The Psychology Behind Sports Performance

Have you ever watched sport on TV and wondered how athletes like LeBron James, Serena Williams, Lionel Messi, Simone Biles, and Virat Kohli are able to perform so well in front of thousands of people? Just the thought of it is enough to make most people throw up and pass out! For over 100 years, sport psychologists (scientists interested in how the brain influences sport performance) have been studying athletes and teams in order to understand more about the psychology behind successful sport performance. These scientific studies have uncovered some fascinating insights regarding what it takes to become an elite athlete and perform at the highest level. In this collection, we will reveal some of the secrets that sport psychologists have uncovered in relation to sport performance. Specifically, we will highlight what has been learnt from research which has explored elite athletes’ background, their personalities, what motivates them, how they are able to maintain their concentration, where they get their confidence from, and how they are able to cope under pressure. The collection will help children and young athletes understand how the way they think and feel in different situations influences their performances, and how those in their surrounding environment (e.g., coaches, parents, friends, and teammates) can influence their performances and long-term development. These insights are not only exciting, they start to highlight how young athletes can play a crucial role in enhancing their own performances both within and outside of sport (e.g., school, music, performing arts, and dance).

Advancements in Mental Skills Training presents contemporary evidence-based intervention approaches from leading sport psychology researchers and practitioners. The book comprehensively examines the use of mental skills training for athletic performance and well-being from a cross-cultural perspective. It begins by introducing theoretical advancements related to mental toughness, cultural factors, performance optimisation and mindfulness. It goes on to examine the technological advancements related to mental skills training, outlining how mobile technologies can be used to measure and train perceptual-cognitive skills, and the effectiveness of virtual reality in mental training. The book concludes by discussing emerging topics, such as how sports psychology can incorporate spirituality, minority groups in sport and the impact of prejudice, and referee career development. This insightful text introduces the potential for sport psychology to be integrated into our daily functioning and provides strategies for athletes to optimize their performance and bolster their mental health. It will be an essential read for all sport psychology researchers as well as professionals working in the field.

Sport psychology is no longer just an academic subject, it is a discipline studied and applied by all those associated with sport, whether athletes, coaches, journalists or fans. This text concerns key topics in the field of sport psychology.

Sport psychology is a topic of growing interest. Many professionals read journals such as The International Journal of Sports, Journal of Sport Behavior, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and The Sport Psychologist. In August 2008, Monitor on Psychology, the monthly publication of the American Psychological Association (APA), featured a special issue on sport psychology. Indeed, Division 47 of APA is devoted to "the scientific, educational, and clinical foundations of exercise and sport psychology." The North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) convene conferences each year to present scientific findings and new developments in a rapidly expanding field. The AAASP and other organizations also qualify professionals as certified sport and exercise psychology consultants. Finally, a visit to any bookstore will reveal the lay public’s fascination with sports, as revealed in numerous self-help books and guides to perfecting athletic performance. Behavioral psychologists have studied sport psychology for more than three decades (Martin, Thompson, & Regehr, 2004). Applied behavior analysis (ABA), in particular, has been an instrumental approach to behavioral coaching in many sports, including baseball (Osborne, Rudrud, & Zezoney, 1990), basketball (Pates, Cummings, & Maynard, 2002), figure skating (Ming & Martin, 1996), football (Ward & Carnes, 2002), golf (Pates, Oliver, & Maynard, 2001), ice hockey (Rogerson & Hrycaiko, 2002), soccer (Brobst & Ward, 2002), swimming (Hume & Crossman, 1992), and tennis (Allison & Ayllon, 1980). ABA stresses the application of learning theory principles, objective measurement of athletic skills, controlled outcome evaluation, and socially significant behavior-change. Cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT, also has been a dominant approach to psychological intervention in sports (Meyers, Whelan, & Murphy, 1996; Weinberg & Comar, 1994). CBT addresses athletic performance through cognitive-change methods combined with behavioral practice and environmental modifications. The purpose of the book described in this proposal is to compile the most recent experimental and applied research in behavioral sport psychology. Several journal articles have reviewed critical dimensions of behavioral sport psychology (Martin et al., 2004; Martin, Vause, & Schwartzman, 2005) but no book has covered the topic with an emphasis on ABA and CBT methodology and practice. Accordingly, Behavioral Sport Psychology: Evidence-Based Approaches to Performance Enhancement is a first of its kind volume.

This volume reflects state of the art and controversial discussions on the topic of athletic expertise based on a particular theoretical point of view or empirical research. It exposes the reader to different perspectives and allows the reader to consider a variety of sub-domains within the topic of sport expertise. Thus, this volume contributes updated knowledge, a more holistic perspective on this body of knowledge, and a comprehensive understanding of the topic of athletic expertise.

This edited book by two prominent professionals of Sport and Exercise and Performance Sciences addresses relevant issues and experiences as one becomes a sport, exercise and performance psychology practitioner. Chapters discuss the supervision and training involved along with models of practice, theory, techniques, and ethical issues.