Psychology concepts and applications

¶ … Athletes Train both Physically and Psychologically as They Prepare for and Participate in Competitive Sports, by Joe Palca. Specifically, it will summarize and react to the essay.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORTS

This transcript of a live call in show on National Public Radio (NPR) discusses the psychology of winning in sports, and why some athletes simply win more because of their attitudes. Palca speaks with athletes Joanna Zeiger, a member of the U.S. Olympic triathlon team, and Casey FitzRandolph, a member of the U.S. speed skating team and a 1998 Winter Olympian, to discover how they prepare themselves before competitions, and with several experts to discover what they have studied about the successful psychology of winning in sports. The athletes also discuss how they deal with losing. The experts discuss the successful strategies some athletes use for mentally preparing before competitions, and find that most successful athletes use some form of psychology when they compete.

Ziegler notes how she prepares for competitions, "Usually before the race I like to try and keep my mind clear. I try and do all of my mental preparation and all of my imagery in the days coming up to the race" (Palca), and FitzRandolph concurs. "Yeah, definitely clearing the mind and achieving the focus is a big thing. I think not only leading up to but even during the race, I try to focus on -- I mean, no matter how well I'm skating, no matter how good anybody is competing, there's always things that could be better" (Palca). One of the experts, Dr. Brad Hatfield, who is President of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity; University of Maryland, explains these mental processes as "mental economy," a psychological term referring to blocking out certain thoughts in the mind.

Well, one thing they're describing is actually a principle that's very consistent with our thinking, Joe, and we use a term called 'mental economy,' because the mind is very complex and it can wander, and if you think too much about what you're doing, or if you worry about the outcome, then the communication between the brain and the muscles -- it becomes too busy (Palca).

Later, Hatfield expands on his research. "And what we tend to find is that people who are superior performers tend to relax certain areas of the brain" (Palca). Clearly, the psychology of winning in sports is complex and differs with each athlete, but there are certain similarities in many athletes who consistently perform better. Another expert, Dr. Dan Gould, who is the Director of the Sport and Exercise Psychology Lab at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, concurs with the athletes and the other experts about these similarities. "I think there are certain mental skills that I kind of like to think of practically for increasing the probability of success if you use them" (Palca).