Critical issues confronting the advancement of applied sport psychology

Abstract

Despite considerable progress over the last 10 years, applied sport psychology confronts several persistent issues that continue to limit the growth and development of the field. Specifically, issues requiring more comprehensive and proactive attention and initiatives include: the training of graduate students, the accreditation of graduate programs, the job market, and the establishment of systematic educational outreach programs. Suggestions are offered regarding how enhancements in each of the aforementioned issues can be initiated, and potential benefits gained by students, faculty, and the general public are identified and discussed. Given the climate in many academic institutions emphasizing program downsizing, sport psychology may be approaching and confronting one of the most crucial crossroads in its existence. Without direct efforts to assure academic credibility and public confidence in the standards of training and practice, sport psychology may fail to actualize a meaningful future role in the competitive field of allied health service provision.     

Assumptions in research in sport and exercise psychology

ObjectivesThe aim of this article is to outline how certain key assumptions affect the quality and interpretation of research in quantitative sport and exercise psychology.MethodsA review of three common assumptions made in the sport and exercise psychology literature was conducted. The review focused on three assumptions relating to research validity and the treatment and interpretation of observations. A central theme to this discussion is the assumption that research observations reflect true effects in a population.ResultsAssumptions often made in sport and exercise psychology research were identified in three key areas: (1) validity, (2) inferences of causality, and (3) effect size and the “practical significance” of research findings. Findings indicated that many studies made assumptions about the validity of the self-report psychological measures adopted and few provided a comprehensive evaluation of the validity of these measures. Researchers adopting correlational designs in sport and exercise psychology often infer causality despite such conclusions being based on theory or speculation rather than empirical evidence. Research reports still do not include effect size statistics as standard and confine the discussion of findings to statistical significance alone rather than commenting on “practical significance”.ConclusionResearch quality can only be evaluated with due consideration of the common assumptions that limits empirical investigation in sport and exercise psychology. We offer some practical advice for researchers, reviewers, and journal editors to minimise the impact of these assumptions and enhance the quality of research findings in sport and exercise psychology.     

Sport Psychology Foundations,Organizations, and Related Resources

SUMMARY

The purpose of this article is to introduce psychologists and counselors who work in schools to the field of applied sport psychology. We begin with a brief history of how applied sport psychology developed in North America and other parts of the world. Landmark events such as the development of conferences, professional organizations and scholarly publications are described. This is followed by a discussion of the breadth of services that are typically provided by sport psychologists. The third section examines some of the current issues related to the training of sport psychologists. The final section introduces the reader to organizations, journals, texts, and on-line resources so they may learn more about the theory, research, and practice of Sport psychology.     

Ethical considerations in the supervision of applied sport psychology graduate students

Abstract

Some of the most important relationships that a sport psychologist experiences in his or her career are between the supervisor and supervisee in applied practica and internships. These relationships may become models for future professional and ethical behavior with colleagues, students, and clients, and thus deserve careful examination. Ethics form a foundation for practice, and while classroom discussions of ethical issues help educate graduate students, the supervisor-supervisee relationship may provide a hands-on experience of ethical dilemmas and ethical problem solving. Ethics in supervisor-supervisee relationships cover at least two broad areas. First, there is the supervisor's monitoring and mentoring of ethical considerations in the supervisee's relationship with the athlete-client. Second, ethical questions arise in the relationship between the supervisor and the supervisee. The present paper includes discussion of general supervisory issues (e.g., modeling ethical behavior, helping develop counseling skills) and explores the specific ethical problems of referring for counseling, intimacy, and exploitation. Also, three case examples illustrate ethical concerns that may appear in the process of applied sport psychology supervision. Broadening education in ethical issues in supervision for both psychology and exercise science graduate programs may help future practitioners better serve their clients.     

Reproducible research in sport and exercise psychology: The role of sample sizes

ObjectivesWe aim to introduce the discussion on the crisis of confidence to sport and exercise psychology. We focus on an important aspect of this debate, the impact of sample sizes, by assessing sample sizes within sport and exercise psychology. Researchers have argued that publications in psychological research contain numerous false-positive findings and inflated effect sizes due to small sample sizes.MethodWe analyse the four leading journals in sport and exercise psychology regarding sample sizes of all quantitative studies published in these journals between 2009 and 2013. Subsequently, we conduct power analyses.ResultsA substantial proportion of published studies does not have sufficient power to detect effect sizes typical for psychological research. Sample sizes and power vary between research designs. Although many correlational studies have adequate sample sizes, experimental studies are often underpowered to detect small-to-medium effects.ConclusionsAs sample sizes are small, research in sport and exercise psychology may suffer from false-positive results and inflated effect sizes, while at the same time failing to detect meaningful small effects. Larger sample sizes are warranted, particularly in experimental studies.     

Women Working in the Applied Domain: Examining the Gender Bias in Applied Sport Psychology

Abstract

The field of applied sport psychology has witnessed a large increase in the number of sport psychology consultants working with athletes, coaches, and teams (Waite & Pettit, 1993). However, despite this growth, there exists a distinct gender bias within the applied domain. Applied sport psychology consists of primarily white, middle-class males (Gill, 1994; Gould, Tammen, Murphy, & May, 1989; Lee & Rotella, 1991). The current reality is that the most visible, high-level applied sport psychology positions are occupied by men. The purposes of this paper are to examine the gender bias embedded within applied sport psychology, present several explanations for the marginalization of women within the field, critically examine previous suggestions provided, and introduce possible recommendations for increasing gender equity within applied sport psychology.     

When Sport psychology consultants and graduate students are impaired: Ethical and legal issues in training and supervision

Abstract

Impaired sport psychology consultants, that is, professionals and graduate students whose behavior, inadequate training, personal situations, or psychopathology are having a negative influence on the delivery of services, have the potential to do harm to athlete-clients, damage their own professional standing, and bring disrepute to the field. The applied sport psychology literature is replete with guidelines and suggestions for referring athletes for counseling or psychotherapy when appropriate (e.g., Heyman & Andersen, 1998), but the ethical, legal, and procedural problems associated with sport psychology consultants whose training or mental conditions suggest the need for remediation, rehabilitation, or psychotherapy, and possible removal from seeing clients, has not been addressed. We describe a variety of situations where student and professional functioning might be impaired, discuss the possible ramifications (legal, ethical) of impairment, and provide suggestions for ways to proceed when sport psychology consultants are in psychological difficulty.     

Exploring the life skills needs of British adolescent athletes

ObjectivesYouth sport programs have been designed to facilitate positive development of young sports people by teaching life skills. It is unclear which life skills are needed by adolescent athletes and which life skills should be included in youth sport programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how life skills are defined, which life skills British adolescent athletes need, and which life skills are the most important.Design and methodNineteen adolescent athletes, 10 coaches, 4 experts in sport psychology (pilot group) and 5 graduate students (pilot group) participated in a series of focus groups. An inductive analysis revealed how life skills are defined, which life skills British adolescent athletes need, and of these skills which are the most important.ResultsLife skills were defined as ranges of transferable skills needed for everyday life, by everybody, that help people thrive. Participants described the need for interpersonal skills including social skills, respect, leadership, family interactions, and communication. Personal skills including self-organization, discipline, self-reliance, goal setting, managing performance outcomes, and motivation, were also reported. Social skills were identified as the most important life skills.ConclusionsIn conclusion, findings add support to existing positive youth development research while adding an insight into which life skills should be built into youth sport programs in the United Kingdom.     

FEPSAC's role and position in the past and in the future of sport psychology in Europe

ObjectivesOn the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC), this article aims to give an overview of the development of sport psychology in Europe and the role FEPSAC played in this period, and draw some conclusions for the future challenges facing FEPSAC.MethodHermeneutical interpretation of historical documents available from FEPSAC and other sources.Results and conclusionIt is argued that sport psychology in Europe developed independently from the discipline in America, but also with great variety, due to different cultural, linguistic, and psychological traditions. The separation of Europe in two socio-economical and political blocks after World War II even strengthened these differences. When sport psychology started to recover after the damages of the war, a continental organisation was established as a logical consequence of the historically related differences. The strategic orientation of FEPSAC in the period of the two blocks is characterised by a diplomatic balance and high respect of the language and cultural differences, necessary requirements to allow maintaining the mutual exchange in areas of common interest. After the fall of the Berlin wall, the major strategic goals of FEPSAC revolved around: keeping contact with the Eastern European sport psychologists despite the economic difficulties in these countries; finding a common European understanding and giving this a voice in the world; and the support of the young generation and the development of sport psychology as a professional field. Unification and diversification are identified as the future challenges FEPSAC will be facing when attempting to remain the leading sport psychology organisation in Europe.     

Emotional Experiences of Youth Sport Parents I: Anger

Abstract

Recent research in sport psychology has focused on the role of the athlete's knowledge base in defining high-level sport performance. However, few studies have attempted to examine this knowledge directly, largely because of the methodological challenges involved (Allard &; Burnett, 1985). One effective approach to investigating expertise in other domains has been to examine ways in which experts sort and categorize domain-related problems, and the bases on which these categories are formed. Problem-sorting methodologies are difficult to apply in the sport context, however, because sport performance problems are generally ill-defined. The present paper describes a methodological approach designed to identify and quantify problems which define an athlete's working knowledge of a given sport, as well as the criteria athletes use to cognitively organize their knowledge of these problems. This approach combines qualitative methods, such as structured interviewing and card-sorting techniques, with repertory grid and multidimensional scaling statistical procedures. The data of an elite male cyclist were presented to illustrate how these methods might be applied in sport settings.     

Narrative inquiry in sport and exercise psychology: What can it mean,and why might we do it?

ObjectivesNarrative inquiry is one form of qualitative research that is burgeoning within the human sciences. However, in sport and exercise psychology little attention has been given to this approach. In this article, we seek to rectify this situation by offering an understanding of what narrative inquiry can be.ResultsIn order to begin to better understand what narrative inquiry as a methodology can be, and gain some theoretical purchase on a difficult field without aiming for a final answer, we first define narrative. Next, a distillation of guiding assumptions and characteristics are offered. Finally, some reasons as to why narratives may be of benefit for the field of sport and exercise psychology are highlighted.ConclusionNarrative inquiry is a useful and important way of theorising and doing research in the domain of sport and exercise psychology. It should not, however, be taken up or practised simply because it is new or fashionable. Informed, principled, and responsible choices must be made by researchers and applied professionals about why and when they might engage with narrative inquiry should they wish to do so.     

Toward a psychoeducational curriculum for training sport-injury rehabilitation personnel

Abstract

This paper addresses significant gaps in the wining programs of sport-injury rehabilitation personnel (SIRPs) in the psychology ma. The main aim of the article is to offer for consideration a psychoeducational curriculum that is specifically designed for the training of professionals who work with injured athletes. In addition to describing the applied implications of research on the psychological aspects of sport injuries for professional practitioners. reviews of what SIRPs consider is missing-but-desirable in their professional wining. and the effectiveness of certain psychological strategies, are presented. Finally. an overview of a prototypical three-year curriculum for professional training programs is outlined.     

What in the world is happening in sport psychology

Abstract

The field of sport psychology is advancing at a rapid rate in many parts of the world, considering the numbers of journals and scholarly articles being produced, the formation of professional societies, and the educational and interventional services being provided to participants in sport and exercise programs. One international direction in sport psychology research is the study of cognitive processes associated with excellence in performance. Cognitive and psychological loads associated with different activities are being determined in order to identify how best to optimize such loads. With a comparison of expert and novice performers, especially under laboratory sport-simulated conditions, researchers are learning more about how individuals possessing different levels of skill manage and respond to information present in the performance situation. Cognitive considerations in the learning and performing of sports skills are receiving more attention by the sport psychology researcher as well as by the consultant.     

Where is Safeguarding in Sport Psychology Research and Practice?

Recent cases of sexual abuse of athletes have drawn significant concern amongst stakeholders in sport and the public at-large. The fact that the perpetrators in many cases of athlete abuse had numerous victims over the span of several years raises questions of who might have known or suspected that athletes were being harmed. Sexual abuse cases should serve as an impetus for all of us in sport psychology to interrogate our roles and responsibilities as consultants and researchers in the protection of athletes. We propose that future research in applied sport psychology and education of consultants address maltreatment and safeguarding.

Lay Summary: In the following article, we propose that more attention in the research and practice of sport psychology should be devoted to understanding maltreatment of athletes and ways to protect athletes from harm.     

A School Psychologist's Self-Study Guide to Sport Psychology

SUMMARY

School psychologists may find the field of sport psychology beneficial to them in extending their skills and effectiveness. As trained psychologists, they are likely to already have some of the knowledge and skills necessary for working in the area of sport psychology. However, without additional training, this may not be sufficient for ethical and effective practice. This article enumerates the necessary knowledge and skills for working in sport psychology according to APA's recent proficiency standards. It then details a plethora of available resources and methods for entering into the domain of sport psychology. The article emphasizes self-study while continuing to practice ethically within the ‘boundaries of one's competence.’     

An ethnographic study of issues surrounding the provision of sport opportunities to young men from a western Canadian inner-city

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine issues surrounding the provision of sport opportunities to young men from inner-city areas of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. More specifically, the research question was: What are the benefits, constraints, and opportunities associated with providing sport programs to young men from inner-city areas?DesignEthnography.MethodsData were collected via 15 months of participant observation and interviews with 12 youth workers who were responsible for the provision of various sport programs to young inner-city dwellers. Analysis was framed around personal, social, and structural issues.ResultsAt a personal level sport provided young men with an outlet for overcoming boredom and a temporary reprieve from the conditions of their daily lives. At a social level sport provided opportunities for relationship building between the youth workers and the young men. However, enduring structural constraints associated with economic and social inequality and the lack of a coordinated approach to the delivery of services restricted the influence that sport could have in the lives of the young men.ConclusionThis study provided some precise understandings of the benefits, constraints, and opportunities associated with providing sport programs to members of specific populations in certain inner-city circumstances. Findings, therefore, have the potential to inform public health policy concerning the use of sport-for-development programming in such contexts.     

Evolutionary sport and exercise psychology: Integrating proximate and ultimate explanations

ObjectivesThis review aims to demonstrate the utility of integrating the insights of evolutionary psychology with sport and exercise psychology. Specifically, we offer a primer on evolutionary psychology that we then discuss in the context of several research avenues in sport and exercise. Next, we discuss how evolutionary psychology can inform our understanding of sporting culture.DesignReview paper.MethodsTheory and research are selectively reviewed in efforts to demonstrate the utility and limits of evolutionary psychology as an approach to sport and exercise psychology.Results and conclusionsEvolutionary psychology offers researchers in sport and exercise psychology an improved capacity to produce proximate explanations (i.e., how psychological mechanisms interact with the environment to produce behavior) by generating productive and novel hypotheses from ultimate explanations (i.e., why a psychological mechanism evolved a particular design; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992, 2005). The worth of integrating proximate and ultimate explanations is demonstrated by the ensuing novel insights of popular avenues of sport and exercise psychology including (a) the interrelation between motivation and reasoning and their relative influence on exercise behavior, (b) sex differences in sport participation, (c) performance in sport, and (d) group dynamics in sport. Unlike specific fields of psychology, evolutionary psychology is a metatheoretical approach that can foster mutually productive linkages between currently disparate areas within sport and exercise psychology, and with neighboring disciplines.     

A Preliminary Investigation into the Use of Humor in Sport Psychology Practice

“Creative efforts,” such as the use of humor, have been found to be beneficial to the nurse–patient, teacher–student, and psychologist–patient alliance. Potentially humor use might benefit the working alliance in applied sport psychology, yet to date there is limited research. Sport psychology consultants (n?=?55) completed an online survey that explored humor use within their practice. Statistical analyses revealed that most participants used humor for adaptive purposes such as to facilitate the working alliance, reinforce knowledge, and create healthy learning environments. Therefore, possible client change is likely to be facilitated by practitioners’ personal qualities and skills such as humor use and humor style. Recommendations are made for sport psychology practitioners in relation to humor use and further research. Increasing recognition has been given to the importance of the professional relationship between the client and practitioner within sport psychology consultancy as a means of facilitating client change. The present study demonstrated that use of humor by practitioners is an important part of enhancing the professional relationship and therefore potentially client change.

Lay Summary: Increasing recognition has been given to the importance of the professional relationship between the client and practitioner within sport psychology consultancy as a means of facilitating client change. The present study demonstrated that use of humor by practitioners is an important part of enhancing the professional relationship, and therefore potentially client change.     

Raising Our Game: The Necessity and Progression of Expertise-Based Training in Applied Sport Psychology

At present, training in applied sport psychology chiefly targets and accelerates professional competence. However, theory and evidence suggests that our clients would experience significant benefit if our training targeted and accelerated professional expertise rather than just competence. Specifically, we argue that expertise-based training can (a) help trainees to go on to break the “thinking ceiling” of competence; (b) foster a more independent, flexible, and creative form of practice; and (c) support a longer term and more practitioner-centered training philosophy. To deliver these benefits, we then conclude by outlining some key principles for the progression of expertise-based training in applied sport psychology.

Lay Summary: In light of the inconsistencies that still surround professional training in ASP, we discuss the merits that a more expertise-based agenda can bring to practitioners and, most important, our clients. We also discuss ways in which this agenda can be progressed to support an evidence-informed evolution of ASP training systems.     

Using Ethnography in Applied Sport Psychology

The acceptance of qualitative research in applied sport psychology is growing steadily, yet there are continued calls for greater methodological diversity in this research. To this end, we offer ethnography to extend and enhance our understanding of applied sport psychology. Ethnography is aimed toward understanding the culture of a particular group from the perspective of the group members. The group culture, then, will lend insight into the behaviors, values, emotions, and mental states of group members. Ethnographers employ multiple methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the social environment and perceptions of the members of the social group. In this paper, we discuss the epistemological and methodological foundations of ethnography. Then, using research examples related to applied sport psychology, we describe processes involved ethnographic research. Finally, we explore the issues of representation and legitimacy in ethnography.