Question:
You are to produce an essay based on the principles of sport psychology, demonstrating awareness of individual differences which a sport psychologist has to consider when working with athletes (e.g. personality, skill level, age, demands associated with the sport)?
Answer:
Psychology is an integral part of sports. People play sports to stay fit and to compete with friends, family, and peers. While it is a fun activity for some people, some people make a living out of the activity. They are professional sports people. There is a certain psychological factor at work when people find the motivation to take sports as their daily job. They locate the motivation to compete repetitively to earn prize and praise. But what makes sports people strive to compete and win? Only psychology can answer the question. They push themselves to their limits just for the sake of winning; the adrenaline rush they feel compensates for everything. Psychologists in the field aka sports psychologists find the hows’ and whys’ of the scenario and collaborate with eminent players to create a psychologically sound plan which helps the sports people go for the win (Wu et al. 2012).
This essay portrays the different avenues of sports psychology and the impact of individual differences on professional advice. The ways and methods of sports psychologists are also discussed in brief detail. The world of sports is divergent. As the variety of games, types increase the number of interdependent fields within the sports world increases as well. Psychology and sports are interrelated (Ericsson 2014). As discussed above, a lot of mysteries of the games can be solved by relying on psychology. That is exactly what this essay tries to achieve-establish a clear link between psychology and sports through the interlinking factor, the sports psychologist (Weinberg and Gould 2014).
Sports psychology focuses on two factors: how sports people are affected psychologically by playing the game of their choice and how can a person improve his or her mindset to excel at sports (Krishnaveni and Shahin 2014). People have misconceptions about the application of sports psychology. While some people think that the need for this field arises only when an athlete is suffering from a mental disorder, there is a group of people believing that the primary concern of a sports psychologist is to help an athlete cope with a slump or a bad phase (SUN and LI 2013). Contrary to popular belief, that is not the case. The field encompasses the application of psychological theories for the betterment of a sports personnel’s performance and for the betterment of the sport itself (Goldstein 2012). The term “psychology” is frequently used to address anything and everything; that is why people from different backgrounds have developed different understandings of the term and what it means.
As opposed to psychology, “sports psychology” is a comparatively new field. People can only interpret the importance and relevance of the field if it contributes to research as well as practice. Psychology in the field of sports is often misinterpreted because the people practicing this field of medicine are often under qualified (Aerts 2013). They know about general psychology but fail to relate it to the field based psychology. But the times are changing now; doctors are getting licensed in sports psychology only after they have established their role as one capable of handling sports-related cases. Professionals need to be knowledgeable, compassionate and cooperative enough to interact with athletes (Kenttä and Belz 2015). They should create goal-oriented plans for achieving excellence in their patient’s respective game. The doctor-patient relationship should be based on individual differences. Every person is different, their abilities are different, their mode of action is different, and their idea of the sport of their choice is different.
As a psychologist, understanding an athlete’s personality is of utmost importance. This is required to help improve the athlete’s performance in the field. A professional has to interact with the athlete to interpret his or her level of understanding. This can help in transmitting the necessary message to the individual which in turn can improve his or her performance level in the field. Hence proved, personality and performance are directly proportional. (Travassos et al. 2013) But what is personality? Personality is a concoction of traits. Traits can encompass anything ranging from laziness to anger management issues to inane happiness. If the professional therapist can identify the inherent and acquired traits in a person then creating the perfect game plan will not be difficult. There are several theories related to personality. The recently hyped theory is the five-factor model of personality (Widiger and Costa 2013). The five factors on which the parameters are based are extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experiencing new things.
Psychologists in the field of sports are using the five-factor model to deal with the athletes under their care (Laukka and Quick 2013). For example, if the athlete in question is moody then he will not perceive a situation with as open an eye as a happy-go-lucky person will. However, in a game, the same situation may occur in case of both the athletes. That is why they need to learn about the different ways of solving the same problem. In another example, if a person’s level of extraversion is high then he as an athlete will never be able to deal with failures he cannot justify. But only when such a case is dealt with can a person move on to perform better. Personality plays a great role in deciding an athlete’s future in the field. The aspects of personality have to be molded to accommodate the evolving needs of the field. The balanced presentation of the combination of traits can help create the perfect sports performance. As per the commentary of F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures” So Personality cannot be changed, but it can be enhanced and molded to fit the situation and the purpose. The same is true of sports and sports psychologists are banking on the knowledge (Bailey 2015).
Skill is another one of the aspects that marks one sports person from another. All the integral factors related to skill are essential to enhance the quality of the game (McEwan 2013). How advanced is the skill set? Does the intensity of the skill change with changing circumstances? How can the skill be enhanced with psychological probing? These are the few questions haunting every sports psychologist trying to create the best psychological enhancement plan for the athletes in their care. The best way is to go for trial and error methods (Paul et al. 2015). While it might get a little risky sometimes, this is something all sports doctors do. They create a plan based on evidence and assumption; after that, they work with the athlete to implement them in the athlete’s life. This is a technique that has been tried since the advent of sports psychology itself. Every person is different, so the way of enhancing every person’s physical and mental skills is different. Professional mental health assistance providers in the industry live by this mantra.
There is a debate going on even on this very date about the relevance of age in sports. Is it significant? As per the relative age effect or RAE, it is (Tshube and Hanrahan 2016). Of course, younger people have more enthusiasm, ability to learn, ability to cope up in case of injuries and mental issues. But with age comes expertise and enhanced skills of crisis management. The trick is to create the perfect combination of both. Age is important in sports, and it does affect psyche of the athletes. For example, although the fresh faces of sports have enthusiasm and physical fluidity to their side, the older generation is calmer, more responsible and more committed. Coming back to the RAE, it states that more elitist athletes are born in the few earlier months of the year as compared to the later months (Stokes 2015). The idea may seem superstitious and scandalous, but facts prove otherwise. For example in football, players young and old born in the first quartile of the calendar have shown more promise and success rate as opposed to the players born in the fourth quartile of the calendar. These results are more prominent in the male sports personnel and less so in the female half of the sports world.
There is another factor allocated to individual difference-demand from the sport. While the common idea is that the only things a sports person wants out of sport are fame and money, this idea is far from truth. There can be any number of demands from the sport and the status of a sports person (Wells 2013). For instance, people can just do it for the thrill or the ecstasy or the money and the popularity or even to please somebody. Generations of sports people have proven the fact about pleasing others, especially family. The motivation can come from the intent to prove somebody wrong, to prove somebody right, to compensate for personal happiness or simply to pass time. “To each his own,” that is the rule of sports psychology (Clark 2013). And psychologists cultivate this very knowledge to the best of their ability to help the athletes under their care.
There are several approaches that professional therapists take when dealing with athletes. One of the popular approaches is a cognitive behavior-based approach. In this approach, the therapist attempts to reduce uncontrollable emotions and self-deprecating behavior by modifying faulty thinking procedure which creates negative vibes (Ellis and Young 2013). The therapy is called Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or CBT and has risen from the idea that negative personal identification is based on the cognitively mediated thought process (Neisser 2014). If the flowchart of the process is controlled, then the negative effects can also be controlled. In sports, if an athlete is choking on his or her negative self-image then CBT is brought to the forefront. It can save the athlete’s life and career. There are several personalized approaches taken by practitioners worldwide, but the choice always depends on the individual under the care of the therapist.
The concept here is that the effect of some incidents good or bad is not based on the quality or nature of the event itself, but on the perspective of the person experiencing it, in this case, the sports person (Nelson et al. 2014). For instance, a goal is neither good nor bad, it is just a goal. But if the goalkeeper beats himself up for the goal then either it is his fault, or it is his perspective. It is up to each as to how he or she is going to let an incident affect him or he. Negative impact is more likely if the thought process is negative from the beginning and vice versa. Everything depends on the perception of the athletes. If change can be brought about in the thinking process of the athlete, then a world of change is to follow. That is what cognitive behavior-based approach is all about. Through several practices, meetings and one-on-one sessions, the practitioners in the field change the behavioral route of the athletes in a progressive manner (Karageorghis et al. 2015).
Behavioral coaching is another one of the approaches taken up by the psychologists working in the sports arena. While one-half of the psychology department believes that through behavioral coaching only so much can be achieved, the other half believes in the totalitarian power of the same (Ronkainen et al. 2015). According to recent studies, players working with practitioners who believe in the totalitarian nature of behavioral therapy have shown more improvement than players working with professionals who do not believe in the treatment. While the former group of players can channelize the aggression, retain calm demeanor during the game and base grave decisions of the game on calm, practical analysis; the other half has shown less improvement in the area of control and restraint (McNulty 2013). This has changed the ideas and ideals of the modern day sports psychologists.
Another approach is being taken seriously by sports psychologists of the new generation: existential therapy. This approach was suggested by Mark Nesti (Sundgot-Borgen et al. 2013). The theory in general psychology deals with the idea that inner conflicts within a person depend on his or her existential dilemmas and givens. The few of the givens are the inevitability of death, freedom, individual isolation and the meaninglessness of life. The performance of a sports person is dependent on his inner conflicts and limitations (Sanders et al. 2013). These limitations stem from the theories of absolution and dilemmas in life. Practitioners are stressing on addressing the inner conflicts to do away with the physical and mental limitations which can affect an athlete’s performance. In sports, this approach has become a hit. Many athletes have benefitted from the approach, their games have improved, and their abilities have become more flexible because of the continuous work done on them by their respective psychologists.
Sports practitioners are also relying on group therapies (Williams 2015). Athletes who work together can also relate to similar issues. That is why they are brought together in a group, and the practitioner discusses their problems in brief detail with them. This is a long process because going in such therapy is not easy, more so for sports stars who have their ego to battle. Sitting with contemporaries, juniors and seniors to clear out one’s problem is not easy. The practitioner’s work is to introduce the group and to make every individual comfortable enough to deal with their own problems in front of the others. This is teamwork. More often than not this therapy technique is used on players of team sports (De Vaus 2013). The whole team is brought together to work on their problems. Each player is assessed and assisted individually and in a group. Group work has worked previously and is still one of the most practiced approaches.
Surveys and questionnaires are also supplied in some sports psychologist’s offices which the athletes are supposed to answer. Based on the answers the mental ability, the limitations, and the conflicts are identified (Ericsson 2014). While some questionnaires are basic, some other questions are based on individual repertoire. On answering these questions, the sportsmen realize some of their inner feelings without having to dig deep. The unconscious and the subconscious efforts are most recognized (Ghildiyal 2015). Based on the answers, the practitioner decides on an appropriate medical course. This approach has won the hearts of many sports people.
We will fumble doing any of the basic house chores in front of billions of people in the stadium, but sports people do show their acquired and earned specific skills in front of billions of people and more people ogling them through their TV screens. How do they do it? That is what sports psychology explores. This essay dissects the different aspects of sports psychology and the different approaches taken by the psychologists to solve the problems of athletes. As the science of psychology is evolving so are the approaches taken by the sports psychologists working in the field. The concept of sports psychology is better understood by the public. From all the data discussed it can be concluded that the arena of sports psychology is huge and readily evolving. Different ways and approaches are being adopted by the practitioners, and the field itself is seeing marked improvement.
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