Sport psychology

 

sport-psychologySports and exercise psychology is the scientific study of the psychological factors that are associated with the performance in sports, exercise and other types of physical activity. It is also an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of psychology. In addition to the training provided to the player for performance improvement, applied sport psychology may comprise work with coaches, athletes regarding communication, team building and career transitions. The work of sport psychologists involves in two main areas. First is to help the athletes to use the psychological principles to achieve optimal mental health for performance enhancement. The other is to understand how the participation in sports, physical activity and exercise impacts an individual’s psychological development, health throughout their lifetime.

Applied sport psychology comprises of instructing and training the athletes, teams, coaches, exercisers, fitness professionals, and other performers on the psychological aspects of their sports. The goal of the applied sports psychology is to optimize the performance and enjoyment through the use of psychological skills. There are two different kinds of sport psychologists.

They are educational psychologists and clinical psychologists. Educational sport psychologists highlight the use of psychological skills training such as imagery, energy management, goal setting, self-talk and instruct them how to use these skills effectively in different situations. These types of psychologists have sports science training and thus they are not licensed psychologists. Clinical sports psychologists focus on the application of psychological theories to unique population. They are also able to treat severe psychological problems such as depression, eating disorders and substance abuse. These types of psychologists are licensed by law.

Sports psychology is a multi-disciplinary field spanning psychology, sports science and medicine. The psychological program comprises of training in psychological skills of athletes, in the systemic issues associated with sports organizations and in developmental of sports participation. The common area of study of sport psychology is the relationship between the personality and performance.

This research focuses on specific characteristics and proves how these sports are related to performance and the other psychological variables. Mental toughness is a psychological variable that helps an individual to perform at a high level. The players with mental toughness exhibit a strong self-belief in their ability, an internal motivation, and the ability to focus one’s feelings without any distraction. Sports psychology helps the players to improve their self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a strong belief that one successfully performs a certain task. Sport psychology enhances the sporting performance of the players by the optimally controlling their brain.