Understanding Sport Psychology

Gavin Breslin is a Senior Lecturer in the Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine. He has applied sport psychology to national and international athletes across a range of sports. He is the Chief Assessor for the British Psychological Society’s Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology. His book publications include Sport and Exercise Psychology Practitioner Case Studies (2016), and Mental Health and Wellbeing Interventions in Sport: Research, Theory and Practice (2019).John Kremer is a former Reader in Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast, where he lectured from 1980. He combines his academic interest in sport and exercise psychology with practical work with numerous sports, including several national and international teams and individual athletes. His list of book publications include Pure Sport: Sport Psychology in Action (2019), Sport Psychology: Contemporary Themes (2012), Psychology in Sport (1994) and Young People’s Involvement in Sport (1997).Aidan Moran was Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Director of the Psychology Research Laboratory in University College, Dublin. A Fulbright Scholar and former Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, he has published extensively on mental imagery and attentional processes in athletes. A former psychologist to the Irish Olympic squad, Aidan advised many of Ireland’s leading athletes and teams and is rightly credited as the founding father of sport psychology in Ireland.Cathy Craig is a Professor in Perception and Action Psychology at the School of Psychology, Ulster University and CEO/Co-Founder of INCISIV, a neuro-technology company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She publishes extensively on motor timing, perception/action and decision making in sport. Much of her work involves working closely with elite sporting organisations to develop innovative solutions, using technologies such as immersive, interactive virtual reality, to better understand how perception influences decisions about action. Stephen Shannon is a Lecturer in the School of Sport at Ulster University within the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, and holds a BSc (hons), PgDip, and PhD from Ulster University, along with a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. In a research capacity, he conducts his research through the Sport and Exercise Research Institute and the Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, and has published several peer-reviewed articles on mental health promotion within and through sport and physical activity. Additionally, Stephen has provided written evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Sport and Recreation, and has delivered and hosted conference symposiums in Ireland, the UK and Internationally. In a teaching and learning discipline, Stephen teaches on several undergraduate and postgraduate psychology, research methods and social science modules at Ulster. He is also Course Director for the BSc Sport, Physical Activity and Health, in addition to fulfilling an active supervisory role with MSc and PhD student research projects.

Better for degree level, rather than A-Level.

• 1: INTRODUCING SPORT PSYCHOLOGY1.1 The History of Sport Psychology1.2 Practising Sport Psychology1.3 Ethical Issues in Sport Psychology1.4 Sport Psychology Organisations, Sources and Resources2: ANXIETY AND STRESS IN SPORT2.5 Stress, Anxiety and Arousal2.6 Measuring Stress and Anxiety2.7 Pre-performance Routines2.8 Choking Under Pressure2.9 Coping Strategies3: MOTIVATION3.10 Sport Participation: Motives and Correlates3.11 Burnout and Drop-out3.12 Goal Setting3.13 Fear of Failure and Need to Achieve3.14 Self-Determination Theory3.15 Achievement Goal Theory3.16 Self-Efficacy and Perceived Competence4: COGNITIVE PROCESSES IN SPORT4.17 Mental Imagery4.18 Mental Practice4.19 Attention and Concentration4.20 Positive Self-Talk and Thought Control4.21 Mental Toughness5: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT5.22 Team Cohesion5.23 Team Building5.24 Causal Attribution5.25 Social Facilitation and Social Loafing5.26 Leadership and Management5.27 Effective Coaching Styles5.28 Home Advantage5.29 Aggression5.30 Fans and Spectators5.31 Social Identity Theory6: MOTOR SKILLS6.32 Motor Development6.33 Expertise6.34 Decision-Making6.35 Practising Motor Skills6.36 Analysis and Measurement of Motor Performance7: SPORT, MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING7.37 Gender, Diversity and Inclusion7.38 Overtraining and Exercise Addiction7.39 Injury and Retirement7.40 Mental Health Awareness in Sport7.41 Mental Health Disorder in Sport7.42 Resilience7.43 Mindfulness and Wellbeing in Sport