Readings in Sports Psychology

Contents: 1. Sports psychology: an introduction. 2. The social psychology of the creation of a sports fan identity. 3. Psychology for sports performance. 4. Diversifying and politicizing sport psychology through cultural studies. 5. Nurturing sport expertise: factors influencing the development of elite athlete. 6. Attribution in sport psychology: seeking congruence between theory, research and practice. 7. Psychology of sport and exercise. 8. Sport psychology: psychologic issues and applications. 9. Sport psychology as mental equipment. 10. Action-theory approach to applied sport psychology. 11. Toward a psychophysiology of performance: sport psychology principles dealing with anxiety. 12. Sport and physical activity as developmental contexts. 13. Competitive sport shooting practical sport psychology. Bibliography. Index.

Reading in Sports Psychology which involve emotion, competition, cooperation, achievement, and play provide a rich area for psychological study. People involved in sports attempt to master very difficult skills, often subjecting themselves to intense physical stress as well as social pressure. When psychologists began studying sports in the 1930s and 1940s, they focused on motor performance and the acquisition of motor skills. Sports psychology emerged as a distinct discipline in the 1960s, dominated by theories of social psychology. Three primary areas of sports research are personality, motivation, and social influence. Personality studies have investigated whether there are specific traits that distinguish athletes from non-athletes. Although most of these studies failed to yield significant results, some valid connections were made between success in athletics and positive mental health. (jacket)