The Field of Sports Psychology - Essay Example

The Field of Sports Psychology Psychologists are known to be innovators who from developed knowledgeevolve approaches that are fresh and new to suit demands in the society, people and organizations. Generally speaking, psychology is a broad field which involves basic and applied research, consultation to organizations and community, and diagnosis and treatment of people. They also test intelligence and personality, study mental functions wellbeing and behavior. Psychologists study relationship between human being, and how human beings relate to each other (American Psychological Association, p2). One of the subfields of psychology that is of interest to me as an individual is sports psychology. Sports psychology is simply the study of how sports, athletism, exercise, and physical activities are influenced by psychology (Silva 266). Sport psychologists work together with coaches and athletes in an attempt to improve performance and motivation. Some make the use of sports and exercise to improve how people live throughout their whole lives. The history of sports psychology is a short one that can be traced back to 1920 when the first sports psychology laboratory was founded by Carl Diem at the Deutsche Sporthochschule in Berlin, Germany. Five years later saw the arrival of two more laboratories one at the Institute of Physical Culture in Leningrad andat the University of Illinois by A. Z. Puni and Coleman Griffith respectively (Silva 269). The first course in sports psychology was offered by Griffith in 1923 and later went ahead to write the first book on the subject known as Psychology of coaching. The industry experienced a downward trend with the closure of Griffith’s lab due to lack of funds but then experienced a revived interest in 1960s when Ferruccio Antonelli started the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) in 1965. By 1970s sports psychology had become a course offered in universities and in 1980s it became a center of focus for rigorous research by scientists on how to use psychology to enhance performance of sportsmen and to use exercise as a means to improve mental well being and reduce stress. The modern day sports psychology is a bit broader in scope. While it focuses on how to improve performance and motivation of athletes, it also plays a major part in enhancing well being of those who are not sportsmen (Silva 267). Sports psychology has a number of topics to cover, some professionals prefer focusing on just a few areas that interest them, while others take on the broader way of the subject. Three common techniques include imagery which involves having a vision of a task performance, for example taking part in a sports event or successfully mastering a given skill (Weinberg 4). Motivation is a key technique in sports psychology, here motivators are divided into two; extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic includes external influencing factors such as money, trophies, medals and recognition, intrinsic include those that come from within such as desire to win and pride attached to a certain skill. The third is attention focus that is the ability to keep out distraction such as funs screaming and keep focus on what is to be performed (Weinberg 7). Taking a career into sports psychology is an interesting choice especially for those passionate about sports and physical activities. As stated by the American Association of Psychology (par. 2), sports psychology involves motivation to persistence and achievement, importance of psychology to injury and recovery, techniques for counseling, talent assessment, and self perception in regards to achievement, sports expertise among others. The two key areas involving sports psychology are; understanding means in which psychology can be put to application to enhance motivation and performance; and understands how to use sports and athletics to improve mental health and general well being. Sports psychologists have the choice to specialize in so many areas, some of which may include; applied sports psychology whose major focus is on teaching skills to enhance performance of an athlete such as imagery and setting of goals. Clinical sports psychology takes up a combination of mental training strategies of sports psychology and psychotherapy in an aim of assisting a client with mental issues such as depression and eating problems. Academic sports psychology involves teaching in colleges and universities, and also research conducting (Danish, Forneris, & Wallace 48). Sports psychologists are involved in a number of tasks that are required in sports performance and education. While some choose to teach in colleges, others take up roles in working with athletes directly to enhance performance and motivation (Danish, Forneris, & Wallace 50). Others also do client counseling, scientific research and athlete counseling. Besides working with athletes, sports psychologists also work to improve well being of non sportsmen. Their clientele is of a wide range that includes children, teens, professional athletes, teams who need to enhance their performance and athletes under injury that need to recover to get back to their careers. The general pay in sports psychology is modest depending on one’s education, training, and area of work. As stated by the occupational outlook that was published by the U.S. labor department; clinical and counseling psychologists earn between $41,850 and $71,880. In 2001 the average salary for a psychologist teaching at the university was $55,000 as surveyed by American psychological Association (6). Some sports psychologists earn salaries that are six figures given that they are professional consultants for athletes. For one to land a position as a sports psychologist, qualifications mostly require master’s degree or doctorate in clinical, counseling or even sports psychology (Cherry par 6). Besides there must be a direct training with experience in applied psychology in sports and exercise. There are a few different professional certifications offered by the American Board of Sports Psychology with the Board Certified Sports Psychologist-Diplomat being the highest level. This simply shows that the holders training is advanced and has experience in sports psychology. This also shows their awareness of ethics, methods, and research issues related to athletes performance enhancement. Holders of such certifications are also qualified to be clinical, counseling or health psychologists. Due to the fact that there exist just a few graduate programs for sports psychology, it is not easy to determine the exact combination of training that qualifies one to be called a sports psychologist. According to division 47 of APA a sports psychologist is a licensed psychologist that has experience in applied psychological principles in sports. Also recommended is for a professional to have elaborate training in sports, motivation, performance and athletics. Sports psychology has both advantages and disadvantages, some advantages include the fact that they work as part of a team that collaborates. Secondly the career paths are numerous and diverse and lastly it is a fun career that can be enjoyed. The down side include emphasis on collaboration may seem difficult for independent minded people and it calls for an elaborate training and experience. Lastly the opportunities require bachelor s and masters degrees (Chery par. 14). In conclusion, sports psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with performance enhancement and motivation improvement of athletes and also the mental well being of none athletes. A few techniques put into use by psychologists include imagery, motivation and attention focus with the aim of achieving improved performance. This type of psychology has a number of areas of expertise that can be summarized under three groups; applied sports psychology, clinical sports psychologyand academic sports psychology. The general pay of a psychologist depends on their specialty, clinical and counseling psychologists earn between $41,850 and $71,880, while university faculty earn about $55,000. Others earn a six figure salary because they are hired as direct professional consultants to athletes. Positions for sports psychology requires a high level of training, some require masters degree while some require doctorate degree. A few call for undergraduate degrees especial for internship. Despite the high level of training, experience in sports psychology is also a major requirement in this field. These requirements are seen as disadvantages of the field alongside emphasis on team work that may not work well with individual minded people. Advantages include fun of work and a vast choice of career. Works Cited American Psychological Association. Career in psychology, what is psychology. 2014. http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/careers.aspx?item=1 Cherry K. Career profile: sports psychology. 2014. http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologycareerprofiles/p/sportspsyc.htm Cherry K. What is sports psychology? 2014. http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/f/what-is-sports-psychology.htm Danish, S.J., Forneris, T., & Wallace, I. Sport-based life skills programming in the schools. Journal of Applied School Psychology, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 41-62. 2005. Print. Silva, J. M. Toward the professionalization of sport psychology. The Sport Psychologist, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 265-273. 1989. Print. Weinberg, R. Does imagery work? Effects on performance and mental skills. Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-21. 2008. Print. Read More