Unit- 9
Psychology and sports
The word psychology is derived from a Greek
word ‘psyche’ and ‘logos’. ‘Psyche’ - soul or
mind’ and ‘logos - study’. Generally it is
accepted as study of behavior.
Psychology is used in sport to enhance
performance and to know the factors which
affect our performance, like - anxiety, stress,
personality, motivation, etc.
Optimum level of anxiety is essential to
perform in games and sports.
Sports psychology and its importance in the
field of sports.
Sports psychology is the branch of applied
psychology which deals with sports
performance and the Behavior of a player
during training or competitions.
Importance of Sports psychology is due to
Learning of Motor Skills Sports psychology
plays a major role in the learning of motor
skills. Motor skills learning depends on the
individual's level of readiness. Analyzing the
Behavior of Sportsmen Performance of a
player depends upon the behaviors
which are influenced by various factors such
as sex differences, family conditions,
personal background, heredity, growth,
physical and mental maturity levels etc.
Identifying Talent for Specific Sports Every
sports has specific psychological demands.
e. g boxing requires more aggressiveness,
whereas archery and shooting require more
concentration.
Stabilizing the Performance for Longer Period
It helps in stabilizing the performance of a
player for a longer period. Then the
performance of the player largely depends
upon his psychological make up and anxiety
level.
Important from Research Point of View
Sports psychologists works in very close
proximity to coaches to uplift the
performance of players. Research findings
help in promotion of sports and games.
Encouraging the Players to Make a
Comeback in Professional Sports Sports
psychology encourages the players, who, due
to injury or some accident, are forced to take
a long break from their professional career, to
return to their sport.
Personality its traits and types
Personality is the dynamic organization
within the individual of those psycho physical
systems which determine his unique
adjustment to his environment. Personality is
not static but a dynamic concept. It is
continuously chaning and growing. Children
may have identical environment. They may
have similar experiences but they react to the
same environment in different way.
Personality is a very important factor in
games and sports as it influence the
performance of individual by his/her level of
cognition, motivation, traits and behavior.
Types of Personality Introverts:- Introverts are
shy, self conscious quit retiring interested in
the own thoughts and feelings, inclined to
worry and easily upset.
Extroverts:- Extroverts are social, open frank,
outgoing, eager to do thing adaptable, not
easily worried or embarrassed and willing to
work with others.
Ambiverts:- In ambiverts both the
characteristics of introverts and extroverts
are found. In every person mostly both the
characteristics are found through one of
them may be predominant. Sports play a very
important role in personality development.
They improve the following qualities. (a) Self
concept (b) Mental toughness (c) Emotional
stability (d) Quick Decision (e) Planning
(Points to be explained) Sports and games
play an important role in the development of
human personality. They are no less
important than food and fresh water. Games
and sports help to combat anxiety,
depression and stress. Sports train
sportsmen to accept defeat gracefully and to
move on.
Traits of personality
Openness : persons wh like to lear new
things, new concepts and enjoy new
experiences usually remain on the top in
openness. It inclues traits like being
imaginative, insightful, and having a variety of
interests.
Conscientiousness: Persons who have a high
degree of conscientiousness are reliable and
prompt. Such persons remain organized,
systematic, laborious and complete in all
respects.
Extroversion: Extroverts gets their energy
from interacting with other individuals where
as introverts get their energy from within
themselves. Extroversion includes the traits
of being energetic, talkative and assertive.
Agreeableness: Such individuals are friendly,
cooperative, compatible, kind and gentle.
Persons with too agreeableness may be more
distant or aloof. They are usually kind,
generous, affectionate and sympathetic.
Neuroticism: Neuroticism is also called
emotional stability. This domain or
dimension relates to one’s emotional
stability and the degree of negative emotions.
Persons who have high neuroticism usually
experiences emotional instability and
negative emotions. Such individuals remain
moody and tense.
Sheldon’s classification of personality.
Endomorph: Endomorphs have a pear
shaped and a rounded physique. They have
short arms and legs. The upper parts of arms
and legs seem to be thicker than the lower
parts. They have underdeveloped muscles.
They are more inclined to become obese.
Their excessive mass hinders their ability to
compete in sports. These are most suitable
for activities in which great strength is
required.
Mesomorph: Mesomorphs have a
rectangular shaped body with athletic
physiques and a balanced body composition.
They are able to increase their muscles size
quickly and easily. They have thick bones and
muscles. Their chest and shoulders are
broader than the waistline. They can excel in
sports which require great strength, short
bursts of energy and lots of power because
they have enough strength, agility and speed.
Ectomorphs: Ectomorphs are usually
referred to as slim persons because their
muscles and limbs are elongated. They have
weak constitution of busy and face great
difficulty in gaining weight. They have flat
chest and have less muscle mass. They do
not have a lot of strength but they dominate
the endurance sports as their busy type is
naturally suited to perform wonderfully in
endurance sports. They are best suited for
games and sports like gymnastics and long
distance races.
Motivation and its types
Motivation means to be inspired to do
something. It is a kind of inner force which
energizes a man to make constant efforts.
According to Crook and Stein, "Motivation is
any condition that might energies and directs
our action.]
Motivation energizes an individual to behave
in particular way for attaining a specific goal.
Types of Motivation
There are two types of motivation
Intrinsic Motivation is within an individual
and guides him/her to perform better. It is
based upon needs, interest, nature,
emotions, social need etc. It also depends
upon knowledge of result, personal factor,
competition zeal etc. He/she participates in
sports for his/her own sake.
(ii) Extrinsic Motivation This motivation
depends upon environmental factors. It has a
great impact on an individual's performance.
It is of various types like rewards,
punishment, active participation, test
evaluation, teaching methods, equipment
and surroundings
(ì) Healthy Sports Environment A healthy
sports environment plays a vital role in
motivating the sportsperson. Healthy sport
environment consists of proper humidity and
temperature, smooth and clean sports fields,
good quality of sports equipment and other
facilities. Positive Attitude For proper
motivation, the coaches should try to
encourage positive attitude among
sportspersons. Players must think positively.
(ìì) Cash Prizes, Certificates and Trophies
These are good incentives to sportspersons.
Governments offer cash prizes to
sportspersons who win.
Self Esteem
What we think about the self, the total
evaluation of negative or positive about
oneself is called self esteem
Body Image
Body image is how and what you think and
feel about your body.
Factors influencing body image and self-
esteem
Media Images:- During teenage, the
teenagers become more aware of celebrities
and media images. They usually start to
compare themselves with media images and
celebrities.
Family and school:- We do not develop our
body image all on our own. The family, school
and other members of society can influence
our self-esteem and body image.
Life experience and natural ageing process:
Body image and self-esteem are also
significant factors which influence the body
image influence our body image and self-
esteem.
Types of aggression
Hostile aggression: Hostile aggression is
inflicting or causing harm whether it is
physical or psychological on someone else. It
is sometimes referred as reactive aggression
and can be accompanied by anger. In hostile
aggression the main aim is to cause injury to
other person. The intention is on causing pain
and suffering.
Instrumental aggression: Instrumental
aggression is displaying aggressive behavior
in pursuit of a non-aggressive goal. It is also
known as channeled aggression is not
accompanied by anger. Instrumental
aggression is behavior that has intent to hurt
in order to achieve money, praise or victory.
Assertive behavior: Assertive behavior is
different type of aggression/aggressive
behavior. This is defined as behavior that
involves the use of legitimate physical or
verbal force to achieve one’s purpose. In
Assertive behavior, the intention is to
establish dominance rather than to harm the
opponent.
