Sport Performance & Psychology
HC1 – General introduction and motivation
Outline lecture 1
1. General introduction
2. The mental side of sport
3. Motivation: Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Literature:
Introducing sport psychology (Chapter 1, pp. 3-44) – Moran & Toner (2017)
Defining the practice of sport and performance psychology – Portenga et al (2017)
Self-Determination Theory in sport and exercise (Chapter 3, pp. 37-56) – Standage &
Ryan (2020)
Social media in sport (Chapter 13, pp. 153-164) – Ruser & Steinfeldt (2022)
Meaning and meaninglessness in elite sports (Chapter 3, pp. 31-44) – Beckmann
(2023)
Sample items exam
Which statement is true?
a. Motivation is the same as being “psyched up”.
b. Emphasizing the disastrous consequences of failure has been proven to be an
effective motivational tool.
c. Very high levels of arousal are known to impair both athletes’ technical performance
and concentration skills.
Dutch long-track ice skater Jorrit Bergsma about his goal for the Winter Olympics 10k race: “I
didn’t have a specific time in mind for my race; I just focused on a smooth technique during
the first part of the race. And after 5 k, my plan was to accelerate.”
He actually said: “I do not have ________ goal; I focused on my __________ goal.”
a. A self-based task – task-based
b. An other-based – self-based
c. A task-based – self-based
Four aspects of athletic performance
Psychological
Physical/Mental
Tactical
Technical
The mental side of sport
The key of performance under pressure (video): all you can control is how you play, the effort
that you bring, the decisions that you made;
Mental training is typically directed at avoiding performing losses: To teach, develop and
maintain mental skills that help athletes to focus exclusively on “how you play” (i.e., the task
at hand) while ignoring distractions, including internal distractors or self-generated concerns
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,arising from one’s own thoughts and feelings, and external distractors such as weather
conditions, the click of a camera, or actions by opponents or others.
How you play = How you can play - Performance Losses (= mental factors that keeps you
from achieving your top level)
Performance gains: Cause (potential) performance to increase over time (level of
consistency) how you can play.
Mental sides of sport is focussed on decreasing performance losses, but also increasing your
performance gains.
APA (1) Acknowledge, (2) Practice, (3) Act
(1) You know particular parts are important
(2) But because these things are important you need to practice for maintenance
(3) Do it, also use the technical skills under pressure
How important is the mental side of sport?
“if mental processes are crucial for athletic success, psychologist should be able to help
sports competitors to enhance their athletic performance…”
How?
By increasing their performance gains
By forestalling their performance losses
NOTE:
According to the members of the APA Division 47:
Applied sport psychology, a sub-field of performance psychology, is about enhancing
athletes’ performance and helping them reach their potential (rather than addressing mental
health issues)
However, part of the sport psychologists’ job responsibilities is to be able to provide
therapeutic services, likely by referral to a clinical specialist.
Sport psychologist are focused on enhancement.
For example, by developing individual mental toughness, regarded by athletes and
researchers as a key characteristic of successful athletes
What is ‘mental toughness’? How do you define, operationalize, and measure it?
Being skilled in emotional regulation
Resilience
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, o Everyone has different ideas of what it is.
In video some examples of mental toughness
o Mental toughness is one of the most important key factors for success carrier
o The “FIRE” (willing to win) and “ICE” (accepting losses) situation
o Seeing positives in tough moments; giving all you have, always trying your
very best; believe in your game plan.
Mental toughness in the sport psychological literature
“Hardiness is a constellation of personality characteristics that enables people to mitigate the
adverse effects of stressful situations”
3 dimensions
1. Control = the capacity to feel and act as if one could exert an influence in the
situation in question
2. Challenge = the habit of perceiving potentially stressful situations as positive
opportunities rather than as threats
3. Commitment = stickability or the extent to which an individual is likely to persist with
a goal or work task
4C’s model of Mental toughness
4. Hardiness + (4) Confidence = a strong belief in one’s ability to complete a task
successfully
However, little agreement exists about what the construct itself actually means – or about
what theoretical mechanisms underlie it.
Just to name a few..
The capacity to balance Fire and Ice?
Having an insatiable desire to succeed?
Being able to thrive on the pressure of competition?
Being able to ignore other’s performance?
Being able to switch focus when required?
Being able to push oneself through physical and emotional pain?
See the positives in tough moments?
Having diverse experiences such as over coming hardship?
The capacity to push oneself to the limit?
The ability to remain calm under pressure?
Making sense of this profusion of definitions of mental toughness (as well as of other
concepts) and theories about how to develop it, requires you to develop and showcase a
critical understanding of relevant material
How important is the mental side of sport?
Sports is 90% mental Disagree
If people lack the competence, that is, do not have the fitness, strength, and technical
and tactical skills required, the mental piece is completely irrelevant.
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, People tend to overestimate the impact of mental factors. That is, amateur athletes
tend to explain their inconsistency or lack of progress to mental factors (“it’s between
my ears”).
o However, low-competent individuals typically perform inconsistently, also in
low pressure situations. Thus, competence rather than mental factors
determine (fluctuations in) performance.
Sports is 90% mental Agree
When competing against an opponent of similar ability, mental factors make the
difference
Why? Mental factors are more sensitive to pressure situations than physical,
technical, and tactical factors.
That is, mental factors determine athletes’ performance losses
And mental factors facilitate the development of physical, technical, and tactical
expertise (i.e. performance gains).
The correct answer may be that it is not possible to determine the weight of each separate
component because…:
… ‘weight’ is a function of (among others) person, time, context, and moment
… the difference components (body and mind, Yin & Yang) are actually inseparable
In any case, mental factors, as part of an holistic system, are critical predictors of
performance gains and performance losses.
And the ‘90% mental’ statement stimulates discussions about the mental side of sport.
What does research say about the development of the world’s best talent?
Expertise, or the capacity to perform = ‘how you can play’; skills; abilities; knowledge
o The role of genetics versus practice and training
Opportunity to perform
o Social support (e.g. parents and coaches)
o Athlete support programs
o Birthdate (‘the relative age effect’)
o Birthplace
The mind to perform motivation
o Personality traits
o Psychological skills and motivational orientations
There is now empirical evidence that more successful athletes…
… display higher levels of motivation
… command a wide range of mental skills (e.g., goal-setting, anxiety control, and self-
talk)
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