SPORTS AND WELL-

BEING
The Psychology of Performance
R. Guha
 • Considering the current pandemic, WHO
highlights the importance of physical and
psychological fitness to deal with
stressors
Need for • Instead of following a regime for fitness
blindly, it is thus imperative to
the comprehend the science of exercise and
course its relationship with physical and
cognitive functions and over all well
being
• Tokyo 2020 Olympics – shows that Sports
could be an alternative career
 Objectives Outcomes
1. Understand the influence of
• To understand how participation in psychological factors on involvement
sports affects physical and and performance in sport, exercise and
psychological development
physical education settings
• To understand how psychological
factors influence physical 2. Understand how participation in sport,
performance exercise and physical education
influences the psychological make-up of
• To understand how psychological those individuals involved
factors influence physical
performance
3. Apply and exercise psychology skills and
knowledge to increase individual well-
being and interpersonal relationships
 Outdoor
Sports – a • Marshalling of bodily
primary resources to
physical complete a variety
endevour of specialized,
demanding physical
tasks
• Physical attributes Despite emphasis on
Exceptions such as speed, physical matters in the
strength, stamina, Sports sciences,
Cognitive games fitness, coordination, Research shows that
agility, flexibility, sports performance is
Chess, Sudoku, Go influenced not only by
and resilience are physical attributes, but
effect performance also by psychological
factors
Importanc
e of
biomecha
nics in
sports
and
fitness
Sports psychology Sports engagement for
n the game enhancement of
psychological skills
Dealing with immediate • Arousal motivation and activation
and chronic stress • Self Confidence
Performance anxiety • Creativity
Motivational issues • Cognitive flexibility
Dealing with competition • Improves response time in cognitive
activities
Dealing with failure • Attentional focus
Team building • Cohesion and team building –
cooperation
• Leadership skills
 • Sport psychology got its start
in about 1891, when the
• The use of general psychological
psychological principles started to be
methods to calm the applied in a unique setting:
Historical mind, relax the physical education
underpinn body, or alter mental
and physical states • Luther Gulick offered a
ings of of being seminar for students
Sports documented in studying to be physical
eastern traditions training directors. It was
Psycholog during this seminar that
y James Naismith was
• The use of such encouraged to develop a new
methods for the indoor game, and basketball
enhancement of was invented
sports performance
is, more recent • In that same year, Naismith
gave a commencement
address entitled “Psychology
 • E. W. Scripture (1893-1901) studied reaction times of
athletes. Scripture expressed a belief that psychology could
have an influence on sport performance

• Recognizing the potential for application of psychological

principles to sports performance, the Chicago Cubs baseball
team hired Coleman Griffith, University of Illinois, as a sport
Historical
Coleman Griffith psychologist in the 1920s

underpinn • Olympics in France in 1897 - “Psychology of Exercise”

ings presented as part of a scholarly meeting to promote the
science of athletics
of Sports • Positive self-talk became the most researched topics in sport
Psycholog psychology, and was addressed in 1913 at the first International
Congress of the Psychology and Physiology of Sport
y
• Psychology for performance enhancement soon extended
beyond sport, with studies of psychology applied to business in
1917 and the psychology of musical talent in 1919
 SOCIAL FACILITATION AND SPORTS
Triplett, a cyclist, observed that cyclists performed better when in
a race as opposed to when they were riding against only
themselves. (Triplet 1898)

He conducted a controlled lab experiment to see if the effect

he saw in cycling had more general implications

He put children either in groups or alone and asked them to

perform simple tasks. The children that were in a group
performed more quickly, eg: in reeling a fishing rod, spun the
reel much more quickly in groups than alone

Norman Triplett and the Bicycle Study In timed trials for track and field events, those racing others
Norman Triplett (1861-1931) generally push themselves more than those who run alone
social facilitation-can be seen beyond Workplace: adults work harder when they are competing against
those lab experiments and cycling each other or in a group than when they are alone in a cubicle

There are limits to the social facilitation. If the task is too difficult, or the participants are
easily stressed and intimidated, competition will only lessen the effectiveness of those
people
 Where does WELL BEING come in?

The focus of Sports Psychology

is primarily on TEAM PERFORMANCE
Sport psychology issues Sport psychology methods
Issues pertaining to: Psychological
• Motivation skills training
• focus/concentration • goal setting
• Thought patterns • Relaxation
• arousal control, • Imagery
• Confidence and mental • Self-talk
preparation

Thoughts
Mood
Well-Being
SPORTS AND
WELL BEING  INTRODUCTION  SPORTS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS:
  Introduction to mental skills training
WELL-BEING AND SPORTS – A study of
– Flow
interdependence  Arousal regulation and coping
 PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF WELL-BEING  Mindfulness and relaxation
 Visualisation and mental imagery
 Cardiovascular system in sports and exercise

Course content  Role of cardiovascular system in anxiety  SPORTS SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL
 Role of Neurotransmitters in well-being BEING:
 Aggression and mood
 Neurotransmitters and sports
 Communication skills
 Role of Sports in building social skills
• Biomechanics in sports and fitness
 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN WELL BEING:  A HEALTHY DOSE OF SPORTS AND WELL
Personality, Motivation and Cognition BEING
 Energy management
 Goal setting
 burnout
 Focus – Attention and concentration  Sports as a paired career option
 Self-confidence and boosting
 Role of sports in self-grooming