Sport Psychology

"Sport Psychology" provides an introductory account of the major psychological issues in sport today. Major theories and up-to-date research are covered in the areas of personality, attitudes to sport, aggression, anxiety and stress, social influences, motivation and skill acquisition. With a minimum of jargon and a wide variety of supporting examples ranging from football to dance, this highly readable introduction is suitable for students with little prior knowledge of either psychology or sports studies.

Sport Psychology is an introductory account of the major psychological issues in sport today. Major theories and up-to-date research are covered in the areas of personality, attitudes to sport, aggression in sport, anxiety and stress, social influences, motivation, and skill acquisition. A wide variety of sporting examples are used, ranging from football to ballet.

Part 1: Introduction to Sport Psychology. What is Sport Psychology? A Brief History of Sport Psychology. What is a Sport Psychologist? Part 2: Personality and Sport. Introduction. Trait Theories. Other Measurable Personality Variables. Applying Trait and Narrow-band Theories to Sport. Situational and Interactional Approaches. Applying the Interactional Model to Sport. Social Learning Theory. Applying Social Learning Theory to Sport. Summary. Part 3: Attitudes to Sport. The Nature of Attitudes. Measuring Attitudes. The Formation of Attitudes to Sport. Attitudes to Sport and Sporting Behaviour. Changing People's Attitudes to Sport. Summary. Part 4: Aggression in Sport. Defining Aggression. Theories of Aggression. Situational Facts Affecting Aggression in Sport. The $64,000 Question: Does Sport Increase or Reduce Aggression? The Reduction of Aggression. Summary. Part 5: Arousal, Anxiety and Stress. Definitions of Arousal, Anxiety and Stress. Factors inducing Anxiety and Stress. The Relationship between Arousal and Performance. The Relationship between Anxiety and Performance. Stress Management. Part 6: Social Influences on Sporting Behaviour. Sources of Social Influence. Groups and Teams. Social Facilitation. Leadership. Summary. Part 7: Motivation and Sport. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. Humanistic Perspectiveson Motivation. Achievement-motivation. Cognitive Approaches to Motivation. Contemporary Research on Motives for Sports Participation. Summary. Part 8: Skill Acquisition. Skills and Abilities. Classifying Skills. Stages of Skill Acquisition. The Information-processing Approach to Skills. Memory. Enhancing Skill Acquisition. Summary. Part 9: Study Aids. Improving your Essay-writing Skills. Key Research Summary. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.

Matt Jarvis is Senior Teaching Psychologist at Totton College and Totton Sports Academy.