Sport psychology

By Dr. Stefano Casali

Here are some definitions of Sport Psychology and the figure of the Sport Psychologist:

Sports Psychology covers those academic, research and professional activities that provide the basis for understanding and stimulating the behavior of people practicing sport or physical activity.

This dynamic area can stimulate the experience of men, women and young people who practice the various forms of physical activity, is aimed at both those who carry out their activities for personal pleasure and those who are engaged in elite activity. specifications. Sports psychologists who perform this activity at a professional level are committed to understanding the psychological processes that drive motor performance, the ways in which learning can be stimulated and performance and the way in which perceptions can be effectively influenced can be increased. psychological and results. The Psychology of Sport finds its roots both in sports and movement sciences and in psychology. It is a specialization in applied psychology and sports sciences.

(Statement of the International Society of Sport Psychology)

The psychology of sport, at present, can perform its task in three directions:

Experimental address:

In this sector, sports psychology has made its own contribution to studies and research: motor learning and motor skills; psychomotility; the study of the personality of the athlete and his motivations; interest in the team as a group with particular laws and dynamics; the description of the psychological characteristics of the athlete for each sport; studies on pre-agonisic and stress anxiety, and on frustration, demoralization and reactive depression and finally the frequent abandonment of sports and agonistic activity by adolescents;

Application address:

The first phase is represented by the psychodiagnostic investigation, useful for assessing attitudes, abilities and to identify in the athlete any basic disorders. Individual or group interviews. The study of the psycho-physiological profile achievable with the use of bio-feedback instruments. The psycho-sociological investigation of the group allows to understand the existence of the hierarchies (leader-ship) existing within a group or a team and the relationship of the players with the coach (mister); use of psycho-physical relaxation and activation techniques; mental training (mental training) and ideo-motor training, the latter through some mental guidelines, memorized to be used to obtain a better and more fluid execution of technical-athletic gestures, both in training and in the competition.

Educational address:

Information, training and knowledge of sports psychology; courses for technicians, coaches, referees, managers, etc. to spread the knowledge of the basic principles of general psychology, social psychology, developmental age and the teaching techniques of communication and for the management of the team.

Sport Psychology is a vast current of thought where different doctrines (psychology, medicine, psychiatry, sociology, pedagogy, philosophy, hygiene, physical education, rehabilitation, etc.) come together and is therefore a subject of a multidisciplinary competence open to the contribution that each can bring based on your specific preparation. ( Antonelli and Salvini, 1978)

The Psychology of Sport is: (a) the study of mental and psychological factors that influence and are influenced by participation and performance in sport, exercise and physical activity and (b) the application of the knowledge acquired through this study which every day is done.

Professional Sports Psychology is interested in how participation in sport, exercise and physical activity can increase personal development and well-being throughout the life span. ( Association for the advancement of applied sports psychology (AAASP), 1985) .

The Psychology of Sport finds its roots both in sports and movement sciences and in psychology. It is a specialization in applied psychology and sports sciences. ( Statement of the International Society of Sport Psychology)

Sports psychology is the discipline that studies the psychological, social, pedagogical and psycho-physiological aspects of sport: by definition and necessity it draws lymph and content from multiple disciplines ranging from medicine to motor sciences, but over the years it has found its own precise and defined path of research and intervention. Initially, sports psychology tried to establish significant relationships between personality and sport, using diagnostic tools mainly from clinical psychology, but later specialized in mental preparation and skills that can be increased in the sportsman, namely attention, concentration, motivation, stress and anxiety management and much more.