Love And Handicapping

Sport Psychology, 2nd Edition provides a synthesis of the major topics in sport psychology with an applied focus and an emphasis on achieving optimal performance. After exploring the history of sport psychology, human motivation, and the role of exercise, there are three main sections to the text: Performance Enhancement, Performance Inhibition, and Individuals and Teams. The first of these sections covers topics such as anxiety, routines, mental imagery, self-talk, enhancing concentration, relaxation, goals, and self-confidence. The section on Performance Inhibition includes chapters on choking under pressure, self-handicapping, procrastination, perfectionism, helplessness, substance abuse, and disruptive personality factors. While much of the information presented is universally applicable, individual differences based on gender, ethnicity, age, and motivation are emphasized in the concluding section on Individuals and Teams. Throughout, there are case studies of well-known athletes from a variety of sports to illustrate topics that are being explored.

The concept of self-handicapping can be legitimately anchored in a vari ety of intellectual contexts, some old and some newer. As this volume reminds us, Alfred Adler was perhaps the first to articulate the signifi cance of various self-defeating claims and gestures for protecting the self concept. Thus the apparent paradox of "defeat" in the interests of "pro tection. " More recently (but still more than 30 years ago), Heider's "naive psychology" added attributional rhetoric to the description of self-defeat ing strategies. While predominantly cognitive in its thrust, the attribu tional approach incorporated several motivational influences-especially those involving egocentric concerns. Heider hardly violated our common sense when he suggested that people are inclined to attribute their performances in a self-serving manner: the good things I caused; the bad things were forced upon me. The notion of self-handicapping strategies, proposed by Berglas and myself a little more than a decade ago, capitalized on these homely truths while adding a particular proactive twist. We not only make ex cuses for our blunders; we plan our engagements and our situational choices so that self-protective excuses are unnecessary. In doing so, we use our attributional understanding to arrange things so that flawed and failing performances will not be interpreted in ways that threaten our self-esteem.

In the Sport of Kings, races aren’t made just by the animals that run them, but by the voices that call them. This book covers 11 of the top racetrack announcers in the United States: Tom Durkin, Kurt Becker, Dave Rodman, Michael Wrona, Terry Wallace, Larry Collmus, John Dooley, Luke Kruytbosch, Dave Johnson, Robert Geller and Trevor Denman. Based on extensive interviews, each chapter is devoted to a single announcer, addressing details of his life in the profession. Included are additional insights and anecdotes provided by family members, trainers, jockeys, owners and other well-known individuals in the horse racing industry.

The book was written for all of you, who watch horse racing only to find themselves lost, wanting to know more about the sport, but not knowing where to begin. Perhaps you're a regular race watcher, who ends up spending all of their time explaining the sport to their accompanying friends and loved ones. It's not like you don't want them sharing in the enjoyment of a sport you love, but how many questions can you really answer? Or you may be someone who just visits the track for those special race days. You want to go more often, but just don't know how to learn more about this great sport. This book may just be the help you're looking for, as it offers a unique perspective on how to enjoy horse racing. By the end of our lively and amusing discussion on how to handicap with your head, eyes, blood, gut, heart, and by your tail, the reader will be able to converse comfortably on any of the sport's diverse aspects. Most importantly, they will learn how to have fun at the track.

Achievement and Motivation was originally published in 1993. It provides a comprehensive review of research conducted on the topic in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Most particularly, it focuses on the research of those in the field who tackle the issue from a social-developmental perspective.