that no one of that time could ever imagine.
Today sport psychology has moved from the simple experiments of the early labs
to sophisticated trials and tests. Focus is now on subjects as mental health ,
psychopysiological reactivity, and body image and esteem. (Gauvin, Spence, 1995,
p. 436) The world of athletics is now a business, and now like other businesses,
is always looking for ways to improve itself. Conclusion Since athletics seems
to be moving from being a pastime to a way of life for many in today’s world,
it is important that there is a means to improve performance. The corporate
world has long been using psychological techniques to improve employee
performance. It was only a matter of time before the athletic world adopted the
same practices. Some people are skeptical about the validity of sport
psychology, while others live by it. With sports producing hundreds of millions
of dollars each year. It is important that athletes do everything that they can
to improve the way that they play. Sport psychology is a valid, scientific way
for athletes to do just that.