The Role of Stimulation in Cognitive Sport Psychology - Essay Example

The role of stimulation in cognitive sport psychology Introduction: Every work has a psychology behind it. And dealing with psychological matters is an art not a science. And this art is not common in every person. The main reason behind any successful man is to maintain their psychological level in relation with workload. Sport psychology depends upon the use of mental skills and practical strategies. Many prominent athletes believe that sport is played with the body but it is won in the mind. This believe particularly refers to the situation of some good profile athletes, for the bad performance in major events. Recent research on have proved that on the psychological factors are associated with athletic success. These psychological factors affect directly to all competitive games in both case, as a team work as in individual sports. It is evident as many world class golf players like Ernie Els (Davies, 2002), PadraigHarrington (Gilleece, 2002), Retief Goosen (Hannigan, 2001a), Phil Mickelson (Browne,2000), Alison Nicholas (St John, 1997) and Colin Montgomerie (Fleming, 2003) have stated that the sport psychology played a vital role to their success in recent years. In the light of sport psychology there are some major psychological reasons that can effect on the athlete’s performance at big events. Some psychological reasons are examined below critically. Psychological pressure for athletes is described as his thoughts to perform well under challenging situations. Psychological pressure is like a bomb and diffusing this bomb is the key idea behind the success any athlete. Psychological pressure directly affects the confidence level of an athlete, and as the confidence is the heart of any game, while losing the confidence level can create ambiguities for any athlete. This factor is also stated by the Glen Hoddle who is the manager of Tottenham Hotspur football team and the manager of England “Eighty percent of the game is about confidence. It’s is mind” It is necessary for any athlete to control his nerves while performance. This factor is also cited in C.Smith, 1998, P.1 by Darren Clarck who is the Ryder Cup player “the key to my game in recent time has been my attitude” Athlete’s own mental thoughts and the abilities to concentrate on the game is also play a big role in success. Olympic champions (Gould, Dieffenbach and Moffett, 2002) indicate that “mental toughness and the ability to concentrate effectively are among the factors which distinguish top athletes from less successful counterparts”. This factor is also cited in Pitt, 1998b P 13 by an English Tennis player Tim Henman that “the mental side is the difference between the top guys and the rest” Mental thought of an athlete is the term referred to different thoughts of process. With the help of mental thoughts an athlete can deal the pressure easily. Two recent studies about the mental thoughts are helpful in sport psychology. The first theory is by Clough at el in which he attempted to define a measure of thoughts using the model of Kobsa (1979). With the help of this theory later researcher discovered that some people have good ability to deal with adverse circumstances with the help of their mental thoughts. Another common psychological issue with athletes in major games is stress. Stress has the direct effect on the mental skills such as relaxation. As practical example for an athlete stress of a huge crowd can be a factor of stress and this stress management is the key for an athlete or even every player performing in any game. Most of players have experienced on the field when nothing seems to go right. Players get a lot of problems like mismanagement of work, take wrong decisions while training. The same various errors often happen in the important major game. Athletes, who have dealt with much psychological stress, have greater chance to lose the ability to make clear decisions. There is a need for an aggressive approach to deal with the level of psychological stress. Theories such as Arousal and Anxiety can also play a vital role for athlete while handling with psychological issues. As many people use the terms Arousal, anxiety and stress interchangeably, but in sort psychology there is much difference among them. Arousal is a psychological activity in a person that refers to the situation of motivation for any particular moment. Arousal is automatically associated with pleasant or unpleasant events. For example an athlete might be highly aroused by learning the reward of success. Arousal involves both a physiological response and cognitive processes e.g. increased heart rate and appraisal of any event respectively. Anxiety refers to negative form of arousal. It reflects to the situation of moment to moment changes in worries and negative thoughts. As in the case of negative motivation the fear of failure is developed in the athlete’s mind. The negative pressure can be in any forms e.g. by parents, coaches and friends. Due to their pressure the athlete don’t want to see him as a looser in a society and therefore the fear factor for failure ruin the athlete’s mind and arousal. As stated in Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology by Robert S. Weinberg, Daniel Gould, sometime on athletes the psychological pressure is generated by other particularly by parents. They want to see their child as a worthy one in society, due to this factor Anxiety condition is developed in the mind of athlete. In addition there are also some internal and self-generated factors like high expectations about winning, over estimation of abilities, Fear of big events. As it is mentioned by Olympic athlete Steve Backley in The Winning Mind, he wrote that his own thoughts about his strengths and weakness helped him a lot in determining whether he performed well or not. While mentioning the journey of his own career from a starter to a successful athlete he mentioned that he felt himself underprepared for the bigger events, after experiencing success often as a junior, he found himself under-prepared for the mental hurdles and barriers created by higher-level competition. Conclusion: In short the psychological strategies can play a vital role in athlete performance. It also cited in “The Winning Mind” “Backley says psychological strategies were the key to helping him to deal with this competitive stress”. Experience, confidence, and beliefs also play the vital roles in athletes’ performance. Simply Psychological factors do not necessarily represent what the outcome will be, nor does it represent the most likely result. It really represents the level of external or internal factors those have huge effect on athlete’s mind. References: Risk in Sports: Definitions, Theories, Psychological Profile of the Participants. Hellenic Academy of Physical Education, 2007. Internet resource. Weinberg, Robert S, and Daniel Gould. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2003. Print. Silva, John M, and Robert S. Weinberg. Psychological Foundations of Sport. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1984. Print. Cox, Richard. Sports Psychology. London: McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. (ISE Editions, 1998. Print. Hemingway, Jack, and Geoffrey Norman. A Life Worth Living: The Adventures of a Passionate Sportsman. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2002. Print. Hackfort, Dieter, and Charles D. Spielberger. Anxiety in Sports: An International Perspective. New York: Hemisphere Pub. Corp, 1989. Print. Suinn, Richard M, and Robert D. Clayton. Psychology in Sports: Methods and Applications. Minneapolis, Minn: Burgess Pub. Co, 1980. Print. Backley, Steve, and Ian Stafford. The Winning Mind: A Guide to Achieving Success and Overcoming Failure. London: Aurum Press, 1996. Print. Mann, DT, AM Williams, P Ward, and CM Janelle. "Perceptual-cognitive Expertise in Sport: a Meta-Analysis." Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. 29.4 (2007): 457-78. Print Read More