Sports Psychology: The Definition Of Sport Psychology

Introduction

A sport does not only contribute to the physical attributes of an individual but also plays an important part in improving the mental well being of the individual. It is not only important for someone to be physically fit to master a sport but also be psychologically stable. While one focuses on that, the former influences the latter and vice-verse.

When an individual exercises or plays the brain releases serotonin also known as the happy hormone. Seventy five percent of the serotonin regulates the intestinal movements and the rest is synthesised to

There are several people who have coined their own definition of the same. Here is one such definition coined by RS Weinberg and D Gould: “Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from many related fields including biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors.”

Applied sport psychology could include work with athletes, coaches, and parents regarding injury, rehabilitation, communication, team building, and career transitions other than instruction and training of psychological skills for performance improvement.

Very rarely does one fine a subject more intriguing than that of sports psychology especially when talking of sports in particular. It is a subject that coaches, athletes, and fans feel comfortable discussing, and that perhaps gives it that designation. The spectator does not usually offer a biochemical explanation for why an athlete achieved a near-superhuman feat, but the same spectator is ready to give a psychological explanation (e.g. mental toughness, motivation, strength of

Nonetheless, many instructors sought to explain the various phenomena associated and developed sport psychology laboratory. Contrary to popular belief Sports Psychology is not a recent subject but has been a performance booster for sportsmen since times immemorial. However the first such recorded study of sports psychology took place in America in the 1898 when Norman Scripture carried out the first legitimate recorded experiment related to sports psychology. The experiment found out that a bicyclist performed better when he was made to run with a pacemaker (i.e. a person who cycles along with you). However, the existence in its formal and professional form dates back to the early 1920’s. The birth of Sports Psychology in the form as we know of it today can be successfully accredited to Dr. Carl Diem who set up a laboratory in Berlin during the above mentioned period. Without getting much into the history of the subject it can be successfully concluded that the subject had caught the attention of many learned scholars of the field and has turned out to be a game changer in the life of the sportsmen of