sport psychology topics research paper

50 Best Sports Psychology Research Topics

When it comes to selecting sports psychology research topics, it might seem like a challenging task in the eyes of many students. But once you choose a topic from our list and master the tricks of writing a professional research paper, you present yourself as an expert researcher in no time.

What makes a sports psychologist proficient? Sports psychology requires a proficient application of psychological knowledge and skills to address athletes’ most favorable performance and well-being. When studying psychology, your lecturers require you to be skilled and creative in writing and presenting research findings.

At HelpForHomework, we help you deliver your findings like a pro by guiding you through your research process. After choosing the best topics, we connect you to a team of professional writers who explain the step-by-step processes of writing top-notch research papers. Our support staff is available 24/7 to assist you. Alternatively, you can order research paper writing services by clicking the contact us button.

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How We Select The Best Sports Psychology Research Topics

We select unique topics

Originality is essential in research writing. That is why we formulate unique ideas and identify shallowly researched topics for you to expound on them.

Feasibility

Before publishing this article, we carried out feasibility tests on the sports psychology research topics. When carrying out the tests, we ask:

• Is the project sustainable?
• Is the project relevant?
• Is the research question possible to answer
• Is the scope of the research question manageable?

At HelpForHomework, we generate sports psychology topics that are interesting to write and appealing to your audience. If you are looking for fascinating ideas, check out the list below.

Expert Tip: After finding relevant sports psychology research topics, ensure you confirm and ask for guidance from your professor at an early stage. Also, it would be helpful if you contact our support department after selecting a topic.

Best Sports Psychology Topics

Are you looking for the best sports psychology research topics? We have some recommendations for you.

• Historical and modern perspective of sports psychology
• How to utilize and improve sports psychology for better customer experience in a sports merchandise store
• Importance of employing sports psychologists in elite sports
• Role of sports psychology and nutrition in musculoskeletal injuries in professional rugby
• Scientific application in sports psychology in sports
• Sports psychology and health: Strategies for creating a healthy and high-performance workplace
• Sports psychology in your local football or soccer league
• Sports psychology perspective on the importance of motivation in increases success
• Sports psychology: An essential aspect for athletes success
• Sports psychology: how to deal with fatigue

Excellent Sports Psychology Research Topics

Finding excellent sports psychology research topics can be a hassle. That is why we have generated top ideas to help you in your next project.  

• Application of Artificial Intelligence in sports psychology
•  Application of psychophysiology in sports psychology
• Personality dimensions in sports psychology
• Psychological factors affecting physical performance and sports
• Role of sports psychology in individual development in sports
• Sports psychology in police training: Building understanding across all police disciplines
• Sports psychology in your country: Review of sports psychology journals
• Sports psychology perspective of anxiety
• Sports psychology perspective of electronic sports
• The role of sports psychology in controlling obesity

Interesting Sports Psychology Research Topics

If you are looking for exciting sports psychology research topics, you are on the right platform. Check them out and contact the support for more guidance.

• Analysis and visualization of anxiety in final football matches
• Case study: Relationship between competitive anxiety and mental toughness
• Effects of temperament and anxiety on sports performance
• How do anxiety and ego depletion affect sports performance?
• Impact of spectator behavior on individual player’s psychology
• Impact of spectator behavior on team performance
• Managing anxiety levels in sports performance
• Sports psychology perspective: Measuring anxiety in sports
• Understanding fear and anxiety management in extreme sports
• Use of music in mental training

Expert Sports Psychology Research Topics

When you select expert-generated sports psychology research topics, you will for sure impress your audience. We hope you find the best topic from the list below:

•  Challenges of gender studies in sport psychology
• Compare and contrast anxiety and self-confidence between a team and individual sports at your college
• Controlling fans aggression
• Dealing with negative stereotypes in sports: Women soccer
• Mental toughness and sports competition anxiety for male and female MMA fighters
• Psychological and physiological impacts of doping in sports
• Relationship between arousal-anxiety and sports behavior
• Sports psychology: Children anxiety in sports
•  Sports psychology: Effects of racial abuse on athletes
• Volitional regulation and motivation of young boxers

Exciting Sports Psychology Research Topics

Although looking for sports psychology topics can be mind-boggling, we have cut the hassle and generated fascinating topics for you.

• Application of sports psychology in goal setting
• Effectiveness of psychological intervention during a long-term sports injury rehabilitation
• Literature review: Impacts of physical activity in the treatment of depression
• Neuropsychology of sports rehabilitation
• Organizations support mechanisms for soccer players in major leagues. How does league organization affect performance?
• Social factors affecting sports performance in your country
• Sports psychology: Anxiety and emotions of women in sports
• Systematic review: How do skiers manage stress and anxiety before a competition?
• The role of imagery in sports performance
• Theoretical aspects of motivation in sports rehabilitation

Final Verdict

Have you found top-quality sports psychology research topics? If not, contact our support team and let us share other ideas. You can be sure we will offer you reliable psychology research writing services. So bring all the questions and let us help you in the best way as we always do. Press the contact button and consult us. also check out Neuropsychology Research topics.

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Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology

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Journal scope statement

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology ® is the official publication of APA Division 47 (Society for Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychology). The journal publishes papers in all areas of sport, exercise, and performance psychology for applied scientists and practitioners.

This journal is committed to publishing evidence that supports the application of psychological principles to facilitate peak sport performance, enhance physical activity participation, and achieve optimal human performance. Published papers include experimental studies, correlational studies, evaluation studies, and qualitative research. In addition, historical papers, critical reviews, case studies, brief reports, critical evaluations of policies and procedures, and position statements will be considered for publication.

The journal is divided into three sections.

• Sport Psychology addresses the interactions between psychology and sport performance, including the psychological aspects of optimal athletic performance, the psychological care and well-being of athletes, coaches, and sport organizations, and the connection between physical and psychological functioning.
• Exercise Psychology publishes research on the behavioral, social cognitive, and psychobiological antecedents and consequences of physical activity with a focus on the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and its effects on psychological well-being.
• Performance Psychology focuses on the psychology of human performance, in particular, professions that demand excellence in psychomotor performance (i.e., performing arts, surgery, firefighting, law enforcement, military operations, etc.). Also addressed are work environments in which teamwork and motivation are important to human performance.

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology emphasizes original research manuscripts and their potential scientific impact that progresses our understanding of human behavior in sport, exercise, and performance.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology supports equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in its practices. More information on these initiatives is available under EDI Efforts .

Open science

The APA Journals Program is committed to publishing transparent, rigorous research; improving reproducibility in science; and aiding research discovery. Open science practices vary per editor discretion. View the initiatives implemented by this journal .

Editor’s Choice

One article from each issue of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology will be highlighted as an “ Editor’s Choice ” article. Selection is based on the recommendations of the associate editors, the paper’s potential impact to the field, the distinction of expanding the contributors to, or the focus of, the science, or its discussion of an important future direction for science. Editor's Choice articles are featured alongside articles from other APA published journals in a bi-weekly newsletter and are temporarily made freely available to newsletter subscribers.

Author and editor spotlights

Explore journal highlights : free article summaries, editor interviews and editorials, journal awards, mentorship opportunities, and more.

Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.

To submit to the editorial office of Mark Beauchamp, please submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission portal Microsoft Word (.docx) or LaTex (.tex) as a zip file with an accompanied Portable Document Format (.pdf) of the manuscript file.

IMPORTANT note for quantitative studies: In manuscripts that have employed inference tests in the data analysis, it is essential that the authors provide a justification for the sample size used. Authors should consult the APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards for Quantitative (JARS-Quant) Research in Psychology which provides guidance on the reporting of sample size determination (e.g., power analysis, or methods used to determine precision of parameter estimates). For a useful primer on sample size justification see Lakens (2022) . Clearly reporting on and justifying how a study’s sample size was determined is a pre-requisite for sending a manuscript for review. If this information is relevant to your study but is not reported, your manuscript may be desk rejected and you will be asked to resubmit it as a new submission.

It is equally important that a well reasoned rationale be provided for the selected sample size for qualitative studies based on the nature (i.e., breadth and complexity) of the research questions as well as the anticipated diversity in the data.

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7 th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7 th edition are available.

Submit Manuscript

Mark Beauchamp Professor of Exercise and Health Psychology School of Kinesiology The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus 122-6081 University Blvd, Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z1 Canada Email

General correspondence may be directed to the editor's office .

In addition to addresses and phone numbers, please supply email addresses and fax numbers, if available, for potential use by the editorial office and later by the production office.

Manuscripts

The page limit for submissions is 30 pages for quantitative submissions and 34 pages for qualitative submissions, multiple-study submissions, mixed methods, or systematic reviews. The page limit is inclusive of all parts of the manuscript, including the cover page, abstract, text, references, tables and figures.

Manuscripts must also include line numbers to aid in the review process.

Submissions that exceed the page limits will be returned to the author for shortening prior to the initiation of peer review, unless permission for longer submission has been obtained by the Editor.

All statistical tests should include effect sizes whenever possible.

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology publishes direct replications. Submissions should include “A Replication of XX Study” in the subtitle of the manuscripts as well as the abstract.

• Registered Reports

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology  is pleased to offer Registered Reports as a new submission option for hypothesis-driven research (in addition to traditional manuscript submissions). Registered Reports for intervention studies (including secondary analyses of data that authors have not previously accessed) and quantitative data syntheses (e.g., meta-analyses) are particularly welcome, but registered reports will also be considered for particularly innovative observational (non-experimental) research. Registered reports involve a two-stage review process.

In Stage 1, editors and reviewers initially consider a detailed study protocol before the research is undertaken, which is assessed based on the specificity and significance of the research question for current theory or applications, the strength of the scientific rationale, and the rigor of the proposed methodology. Following review, the article will then be accepted in principle, rejected, or an invitation offered to revise the manuscript for further Stage 1 consideration.

Following in-principle acceptance, authors will then proceed to conduct the study, adhering exactly to the peer-reviewed procedures articulated in their Stage 1 protocol. When the study is complete the authors will submit their finalized manuscript for expedited re-review (Stage 2). Pending quality checks and a sensible interpretation of the findings, the manuscript will be published regardless of the results. Specific instructions for Registered Reports submitted to the journal are available for both authors and reviewers:

• Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Registered Reports Author Guidelines (PDF, 151KB)
• Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Registered Reports Reviewer Guidelines (PDF, 164KB)

In addition to welcoming direct submissions via the Editorial Manager web portal,  Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology has also partnered with the Peer Community In Registered Reports (PCI RR) as an “interested” journal to facilitate the publication of Registered Reports for sport, exercise, and/or performance psychology studies.

This means that, via the PCI RR pathway, authors can submit Stage 1 manuscripts which will then be overseen by the PCI RR managing board and recommenders (equivalent to associate editors), and then subject to peer review (by reviewers assigned by the respective PCI RR recommender). Where authors consent, then after the completion of Stage 1 reviews via PCI RR, the editorial team at SEPP will be informed of recently recommended Stage 1 and Stage 2 PCI RR manuscripts (that include Stage 1 manuscripts where the authors elected to keep the Stage 1 recommendation and approved manuscript under a private embargo until Stage 2). In instances where manuscripts fall in line with the scope and mandates of SEPP, and after ensuring that all of the Stage 1 criteria have been met (as highlighted on the journal webpage), the editorial team at SEPP can offer in-principle acceptance or indicate to authors whether additional review would be required before a manuscript can be offered in-principle acceptance. As a commitment, where possible, we will look to inform authors (who are keen to submit via the PCI RR pathway) of our interest in submissions following Stage 1 acceptance rather than waiting until Stage 2. We also commit to never rejecting a Stage 2 submission that was recommended by PCI RR on the basis of the results of the study. For submission via the PCI RR pathway, researchers should follow the steps articulated on the PCI RR website.

Manuscript preparation

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ).

Review APA's Journal Manuscript Preparation Guidelines before submitting your article.

All papers submitted to the journal should be masked prior to entry into the review process. Specifically, please make every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to authors’ identities, including grant numbers, names of institutions providing IRB approval, self-citations, and links to online repositories for data, materials, code, or preregistrations (e.g., Create a View-only Link for a Project ). Authors should not use first person (I, my, we, our) when referring to a study conducted by the author(s) especially when doing so reveals the authors’ identities, e.g., "in our previous work, Smith et al., 2020 reported that…" Instead, references to the authors' work should be in third person, e.g., "Smith et al. (2020) reported that…."

Please ensure that the final version of the manuscript for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.

Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual . Additional guidance on APA Style is available on the APA Style website .

Journal Article Reporting Standards

Authors are required to follow the APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) for quantitative , or  qualitative, meta-analysis, and mixed methods research . The standards offer ways to improve transparency in reporting to ensure that readers have the information necessary to evaluate the quality of the research and to facilitate collaboration and replication. The JARS:

• Recommend the division of hypotheses, analyses and conclusions into primary, secondary and exploratory groupings to allow for a full understanding of quantitative analyses presented in a manuscript and to enhance reproducibility;
• Offer modules for authors reporting on N-of-1 designs, replications, clinical trials, longitudinal studies and observational studies, as well as the analytic methods of structural equation modeling and Bayesian analysis;
• Include guidelines on reporting on registration (including making protocols public); participant characteristics, including demographic characteristics; inclusion and exclusion criteria; psychometric characteristics of outcome measures and other variables; and planned data diagnostics and analytic strategy.
• Provides guidelines for intervention description and replication. Authors of randomized trials are required to report on all intervention components that are delivered within a study, including interventions targeted at actors involved in implementation (e.g., coaches, parents, teachers, peers). We therefore ask that authors report on all items in the ‘Experimental Manipulations’ section of the ‘ Journal Article Reporting Standards for Studies With an Experimental Manipulation ’ for each intervention targeted at different actors.

Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations, computer code, and tables.

JARS-Qual offers guidance to researchers using qualitative methods such as narrative data, grounded theory, phenomenological, critical, discursive, performative, ethnographic, consensual qualitative, case study, psychobiography, and thematic analysis approaches.

The guidelines focus on transparency in methods reporting, recommending descriptions of how the researchers’ own perspectives affected the study, as well as the contexts in which the research and analysis took place.

For the reporting of randomized trials authors should follow CONSORT guidelines (Shultz et al, 2010) in the reporting of their manuscript, and include the applicable CONSORT flow diagram of participants through the trial and a CONSORT checklist as an online supplementary file. For reporting of randomized trials authors are recommended to consult the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TiDIeR) checklist and guide (Hoffman et al, 2014) and provide a completed TIRieR checklist as an online supplementary file.

For the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, authors should follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRIMSA; Page et al, 2021) standards, and include a PRISMA checklist as an online supplementary file.

Display equations

We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.

To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:

• Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
• Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.

If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.

Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.

Computer code

Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.

In online supplemental material

We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material .

In the text of the article

If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.

Use Word's insert table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.

Academic writing and English language editing services

Authors who feel that their manuscript may benefit from additional academic writing or language editing support prior to submission are encouraged to seek out such services at their host institutions, engage with colleagues and subject matter experts, and/or consider several vendors that offer discounts to APA authors .

Please note that APA does not endorse or take responsibility for the service providers listed. It is strictly a referral service.

Use of such service is not mandatory for publication in an APA journal. Use of one or more of these services does not guarantee selection for peer review, manuscript acceptance, or preference for publication in any APA journal.

Submitting supplemental materials

APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the PsycArticles ® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.

Abstract and keywords

All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.

List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the references section.

Examples of basic reference formats:

Journal article

McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review , 126 (1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

Authored book

Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

Chapter in an edited book

Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones. K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287–314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012

All data, program code, and other methods must be appropriately cited in the text and listed in the reference section. Such materials should be recognized as original intellectual contributions and afforded recognition through citation.

Data citation

Alegria, M., Jackson, J. S., Kessler, R. C., & Takeuchi, D. (2016). Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001–2003 [Data set]. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR20240.v8

Software/Code citation

Viechtbauer, W. (2010). Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package. Journal of Statistical Software, 36(3), 1–48. https://www.jstatsoft.org/v36/i03/

Wickham, H. et al., (2019). Welcome to the tidyverse. Journal of Open Source Software, 4(43), 1686, https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686

All data, program code, and other methods must be cited in the text and listed in the reference section.

Preferred formats for graphics files are TIFF and JPG, and preferred format for vector-based files is EPS. Graphics downloaded or saved from web pages are not acceptable for publication. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file. When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.

• All color line art and halftones: 300 DPI
• Black and white line tone and gray halftone images: 600 DPI

Line weights

• Color (RGB, CMYK) images: 2 pixels
• Grayscale images: 4 pixels
• Stroke weight: 0.5 points

APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.

The same caption will appear on both the online (color) and print (black and white) versions. To ensure that the figure can be understood in both formats, authors should add alternative wording (e.g., “the red (dark gray) bars represent”) as needed.

For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay:

• $900 for one figure
• An additional $600 for the second figure
• An additional $450 for each subsequent figure

Permissions

Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).

On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.

• Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 13KB)

Publication policies

APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.

See also APA Journals ® Internet Posting Guidelines .

APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).

• Download Full Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 41KB)

Authors must disclose any prior uses of data reported in the manuscript in the author note and in the cover letter, which should include a complete reference list of these articles as well as a description of the extent and nature of any overlap between the present submission and the previous work.

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the conduct of the research (e.g., "This research was supported by NIDA grant X"). If the funding source was involved in any other aspects of the research (e.g., study design, analysis, interpretation, writing), then clearly state the role. If the funding source had no other involvement other than financial support, then simply state that the funding source had no other role other than financial support. Also provide a conflict-of-interest statement disclosing any real or potential conflict(s) of interest, including financial, personal, or other relationships with other organizations or companies that may inappropriately impact or influence the research and interpretation of the findings. If there are no conflicts of interest, this should be clearly stated.

Posting of a manuscript to a preprint archive (like PsyArXiv) prior to submission is permitted for authors submitting manuscripts to Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology ; preprints should be disclosed in the cover letter, and links should be included in the disclosures and acknowledgments section of the author note.

Participants: Description and informed consent

The method section of each empirical report must contain a detailed description of the study participants, including (but not limited to) the following:

• nativity or immigration history
• clinical diagnoses and comorbidities (as appropriate)
• any other relevant demographics (e.g., sexual orientation)

In the discussion section of the manuscript, authors should discuss the diversity of their study samples and the generalizability of their findings.

The method section also must include a statement describing how informed consent was obtained from the participants (or their parents/guardians) and indicate that the study was conducted in compliance with an appropriate Internal Review Board.

Author contribution statements using CRediT

The  APA Publication Manual ( 7th ed. )  stipulates that “authorship encompasses…not only persons who do the writing but also those who have made substantial scientific contributions to a study.” In the spirit of transparency and openness, Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology has adopted the  Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT)  to describe each author's individual contributions to the work. CRediT offers authors the opportunity to share an accurate and detailed description of their diverse contributions to a manuscript.

Submitting authors must identify the contributions of all authors at initial submission according to the CRediT taxonomy. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the CRediT designations will be published as an author contributions statement in the author note of the final article. All authors should have reviewed and agreed to their individual contribution(s) before submission.

Authors can claim credit for more than one contributor role, and the same role can be attributed to more than one author. Not all roles will be applicable to a particular scholarly work.

Transparency and openness

APA endorses the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines developed by a community working group in conjunction with the Center for Open Science ( Nosek et al. 2015 ). Empirical research, including meta-analyses, submitted to Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology must at least meet the “disclosure” level for all eight aspects of research planning and reporting and the “requirement” level for citation, data transparency, as well as design and analysis transparency (reporting standards). Authors should include a subsection in the method section titled “Transparency and openness.” This subsection should detail the efforts the authors have made to comply with the TOP guidelines.

For example:

We report how we determined our sample size, all data exclusions (if any), all manipulations, and all measures in the study, and we follow JARS (Applebaum, et al., 2018). All data, analysis code, and research materials are available at [stable link to repository].

Data were analyzed using R, version 4.0.0 (R Core Team, 2020) and the package ggplot , version 3.2.1 (Wickham, 2016). This study’s design and its analysis were not pre-registered.

In the section on “Transparency and openness”, authors must state whether data and study materials are posted to a trusted repository and, how to access them.  Recommended repositories include APA’s repository on the Open Science Framework (OSF), or authors can access a full list of other recommended repositories . Trusted repositories adhere to policies that make data discoverable, accessible, usable, and preserved for the long term. Trusted repositories also assign unique and persistent identifiers. Specifically, at the end of the method section, specify whether and where the data and material will be available or note the legal or ethical reasons for not doing so. For submissions with quantitative or simulation analytic methods, state whether the study analysis code is posted to a trusted repository, and, if so, how to access it (or the legal or ethical reason why it is not available).

If authors cannot make their data available on a public site, they are required to follow current APA policy to make the materials and data used in a published study available in a timely manner to other researchers upon request.

Preregistration of studies and analysis plans

Preregistration of studies and specific hypotheses can be a useful tool for making strong theoretical claims. Likewise, preregistration of analysis plans can be useful for distinguishing confirmatory and exploratory analyses. Investigators are encouraged to preregister their studies and analysis plans prior to conducting the research. There are several preregistration forms (e.g., the APA Preregistration for Quantitative Research in Psychology template , the APA Qualitative Preregistration template , ClinicalTrials.gov , or other preregistration templates available via OSF ). Completed preregistration forms should be posted on a publicly accessible registry system (e.g., OSF , ClinicalTrials.gov , or other trial registries in the WHO Registry Network).

There are many available templates; for example, APA, the British Psychological Society, and the German Psychological Society partnered with the Leibniz Institute for Psychology and Center for Open Science to create Preregistration Standards for Quantitative Research in Psychology (Bosnjak et al., 2022).

We recognize that there may be good reasons to change the analysis plan after it has been preregistered, and thus encourage authors to do so when appropriate so long as all changes are clearly and transparently disclosed in the manuscript.

Articles must state whether or not any work was preregistered and, if so, where to access the preregistration. If any aspect of the study is preregistered, include the registry link in the method section.

• This study’s design was preregistered prospectively, before data were collected; see [STABLE LINK OR DOI].
• This study’s design and hypotheses were preregistered after data had been collected but before analyses were undertaken; see [STABLE LINK OR DOI].
• This study’s analysis plan was preregistered; see [STABLE LINK OR DOI].
• This study was not preregistered.

Open science badges

All authors publishing in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology may apply for Open Science Badges. Introduced in 2013 by the Center for Open Science's Open Science Framework, these badges may be awarded to authors for making data or materials public or for preregistering their studies. Meant to encourage the sharing of data and materials, as well as pre-registration of studies and analysis plans, these badges are digital objects associated with journal articles and are available in five types: 

In addition, notations may be added to badges or open practices notes to indicate, for example, that an analysis plan was registered before the observation of outcomes (DE, Data Exist) or that there were strongly justified changes to an analysis plan (TC, Transparent Changes).

For all badges, items must be made available on an open-access repository with a persistent identifier — and in a format that is time-stamped, immutable, and permanent. For the preregistered badge, this is an institutional registration system (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, Open Science Framework, and so on).

Data and materials must be made available under an open license allowing others to copy, share, and use the data, with attribution and copyright as applicable. At submission, authors must confirm that criteria have been fulfilled in a signed badge disclosure form (PDF, 33KB) that must be submitted as supplemental material.

If all criteria are met as confirmed by the editor, the form will then be published with the article as supplemental material.

Authors should also note their eligibility for the badge(s) in the cover letter.

Authors must, in acknowledgments or the first footnote, indicate if they did or did not preregister the research with or without an analysis plan in an independent, institutional registry.

If an author did preregister the research with an analysis plan, the author must:

• Confirm in the text that the study was registered prior to conducting the research with links to the time-stamped preregistrations at the institutional registry, and that the preregistration adheres to the disclosure requirements of the institutional registry or those required for the preregistered badge with analysis plans maintained by the Center for Open Science.
• Report all preregistered analyses in the text, or, if there were changes in the analysis plan following preregistration, those changes must be disclosed with explanation for the changes.
• Clearly distinguish in-text analyses that were preregistered from those that were not, such as having separate sections in the results for confirmatory and exploratory analyses.

Ethical Principles

It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have been previously published" (Standard 8.13).

In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).

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Mark R. Beauchamp, PhD The University of British Columbia, Canada

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Alex Benson, PhD Western University, Canada

Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, PhD University of Thessaly, Greece

Andrew P. Hill, PhD York St John University, United Kingdom

Diane E. Mack, PhD Brock University, Canada

Andreas Stenling, PhD Umeå University, Sweden

Sarah Ullrich-French, PhD Washington State University, United States

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Denver Brown, PhD The University of Texas at San Antonio, United States

Francesca Cavallerio, PhD Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom

David E. Conroy, PhD The Pennsylvania State University, United States

Melissa Day, PhD University of Chichester, United Kingdom

David W. Eccles, PhD Florida State University, United States

Panteleimon Ekkekakis, PhD Michigan State State University, United States

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Robert C. Eklund, PhD Florida State University, United States

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Jeemin Kim, PhD Michigan State University, United States

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Scherezade K. Mama, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States

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Lee Moore, PhD University of Bath, United Kingdom

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Philip M. Wilson, PhD Brock University, Canada

Dawn K. Wilson, PhD University of South Carolina, United States

Svenja A. Wolf, PhD Florida State University, United States

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Special issue of the APA journal Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, Vol. 8, No. 1, February 2019. The articles showcase an array of psychophysiological applications for sport and exercise science and highlight the potential of psychophysiological research to shine light on theory and mechanisms in sport and exercise psychology.

Special issue of the APA journal Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 3, August 2017. The papers reflect the growing emphasis on concussion as a heterogeneous injury that is multidimensional, involving multiple clinical profiles, symptoms, and impairment.

Special issue of the APA journal Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, Vol. 5, No. 2, May 2016. Articles contribute to the professional knowledge base and understanding related to the needs and experiences of parents supporting their children in a variety of competitive sports and cultures, as well as through specific transitions and critical moments.

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At a minimum, empirical research, including meta-analyses, submitted to Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology must at least meet the “disclosure” level for all eight aspects of research planning and reporting and the “requirement” level for citation, data transparency, as well as design and analysis transparency (reporting standards). Authors should include a subsection in the method section titled “Transparency and openness.” This subsection should detail the efforts the authors have made to comply with the TOP guidelines.

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Sports Psychology Research Paper Topics

Dr. wilson mn.

• August 3, 2022
• Essay Topics and Ideas , Nursing

The article provides a list of over 40 best and interesting Sports Psychology Research Paper Topics . Also provides a guide on factors to consider when selecting a Sports Psychology Research Paper Topics .

Psychology is an interdisciplinary field that deals with a wide range of issues and concerns. If you want to create a top-notch psychology research paper, you need to pick a topic that interests you.

Let’s start with a few pointers to keep in mind before diving into the rest of the material.

The first stage of a successful study is to come up with a research topic. There are many psychology-related research subjects to choose from, but narrowing them down can be time-consuming.

As soon as you understand the subject, everything else will fall into place.

If you’re going to do research, you’d be wise to begin planning months in advance. There is plenty of time to review and narrow down your topical ideas this way.

You can also check out 140+ Good Argumentative Essay Topics Psychology

What You'll Learn

Factors to Consider When Choosing Psychology Research Paper Topics

• Scope . A good psychology research topic would have a reasonable and balanced scope.

If your topic is too broad, your ideas will be all over the place. Again, a narrow topic will limit your psychological research .

Revolving around just a few ideas robs your study of its value.

• Relevance . A psychology paper is meant to educate and solve societal problems. It is advisable to go for a topic that touches on trending social issues.

This way, your study will spark curiosity in your audience and cause them to follow through.

• Personal interests and values.  Psychology is broad and touches on real-life issues.

For you to thrive in psychological research, choose a topic that is of interest to you.

Also, consider an area of study that doesn’t contradict your values so that you can handle it freely.

• Sports Psychology Research Ideas for College Students
• What impact does positive reinforcement over interval training techniques in improving competitive performance in professional matches?
• Why do certain sports like soccer, football, and rugby have more athletes that have or will be accused of a violent crime?
• Are certain pain medicines used to treat professional athletes negatively impacting their perception of the sports in which they play?
• How do cheerleader and band support the psychology of a high school or college-level student-athlete? Is this true across all sports?
• Does a sound physical and mental training program reduce the tendency for athletes to reduce the desire to be aggressive or violent?
• Does a sound physical and mental training program reduce the tendencies for athletes to reduce the desire to aggressive or violent?

Sports Psychology Research Ideas for Grad Students

• What is the relationship between the speed and accuracy with which an athlete visually respond to stimuli and the ability to react with movement?
• What mental effects do sport nutrition supplements in the way an athlete prepares for contest? Do supplements take on a “placebo effect”?
• Are there psychological differences when participating in international sporting events versus domestic sporting events?
• What psychological impact does a coach have on a team’s success? Is a well-known coach more likely to have a positive or negative impact? How do players react to each kind of coach?
• Are young coaches feeling pressure to win within a certain timeline and does this affect how players perform? Do they put themselves at risk of injury by feeling pressured?
• How can sports psychology help in the process of building team chemistry and support among teammates working towards a common goal?
• How do athletes manage their emotions when they participate regularly in sports? What happens when the emotions are negatively charged (i.e., a boxer)?
• How has sports psychology evolved in the last twenty years? What do you see in the way it will continue to develop and how it will affect the way athletes, coaches, etc., approach sports?
• What mental effects do sports nutrition supplements on the way an athlete prepares for the contest? Do supplements take on a “placebo effect”?
• What effects do team chants before games have on team performance? What do the numbers suggest for individual players and their level of chant participation?
• Do sports awards and trophies assist in boosting athletes’ self-esteem and motivation? Have awards become meaningless in athletics’ opinions?
• What impact does positive reinforcement over intervals training techniques in improving competitive performance in professional matches?
• How does cheerleader and band support to the psychology of a high school or college-level student-athlete? Is this true across all sports?
• Future trends in sport psychology in light of increased evidence showing head trauma in sports like football and rugby. Will these sports be made safer or will the rules remain the same as long as athletes continue to play and people continue to watch?
• Understanding how team sport dynamics have changed in the last twenty years and what can be expected in the future. The rise of the superstar has changed the ways teams are put together, and changed the nature of how the locker room dynamics are.
• Ways to promote increased physical activities in lower socio-economic areas where good health in the greater population is low.
• Discuss the role of the Olympics upon nations where sport activity is virtually non-existent because of underfunding. Is it a good thing for these nations to invest in sports in the years after the Olympic Games?
• Using psychological tests to determine an athlete’s ability to cope with the move from collegiate to professional sports. Are these tests accurate? Could team owners and psychologists have guessed from these results if athletes were going to have drug or problems with violence?

As you continue, thestudycorp.com has the top and most qualified writers to help with any of your assignments. All you need to do is place an order with us. (Sports Psychology Research Paper Topics)

You can also check out Best Examples of Self-fulfilling Prophecies

Sports Psychology Research Topics on Behaviour

• How to the behavior of a player reveals his psychology on the ground?
• How to keep yourself calm and composed in stressful situations as well?
• What are the results of having good behavior in the sports field for players?
• Drawbacks of getting out of control on the sports field for a sportsman.
• The latest research on behavioral psychology of sportsmen.

Sports Research Topics about Athlete Performance

• What should be done to enhance performance on the field?
• Role of practice in sports for gaining success.
• What are the main components that enhance the performance of a player in Sports?
• Which is the largest disgrace in reducing the performance of the player?
• How a bad coach can decrease the overall output of a sports team.
• The way through which unity enhances performance.

You can also check out Psychology Essay Example

Related FAQs

1. what is sports psychology and why study it.

Sports psychology has become one of the most popular areas of study within the larger discipline of psychology. It’s a study of how sports, exercise, physical activity and athletic performance are all influenced by elements of psychology.

2. What is sport psychology?

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.

3. Which researchers have had a positive influence on sport psychology?

Franklin M. Henry was another researcher that had a positive influence on sport psychology. In 1938, he began to study how different factors in sport psychology can affect athlete’s motor skills.

4. What does a sports psychologist do?

Sports psychologists help athletes maintain high levels of performance by prioritizing mental fitness. They also look at sports participation in relation to skills like teamwork and emotional regulation. The field of applied sports psychology emerged in the early 20th century.

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America, Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Roles Data curation, Methodology, Writing – original draft

Affiliation Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

Roles Data curation, Methodology

Roles Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Honors College, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

Roles Data curation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Faculty of Education, Health and Well-Being, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Division of Research & Innovation, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

• Marc Lochbaum, 
• Elisabeth Stoner, 
• Tristen Hefner, 
• Sydney Cooper, 
• Andrew M. Lane, 
• Peter C. Terry

• Published: February 16, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Sport psychology as an academic pursuit is nearly two centuries old. An enduring goal since inception has been to understand how psychological techniques can improve athletic performance. Although much evidence exists in the form of meta-analytic reviews related to sport psychology and performance, a systematic review of these meta-analyses is absent from the literature. We aimed to synthesize the extant literature to gain insights into the overall impact of sport psychology on athletic performance. Guided by the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews, we reviewed relevant articles identified via the EBSCOhost interface. Thirty meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 met the inclusion criteria, covering 16 distinct sport psychology constructs. Overall, sport psychology interventions/variables hypothesized to enhance performance (e.g., cohesion, confidence, mindfulness) were shown to have a moderate beneficial effect ( d = 0.51), whereas variables hypothesized to be detrimental to performance (e.g., cognitive anxiety, depression, ego climate) had a small negative effect ( d = -0.21). The quality rating of meta-analyses did not significantly moderate the magnitude of observed effects, nor did the research design (i.e., intervention vs. correlation) of the primary studies included in the meta-analyses. Our review strengthens the evidence base for sport psychology techniques and may be of great practical value to practitioners. We provide recommendations for future research in the area.

Citation: Lochbaum M, Stoner E, Hefner T, Cooper S, Lane AM, Terry PC (2022) Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0263408. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408

Editor: Claudio Imperatori, European University of Rome, ITALY

Received: September 28, 2021; Accepted: January 18, 2022; Published: February 16, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Lochbaum et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Sport performance matters. Verifying its global importance requires no more than opening a newspaper to the sports section, browsing the internet, looking at social media outlets, or scanning abundant sources of sport information. Sport psychology is an important avenue through which to better understand and improve sport performance. To date, a systematic review of published sport psychology and performance meta-analyses is absent from the literature. Given the undeniable importance of sport, the history of sport psychology in academics since 1830, and the global rise of sport psychology journals and organizations, a comprehensive systematic review of the meta-analytic literature seems overdue. Thus, we aimed to consolidate the existing literature and provide recommendations for future research.

The development of sport psychology

The history of sport psychology dates back nearly 200 years. Terry [ 1 ] cites Carl Friedrich Koch’s (1830) publication titled [in translation] Calisthenics from the Viewpoint of Dietetics and Psychology [ 2 ] as perhaps the earliest publication in the field, and multiple commentators have noted that sport psychology experiments occurred in the world’s first psychology laboratory, established by Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig in 1879 [ 1 , 3 ]. Konrad Rieger’s research on hypnosis and muscular endurance, published in 1884 [ 4 ] and Angelo Mosso’s investigations of the effects of mental fatigue on physical performance, published in 1891 [ 5 ] were other early landmarks in the development of applied sport psychology research. Following the efforts of Koch, Wundt, Rieger, and Mosso, sport psychology works appeared with increasing regularity, including Philippe Tissié’s publications in 1894 [ 6 , 7 ] on psychology and physical training, and Pierre de Coubertin’s first use of the term sport psychology in his La Psychologie du Sport paper in 1900 [ 8 ]. In short, the history of sport psychology and performance research began as early as 1830 and picked up pace in the latter part of the 19 th century. Early pioneers, who helped shape sport psychology include Wundt, recognized as the “father of experimental psychology”, Tissié, the founder of French physical education and Legion of Honor awardee in 1932, and de Coubertin who became the father of the modern Olympic movement and founder of the International Olympic Committee.

Sport psychology flourished in the early 20 th century [see 1, 3 for extensive historic details]. For instance, independent laboratories emerged in Berlin, Germany, established by Carl Diem in 1920; in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, established respectively by Avksenty Puni and Piotr Roudik in 1925; and in Champaign, Illinois USA, established by Coleman Griffith, also in 1925. The period from 1950–1980 saw rapid strides in sport psychology, with Franklin Henry establishing this field of study as independent of physical education in the landscape of American and eventually global sport science and kinesiology graduate programs [ 1 ]. In addition, of great importance in the 1960s, three international sport psychology organizations were established: namely, the International Society for Sport Psychology (1965), the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (1966), and the European Federation of Sport Psychology (1969). Since that time, the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (1986), the South American Society for Sport Psychology (1986), and the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (1989) have also been established.

The global growth in academic sport psychology has seen a large number of specialist publications launched, including the following journals: International Journal of Sport Psychology (1970), Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (1979), The Sport Psychologist (1987), Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (1989), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2000), International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2003), Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2007), International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2008), Journal of Sport Psychology in Action (2010), Sport , Exercise , and Performance Psychology (2014), and the Asian Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (2021).

In turn, the growth in journal outlets has seen sport psychology publications burgeon. Indicative of the scale of the contemporary literature on sport psychology, searches completed in May 2021 within the Web of Science Core Collection, identified 1,415 publications on goal setting and sport since 1985; 5,303 publications on confidence and sport since 1961; and 3,421 publications on anxiety and sport since 1980. In addition to academic journals, several comprehensive edited textbooks have been produced detailing sport psychology developments across the world, such as Hanrahan and Andersen’s (2010) Handbook of Applied Sport Psychology [ 9 ], Schinke, McGannon, and Smith’s (2016) International Handbook of Sport Psychology [ 10 ], and Bertollo, Filho, and Terry’s (2021) Advancements in Mental Skills Training [ 11 ] to name just a few. In short, sport psychology is global in both academic study and professional practice.

Meta-analysis in sport psychology

Several meta-analysis guides, computer programs, and sport psychology domain-specific primers have been popularized in the social sciences [ 12 , 13 ]. Sport psychology academics have conducted quantitative reviews on much studied constructs since the 1980s, with the first two appearing in 1983 in the form of Feltz and Landers’ meta-analysis on mental practice [ 14 ], which included 98 articles dating from 1934, and Bond and Titus’ cross-disciplinary meta-analysis on social facilitation [ 15 ], which summarized 241 studies including Triplett’s (1898) often-cited study of social facilitation in cycling [ 16 ]. Although much meta-analytic evidence exists for various constructs in sport and exercise psychology [ 12 ] including several related to performance [ 17 ], the evidence is inconsistent. For example, two meta-analyses, both ostensibly summarizing evidence of the benefits to performance of task cohesion [ 18 , 19 ], produced very different mean effects ( d = .24 vs d = 1.00) indicating that the true benefit lies somewhere in a wide range from small to large. Thus, the lack of a reliable evidence base for the use of sport psychology techniques represents a significant gap in the knowledge base for practitioners and researchers alike. A comprehensive systematic review of all published meta-analyses in the field of sport psychology has yet to be published.

Purpose and aim

We consider this review to be both necessary and long overdue for the following reasons: (a) the extensive history of sport psychology and performance research; (b) the prior publication of many meta-analyses summarizing various aspects of sport psychology research in a piecemeal fashion [ 12 , 17 ] but not its totality; and (c) the importance of better understanding and hopefully improving sport performance via the use of interventions based on solid evidence of their efficacy. Hence, we aimed to collate and evaluate this literature in a systematic way to gain improved understanding of the impact of sport psychology variables on sport performance by construct, research design, and meta-analysis quality, to enhance practical knowledge of sport psychology techniques and identify future lines of research inquiry. By systematically reviewing all identifiable meta-analytic reviews linking sport psychology techniques with sport performance, we aimed to evaluate the strength of the evidence base underpinning sport psychology interventions.

Materials and methods

This systematic review of meta-analyses followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [ 20 ]. We did not register our systematic review protocol in a database. However, we specified our search strategy, inclusion criteria, data extraction, and data analyses in advance of writing our manuscript. All details of our work are available from the lead author. Concerning ethics, this systematic review received a waiver from Texas Tech University Human Subject Review Board as it concerned archival data (i.e., published meta-analyses).

Eligibility criteria

Published meta-analyses were retained for extensive examination if they met the following inclusion criteria: (a) included meta-analytic data such as mean group, between or within-group differences or correlates; (b) published prior to January 31, 2021; (c) published in a peer-reviewed journal; (d) investigated a recognized sport psychology construct; and (e) meta-analyzed data concerned with sport performance. There was no language of publication restriction. To align with our systematic review objectives, we gave much consideration to study participants and performance outcomes. Across multiple checks, all authors confirmed study eligibility. Three authors (ML, AL, and PT) completed the final inclusion assessments.

Information sources

Authors searched electronic databases, personal meta-analysis history, and checked with personal research contacts. Electronic database searches occurred in EBSCOhost with the following individual databases selected: APA PsycINFO, ERIC, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SPORTDiscus. An initial search concluded October 1, 2020. ML, AL, and PT rechecked the identified studies during the February–March, 2021 period, which resulted in the identification of two additional meta-analyses [ 21 , 22 ].

Search protocol

ML and ES initially conducted independent database searches. For the first search, ML used the following search terms: sport psychology with meta-analysis or quantitative review and sport and performance or sport* performance. For the second search, ES utilized a sport psychology textbook and used the chapter title terms (e.g., goal setting). In EBSCOhost, both searches used the advanced search option that provided three separate boxes for search terms such as box 1 (sport psychology), box 2 (meta-analysis), and box 3 (performance). Specific details of our search strategy were:

Search by ML:

• sport psychology, meta-analysis, sport and performance
• sport psychology, meta-analysis or quantitative review, sport* performance
• sport psychology, quantitative review, sport and performance
• sport psychology, quantitative review, sport* performance

Search by ES:

• mental practice or mental imagery or mental rehearsal and sports performance and meta-analysis
• goal setting and sports performance and meta-analysis
• anxiety and stress and sports performance and meta-analysis
• competition and sports performance and meta-analysis
• diversity and sports performance and meta-analysis
• cohesion and sports performance and meta-analysis
• imagery and sports performance and meta-analysis
• self-confidence and sports performance and meta-analysis
• concentration and sports performance and meta-analysis
• athletic injuries and sports performance and meta-analysis
• overtraining and sports performance and meta-analysis
• children and sports performance and meta-analysis

The following specific search of the EBSCOhost with SPORTDiscus, APA PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and ERIC databases, returned six results from 2002–2020, of which three were included [ 18 , 19 , 23 ] and three were excluded because they were not meta-analyses.

• Box 1 cohesion
• Box 2 sports performance
• Box 3 meta-analysis

Study selection

As detailed in the PRISMA flow chart ( Fig 1 ) and the specified inclusion criteria, a thorough study selection process was used. As mentioned in the search protocol, two authors (ML and ES) engaged independently with two separate searches and then worked together to verify the selected studies. Next, AL and PT examined the selected study list for accuracy. ML, AL, and PT, whilst rating the quality of included meta-analyses, also re-examined all selected studies to verify that each met the predetermined study inclusion criteria. Throughout the study selection process, disagreements were resolved through discussion until consensus was reached.

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.g001

Data extraction process

Initially, ML, TH, and ES extracted data items 1, 2, 3 and 8 (see Data items). Subsequently, ML, AL, and PT extracted the remaining data (items 4–7, 9, 10). Checks occurred during the extraction process for potential discrepancies (e.g., checking the number of primary studies in a meta-analysis). It was unnecessary to contact any meta-analysis authors for missing information or clarification during the data extraction process because all studies reported the required information. Across the search for meta-analyses, all identified studies were reported in English. Thus, no translation software or searching out a native speaker occurred. All data extraction forms (e.g., data items and individual meta-analysis quality) are available from the first author.

To help address our main aim, we extracted the following information from each meta-analysis: (1) author(s); (2) publication year; (3) construct(s); (4) intervention based meta-analysis (yes, no, mix); (5) performance outcome(s) description; (6) number of studies for the performance outcomes; (7) participant description; (8) main findings; (9) bias correction method/results; and (10) author(s) stated conclusions. For all information sought, we coded missing information as not reported.

Individual meta-analysis quality

ML, AL, and PT independently rated the quality of individual meta-analysis on the following 25 points found in the PRISMA checklist [ 20 ]: title; abstract structured summary; introduction rationale, objectives, and protocol and registration; methods eligibility criteria, information sources, search, study selection, data collection process, data items, risk of bias of individual studies, summary measures, synthesis of results, and risk of bias across studies; results study selection, study characteristics, risk of bias within studies, results of individual studies, synthesis of results, and risk of bias across studies; discussion summary of evidence, limitations, and conclusions; and funding. All meta-analyses were rated for quality by two coders to facilitate inter-coder reliability checks, and the mean quality ratings were used in subsequent analyses. One author (PT), having completed his own ratings, received the incoming ratings from ML and AL and ran the inter-coder analysis. Two rounds of ratings occurred due to discrepancies for seven meta-analyses, mainly between ML and AL. As no objective quality categorizations (i.e., a point system for grouping meta-analyses as poor, medium, good) currently exist, each meta-analysis was allocated a quality score of up to a maximum of 25 points. All coding records are available upon request.

Planned methods of analysis

Several preplanned methods of analysis occurred. We first assessed the mean quality rating of each meta-analysis based on our 25-point PRISMA-based rating system. Next, we used a median split of quality ratings to determine whether standardized mean effects (SMDs) differed by the two formed categories, higher and lower quality meta-analyses. Meta-analysis authors reported either of two different effect size metrics (i.e., r and SMD); hence we converted all correlational effects to SMD (i.e., Cohen’s d ) values using an online effect size calculator ( www.polyu.edu.hk/mm/effectsizefaqs/calculator/calculator.html ). We interpreted the meaningfulness of effects based on Cohen’s interpretation [ 24 ] with 0.20 as small, 0.50 as medium, 0.80 as large, and 1.30 as very large. As some psychological variables associate negatively with performance (e.g., confusion [ 25 ], cognitive anxiety [ 26 ]) whereas others associate positively (e.g., cohesion [ 23 ], mental practice [ 14 ]), we grouped meta-analyses according to whether the hypothesized effect with performance was positive or negative, and summarized the overall effects separately. By doing so, we avoided a scenario whereby the demonstrated positive and negative effects canceled one another out when combined. The effect of somatic anxiety on performance, which is hypothesized to follow an inverted-U relationship, was categorized as neutral [ 35 ]. Last, we grouped the included meta-analyses according to whether the primary studies were correlational in nature or involved an intervention and summarized these two groups of meta-analyses separately.

Study characteristics

Table 1 contains extracted data from 30 meta-analyses meeting the inclusion criteria, dating from 1983 [ 14 ] to 2021 [ 21 ]. The number of primary studies within the meta-analyses ranged from three [ 27 ] to 109 [ 28 ]. In terms of the description of participants included in the meta-analyses, 13 included participants described simply as athletes, whereas other meta-analyses identified a mix of elite athletes (e.g., professional, Olympic), recreational athletes, college-aged volunteers (many from sport science departments), younger children to adolescents, and adult exercisers. Of the 30 included meta-analyses, the majority ( n = 18) were published since 2010. The decadal breakdown of meta-analyses was 1980–1989 ( n = 1 [ 14 ]), 1990–1999 ( n = 6 [ 29 – 34 ]), 2000–2009 ( n = 5 [ 23 , 25 , 26 , 35 , 36 ]), 2010–2019 ( n = 12 [ 18 , 19 , 22 , 27 , 37 – 43 , 48 ]), and 2020–2021 ( n = 6 [ 21 , 28 , 44 – 47 ]).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.t001

As for the constructs covered, we categorized the 30 meta-analyses into the following areas: mental practice/imagery [ 14 , 29 , 30 , 42 , 46 , 47 ], anxiety [ 26 , 31 , 32 , 35 ], confidence [ 26 , 35 , 36 ], cohesion [ 18 , 19 , 23 ], goal orientation [ 22 , 44 , 48 ], mood [ 21 , 25 , 34 ], emotional intelligence [ 40 ], goal setting [ 33 ], interventions [ 37 ], mindfulness [ 27 ], music [ 28 ], neurofeedback training [ 43 ], perfectionism [ 39 ], pressure training [ 45 ], quiet eye training [ 41 ], and self-talk [ 38 ]. Multiple effects were generated from meta-analyses that included more than one construct (e.g., tension, depression, etc. [ 21 ]; anxiety and confidence [ 26 ]). In relation to whether the meta-analyses included in our review assessed the effects of a sport psychology intervention on performance or relationships between psychological constructs and performance, 13 were intervention-based, 14 were correlational, two included a mix of study types, and one included a large majority of cross-sectional studies ( Table 1 ).

A wide variety of performance outcomes across many sports was evident, such as golf putting, dart throwing, maximal strength, and juggling; or categorical outcomes such as win/loss and Olympic team selection. Given the extensive list of performance outcomes and the incomplete descriptions provided in some meta-analyses, a clear categorization or count of performance types was not possible. Sufficient to conclude, researchers utilized many performance outcomes across a wide range of team and individual sports, motor skills, and strength and aerobic tasks.

Effect size data and bias correction

To best summarize the effects, we transformed all correlations to SMD values (i.e., Cohen’s d ). Across all included meta-analyses shown in Table 2 and depicted in Fig 2 , we identified 61 effects. Having corrected for bias, effect size values were assessed for meaningfulness [ 24 ], which resulted in 15 categorized as negligible (< ±0.20), 29 as small (±0.20 to < 0.50), 13 as moderate (±0.50 to < 0.80), 2 as large (±0.80 to < 1.30), and 1 as very large (≥ 1.30).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.g002

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.t002

Study quality rating results and summary analyses

Following our PRISMA quality ratings, intercoder reliability coefficients were initially .83 (ML, AL), .95 (ML, PT), and .90 (AL, PT), with a mean intercoder reliability coefficient of .89. To achieve improved reliability (i.e., r mean > .90), ML and AL re-examined their ratings. As a result, intercoder reliability increased to .98 (ML, AL), .96 (ML, PT), and .92 (AL, PT); a mean intercoder reliability coefficient of .95. Final quality ratings (i.e., the mean of two coders) ranged from 13 to 25 ( M = 19.03 ± 4.15). Our median split into higher ( M = 22.83 ± 1.08, range 21.5–25, n = 15) and lower ( M = 15.47 ± 2.42, range 13–20.5, n = 15) quality groups produced significant between-group differences in quality ( F 1,28 = 115.62, p < .001); hence, the median split met our intended purpose. The higher quality group of meta-analyses were published from 2015–2021 (median 2018) and the lower quality group from 1983–2014 (median 2000). It appears that meta-analysis standards have risen over the years since the PRISMA criteria were first introduced in 2009. All data for our analyses are shown in Table 2 .

Table 3 contains summary statistics with bias-corrected values used in the analyses. The overall mean effect for sport psychology constructs hypothesized to have a positive impact on performance was of moderate magnitude ( d = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.58, n = 36). The overall mean effect for sport psychology constructs hypothesized to have a negative impact on performance was small in magnitude ( d = -0.21, 95% CI -0.31, -0.11, n = 24). In both instances, effects were larger, although not significantly so, among meta-analyses of higher quality compared to those of lower quality. Similarly, mean effects were larger but not significantly so, where reported effects in the original studies were based on interventional rather than correlational designs. This trend only applied to hypothesized positive effects because none of the original studies in the meta-analyses related to hypothesized negative effects used interventional designs.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.t003

In this systematic review of meta-analyses, we synthesized the available evidence regarding effects of sport psychology interventions/constructs on sport performance. We aimed to consolidate the literature, evaluate the potential for meta-analysis quality to influence the results, and suggest recommendations for future research at both the single study and quantitative review stages. During the systematic review process, several meta-analysis characteristics came to light, such as the number of meta-analyses of sport psychology interventions (experimental designs) compared to those summarizing the effects of psychological constructs (correlation designs) on performance, the number of meta-analyses with exclusively athletes as participants, and constructs featuring in multiple meta-analyses, some of which (e.g., cohesion) produced very different effect size values. Thus, although our overall aim was to evaluate the strength of the evidence base for use of psychological interventions in sport, we also discuss the impact of these meta-analysis characteristics on the reliability of the evidence.

When seen collectively, results of our review are supportive of using sport psychology techniques to help improve performance and confirm that variations in psychological constructs relate to variations in performance. For constructs hypothesized to have a positive effect on performance, the mean effect strength was moderate ( d = 0.51) although there was substantial variation between constructs. For example, the beneficial effects on performance of task cohesion ( d = 1.00) and self-efficacy ( d = 0.82) are large, and the available evidence base for use of mindfulness interventions suggests a very large beneficial effect on performance ( d = 1.35). Conversely, some hypothetically beneficial effects (2 of 36; 5.6%) were in the negligible-to-small range (0.15–0.20) and most beneficial effects (19 of 36; 52.8%) were in the small-to-moderate range (0.22–0.49). It should be noted that in the world of sport, especially at the elite level, even a small beneficial effect on performance derived from a psychological intervention may prove the difference between success and failure and hence small effects may be of great practical value. To put the scale of the benefits into perspective, an authoritative and extensively cited review of healthy eating and physical activity interventions [ 49 ] produced an overall pooled effect size of 0.31 (compared to 0.51 for our study), suggesting sport psychology interventions designed to improve performance are generally more effective than interventions designed to promote healthy living.

Among hypothetically negative effects (e.g., ego climate, cognitive anxiety, depression), the mean detrimental effect was small ( d = -0.21) although again substantial variation among constructs was evident. Some hypothetically negative constructs (5 of 24; 20.8%) were found to actually provide benefits to performance, albeit in the negligible range (0.02–0.12) and only two constructs (8.3%), both from Lochbaum and colleagues’ POMS meta-analysis [ 21 ], were shown to negatively affect performance above a moderate level (depression: d = -0.64; total mood disturbance, which incorporates the depression subscale: d = -0.84). Readers should note that the POMS and its derivatives assess six specific mood dimensions rather than the mood construct more broadly, and therefore results should not be extrapolated to other dimensions of mood [ 50 ].

Mean effects were larger among higher quality than lower quality meta-analyses for both hypothetically positive ( d = 0.54 vs d = 0.45) and negative effects ( d = -0.25 vs d = 0.17), but in neither case were the differences significant. It is reasonable to assume that the true effects were derived from the higher quality meta-analyses, although our conclusions remain the same regardless of study quality. Overall, our findings provide a more rigorous evidence base for the use of sport psychology techniques by practitioners than was previously available, representing a significant contribution to knowledge. Moreover, our systematic scrutiny of 30 meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 has facilitated a series of recommendations to improve the quality of future investigations in the sport psychology area.

Recommendations

The development of sport psychology as an academic discipline and area of professional practice relies on using evidence and theory to guide practice. Hence, a strong evidence base for the applied work of sport psychologists is of paramount importance. Although the beneficial effects of some sport psychology techniques are small, it is important to note the larger performance benefits for other techniques, which may be extremely meaningful for applied practice. Overall, however, especially given the heterogeneity of the observed effects, it would be wise for applied practitioners to avoid overpromising the benefits of sport psychology services to clients and perhaps underdelivering as a result [ 1 ].

The results of our systematic review can be used to generate recommendations for how the profession might conduct improved research to better inform applied practice. Much of the early research in sport psychology was exploratory and potential moderating variables were not always sufficiently controlled. Terry [ 51 ] outlined this in relation to the study of mood-performance relationships, identifying that physical and skills factors will very likely exert a greater influence on performance than psychological factors. Further, type of sport (e.g., individual vs. team), duration of activity (e.g., short vs. long duration), level of competition (e.g., elite vs. recreational), and performance measure (e.g., norm-referenced vs. self-referenced) have all been implicated as potential moderators of the relationship between psychological variables and sport performance [ 51 ]. To detect the relatively subtle effects of psychological effects on performance, research designs need to be sufficiently sensitive to such potential confounds. Several specific methodological issues are worth discussing.

The first issue relates to measurement. Investigating the strength of a relationship requires the measured variables to be valid, accurate and reliable. Psychological variables in the meta-analyses we reviewed relied primarily on self-report outcome measures. The accuracy of self-report data requires detailed inner knowledge of thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Research shows that the accuracy of self-report information is subject to substantial individual differences [ 52 , 53 ]. Therefore, self-report data, at best, are an estimate of the measure. Measurement issues are especially relevant to the assessment of performance, and considerable measurement variation was evident between meta-analyses. Some performance measures were more sensitive, especially those assessing physical performance relative to what is normal for the individual performer (i.e., self-referenced performance). Hence, having multiple baseline indicators of performance increases the probability of identifying genuine performance enhancement derived from a psychological intervention [ 54 ].

A second issue relates to clarifying the rationale for how and why specific psychological variables might influence performance. A comprehensive review of prerequisites and precursors of athletic talent [ 55 ] concluded that the superiority of Olympic champions over other elite athletes is determined in part by a range of psychological variables, including high intrinsic motivation, determination, dedication, persistence, and creativity, thereby identifying performance-related variables that might benefit from a psychological intervention. Identifying variables that influence the effectiveness of interventions is a challenging but essential issue for researchers seeking to control and assess factors that might influence results [ 49 ]. A key part of this process is to use theory to propose the mechanism(s) by which an intervention might affect performance and to hypothesize how large the effect might be.

A third issue relates to the characteristics of the research participants involved. Out of convenience, it is not uncommon for researchers to use undergraduate student participants for research projects, which may bias results and restrict the generalization of findings to the population of primary interest, often elite athletes. The level of training and physical conditioning of participants will clearly influence their performance. Highly trained athletes will typically make smaller gains in performance over time than novice athletes, due to a ceiling effect (i.e., they have less room for improvement). For example, consider runner A, who takes 20 minutes to run 5km one week but 19 minutes the next week, and Runner B who takes 30 minutes one week and 25 minutes the next. If we compare the two, Runner A runs faster than Runner B on both occasions, but Runner B improved more, so whose performance was better? If we also consider Runner C, a highly trained athlete with a personal best of 14 minutes, to run 1 minute quicker the following week would almost require a world record time, which is clearly unlikely. For this runner, an improvement of a few seconds would represent an excellent performance. Evidence shows that trained, highly motivated athletes may reach performance plateaus and as such are good candidates for psychological skills training. They are less likely to make performance gains due to increased training volume and therefore the impact of psychological skills interventions may emerge more clearly. Therefore, both test-retest and cross-sectional research designs should account for individual difference variables. Further, the range of individual difference factors will be context specific; for example, individual differences in strength will be more important in a study that uses weightlifting as the performance measure than one that uses darts as the performance measure, where individual differences in skill would be more important.

A fourth factor that has not been investigated extensively relates to the variables involved in learning sport psychology techniques. Techniques such as imagery, self-talk and goal setting all require cognitive processing and as such some people will learn them faster than others [ 56 ]. Further, some people are intuitive self-taught users of, for example, mood regulation strategies such as abdominal breathing or listening to music who, if recruited to participate in a study investigating the effects of learning such techniques on performance, would respond differently to novice users. Hence, a major challenge when testing the effects of a psychological intervention is to establish suitable controls. A traditional non-treatment group offers one option, but such an approach does not consider the influence of belief effects (i.e., placebo/nocebo), which can either add or detract from the effectiveness of performance interventions [ 57 ]. If an individual believes that, an intervention will be effective, this provides a motivating effect for engagement and so performance may improve via increased effort rather than the effect of the intervention per se.

When there are positive beliefs that an intervention will work, it becomes important to distinguish belief effects from the proposed mechanism through which the intervention should be successful. Research has shown that field studies often report larger effects than laboratory studies, a finding attributed to higher motivation among participants in field studies [ 58 ]. If participants are motivated to improve, being part of an active training condition should be associated with improved performance regardless of any intervention. In a large online study of over 44,000 participants, active training in sport psychology interventions was associated with improved performance, but only marginally more than for an active control condition [ 59 ]. The study involved 4-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson narrating both the intervention and active control using motivational encouragement in both conditions. Researchers should establish not only the expected size of an effect but also to specify and assess why the intervention worked. Where researchers report performance improvement, it is fundamental to explain the proposed mechanism by which performance was enhanced and to test the extent to which the improvement can be explained by the proposed mechanism(s).

Limitations

Systematic reviews are inherently limited by the quality of the primary studies included. Our review was also limited by the quality of the meta-analyses that had summarized the primary studies. We identified the following specific limitations; (1) only 12 meta-analyses summarized primary studies that were exclusively intervention-based, (2) the lack of detail regarding control groups in the intervention meta-analyses, (3) cross-sectional and correlation-based meta-analyses by definition do not test causation, and therefore provide limited direct evidence of the efficacy of interventions, (4) the extensive array of performance measures even within a single meta-analysis, (5) the absence of mechanistic explanations for the observed effects, and (6) an absence of detail across intervention-based meta-analyses regarding number of sessions, participants’ motivation to participate, level of expertise, and how the intervention was delivered. To ameliorate these concerns, we included a quality rating for all included meta-analyses. Having created higher and lower quality groups using a median split of quality ratings, we showed that effects were larger, although not significantly so, in the higher quality group of meta-analyses, all of which were published since 2015.

Conclusions

Journals are full of studies that investigate relationships between psychological variables and sport performance. Since 1983, researchers have utilized meta-analytic methods to summarize these single studies, and the pace is accelerating, with six relevant meta-analyses published since 2020. Unquestionably, sport psychology and performance research is fraught with limitations related to unsophisticated experimental designs. In our aggregation of the effect size values, most were small-to-moderate in meaningfulness with a handful of large values. Whether these moderate and large values could be replicated using more sophisticated research designs is unknown. We encourage use of improved research designs, at the minimum the use of control conditions. Likewise, we encourage researchers to adhere to meta-analytic guidelines such as PRISMA and for journals to insist on such adherence as a prerequisite for the acceptance of reviews. Although such guidelines can appear as a ‘painting by numbers’ approach, while reviewing the meta-analyses, we encountered difficulty in assessing and finding pertinent information for our study characteristics and quality ratings. In conclusion, much research exists in the form of quantitative reviews of studies published since 1934, almost 100 years after the very first publication about sport psychology and performance [ 2 ]. Sport psychology is now truly global in terms of academic pursuits and professional practice and the need for best practice information plus a strong evidence base for the efficacy of interventions is paramount. We should strive as a profession to research and provide best practices to athletes and the general community of those seeking performance improvements.

Supporting information

S1 checklist..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.s001

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the work of all academics since Koch in 1830 [ 2 ] for their efforts to research and promote the practice of applied sport psychology.

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Sport and Performance Psychology

Professional athletes are not born with the physical abilities and mental toughness they later display; these aspects of performance are trained over time. Achieving peak sport performance requires physical fitness, focused training, motivation, discipline, stress management, as well as mental resilience. Sport and performance psychology seeks to identify the psychological factors that influence athletic performance and improve mental wellbeing so that elite and amateur athletes alike can realise their potential and find enjoyment in sport. This Collection welcomes original research articles that draw from the fields of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Physiology to investigate the factors that contribute to athletic performance and inform strategies that help athletes build resilience and improve their mental well-being.  

Nikos Comoutos

Psychology in Physical Education and Sport, School of Physical Education, Sport Sciences & Dietetics, University of Thessaly, Greece

Michał Krzysztofik

Institute of Sport Sciences, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Poland

Yee Cheng Kueh

Biostatistics & Research Methodology Unit, School of Medical Sciences, UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA, Malaysia

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EDITOR Richard Thelwell University of Portsmouth, UK [email protected] (term ends December 31, 2026)

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology ( CSSEP ), jointly published by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and Human Kinetics, is an online, peer-reviewed journal and searchable library focused on providing practitioners, students, and instructors with case studies showing different approaches (strategies) and methods (tactics) relevant to sport and exercise psychology applied research and consultation, covering a wide variety of issues and topics that arise in the profession from around the world.

CSSEP is a forum for scientifically driven case studies, broadly defined. The journal is open to the use of diverse practical and methodological approaches, derived from the international community. Manuscripts considered for publication in CSSEP will present approaches and results from high-quality empirical research and/ or systematic interventions. Each case study must demonstrate practical and academic rigor that goes beyond a description of processes to interpretive qualities and relevance outside of a single context.

This unique collection of case studies is continually updated online and covers important emerging and established areas of sport and exercise psychology. Case studies will begin with reflections on the context and the key agents involved, with special attention paid to the author(s), their approach to practice, their philosophy, and a brief outline of the experiences that have helped to shape and evolve their particular approach (strategies). Then, once explaining, in detail, the case itself and the focal interventions (tactics) and outcomes, there will be a strong focus on reflection. The authors will be required to reflect on their experience, the effectiveness of their approach, things they would do differently, and major lessons learned.

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“But I Am a Runner”: Trying to Be a Rogerian Person-Centered Practitioner With an Injured Athlete

Journal Name: Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Pages: 47-54

Sport Psychology Practitioners’ Contributions to the Drafting Process of a Professional Esports Team: A Case Study

Journal Name: Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Pages: 55-65

Association for Applied Sport Psychology 8365 Keystone Crossing, Suite 107 Indianapolis , IN 46240 USA

Phone: (317) 205-9225 Fax: (317) 205-9481 Email: [email protected]

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Sports Psychology Dissertation Topics & Ideas

Published by Carmen Troy at January 2nd, 2023 , Revised On October 10, 2023

If you are a psychology or sports sciences student, you might be looking for unique and interesting sports psychology dissertation topics for your thesis research. If that is the case, you have landed on the right place because this article provides a list of several trending and focused sports psychology dissertation topics that you can consider for your dissertation project.

Make sure to base your research on a topic that you find interesting. Sport psychology covers a wide range of topics, including visualisation, choking, pressure handling, fame management and players’ mental health.

The modern world places a strong emphasis on promoting good mental health and developing strategies to help athletes develop “mental toughness”. Choose the sport you are most interested in.

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List of Sports Psychology Dissertation Topics & Ideas

• Examining the link between depressive symptoms in semi-pro athletes who participate in team sports and long-term sports injuries.
• What impact does racism in organized sports have on professional athletes of color?
• The pressure and choke experienced by skilled golfers during competitions are examined in “the pressure shot.”
• Olympic athletes and performance-enhancing substances: is using peds worth a chance at the big stage?
• A case study of the psychological effects of career-ending injuries in Spanish football academies is presented in this section on career transition in sports.
• Parenting and exercise: An investigation of the difficulties faced by young athletes practicing with their parents.
• A research to see how kid football players’ egos and complexes in sports academies affect their performance.
• Football player animosity: A study of the conflicts between players on the same football team.
• A conflict between the player and the coach: An investigation of the causes of such disputes.
• Football players who abuse drugs: An investigation on such footballers in Africa.
• Understanding the feelings and thoughts of homosexuality among professional sports, both male and female.
• What effects do recurrent sports injuries have on professional players’ mental health?
• How parents use their children to relive their sporting fantasies is known as living sporting dreams through children.
• How does elite athletes’ mental health affect their performance?
• Recognizing the relationship between culture and racial attitudes among English football supporters.
• Quality of life variations among semi-pro athletes in team sports.
• A research to determine whether a good sports player’s mental toughness is weakened by repeated injuries among football players.
• A study was conducted to determine what mental illness causes athletes to become drug addicts.
• Football player depression: A study to comprehend how depression affects a football player who is rarely used on the field.
• How are an athlete’s identity and performance impacted by the level of celebrity? What are the key metrics that famous athletes pay attention to?
• What effects can interval training methods that include positive reinforcement have on enhancing competitive performance in professional matches?
• What impact do team chants have on a team’s performance before a game? What do the statistics say about each player’s degree of chant participation?

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Any topic for a dissertation in sports psychology should be chosen carefully, keeping in mind the reader’s and your own interests, the availability of credible sources, and the effect the issue will have on the field.

Look at several sources for unique ideas, and always think about hiring a professional proposal writing service or dissertation writing service to help you write, examine, edit, and proofread your work as you go.

You may also employ an experienced thesis writer to assist you with the entire dissertation writing process , and forget about running into any difficulties. Hopefully, the aforementioned sports psychology dissertation ideas help you develop an interesting topic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best sports psychology dissertation topics.

The best Sports Psychology Dissertation Topics can include areas like athlete motivation, performance anxiety, team dynamics, mental training techniques, or the impact of sports on mental health. Choose a topic aligned with your interest and the field’s current trends for a successful dissertation.

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Physiotherapy is a healthcare profession that deals with movement disorders of the body arising from different conditions. Physiotherapy focuses on performing practices that reduce physical ailments.

A child’s behavior is affected by his or her experiences and behaviors. Language, IQ, and motor abilities are just some of the domains in which change is studied. Theories of development give different weights to experience.

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Sport Psychology: Examples of Current Research

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• P. Schwenkmezger &
• H. Rieder  

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This chapter gives an overview of the state of empirical research in the Federal Republic of Germany during the past 20 years. A trend toward psychological and movement-analytical studies in the area of sport became evident during the 1920s and 1930s (in summary, Feige, 1977). However, an independent scientific discipline could only develop after the establishment of sport scientific courses of study and of professorships for sport psychology at the universities. On the other hand, sport-related empirical research has been more or less neglected in psychological departments, despite the existence of serious arguments, which pointed toward the fact that the subject of sport could be useful for genuine psychological research problems (Heckhausen, 1979).

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Introduction: Sport and Exercise Psychology—Theory and Application

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Schwenkmezger, P., Rieder, H. (1992). Sport Psychology: Examples of Current Research. In: Haag, H., Grupe, O., Kirsch, A. (eds) Sport Science in Germany. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77630-4_14

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Psychological Skills Training for Athletes in Sports: Web of Science Bibliometric Analysis

Associated data.

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to WoS policy.

Psychological Skill Training (PST) for optimal performance in sports has received extensive attention from athletes, coaches, and experts, and numerous studies have been conducted, but despite this interest, it has not been the subject of any bibliographic analysis. The analysis covered 405 articles and reviews that were located in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (Core CollectionTM) between 1992 and 2021. These papers were published by 1048 authors from 543 different universities across 54 countries in 107 different journals. The fundamental bibliometric calculations and co-word networks were completed. As a result, the following thematic elements were grouped into four clusters: (1) PST for stress, mental toughness, and coping, (2) PST for anxiety, motivation, self-confidence, and self-efficacy, (3) PST for flow and mindfulness, and (4) PST for emotions. From the results of this study, it was confirmed that the topic of PST is converging toward the best performance, with various approaches, such as stress management, anxiety control, and coping as techniques for PST. Furthermore, mindfulness and positive psychology studies emphasize athletes’ quality of life, so coaches and experts should pay more attention to improving athletes’ quality of life in future research.

1. Introduction

In today’s Olympics and international level competitions, the physical, technical, and strategic gaps between top athletes are progressively shrinking. It was amazing to witness that certain athletes performed better than athletes who were more physically talented. Conversely, it was disappointing that some athletes would perform flawlessly during the semi-final and then perform tragically in the final. The massive pressure from this increased performance density has been directly linked to the extensive attention to psychological skills training (PST) in recent. In the early days, coaches and athletes recognized the importance of mental states for optimal performance, but the field of sports psychological training was not flourished because of the misunderstanding that psychological skills are innate properties and lack of knowledge to train these abilities [ 1 , 2 ].

Initially, sport psychology or mental training with athletes emerged in the United States during the late 1970s. Although one of the first works in sport psychology was published in the 1920s by Coleman Griffith [ 3 ], it went through a long hibernation until the 1960s and early 1970s, when systematic studies on sports psychology began [ 1 , 4 ]. In the late 1980s, Vealey suggested that future directions in PST include expanding the target population, refining specific implementation procedures, and differentiating between psychological skills and methods [ 1 ]. During the first 7 years of the 1980s, the premier scientific publications, such as the Journal of Sport Psychology, mainly focused on theoretically based research that emphasized various psychological approaches and research methodologies [ 4 , 5 ]. While several experts acknowledged that applied sport psychology interventions could be effective through their reviews [ 6 , 7 ], they urged greater attention must be given to program evaluation and professional accountability. With these accountability concerns, research evolved and concentrated mainly on evaluating the effectiveness of psychological services to athletes and coaches [ 8 , 9 ]. The Consultant Evaluation Form (CEF) by Partington and Orlick [ 10 ] was the first valid and reliable instrument to evaluate the qualification of psychological consultants and their services. With the efforts to identify the effective sport psychology consultant characteristics [ 8 , 11 ] and the publication of psychological consultant guidelines for athletes [ 12 ], recent studies have focused primarily on interventional research [ 13 , 14 ].

Although the field of PST covering all sports events has produced a copious number of publications, the attempts to gather bibliometric data in a systematic manner to identify research trends and highlight publications that have led to the progress of the field have not been done yet. During the 1980s and early 1990s, there have been few bibliometric studies in sports and exercise science, such as the International Society of Sport Psychology [ 15 ], the Journal of Sport Psychology [ 4 ], and Sport & Exercise Psychology [ 16 ]. However, it was analyzed only within a specific journal and did not include all journals in the related field.

The bibliometric analysis provides information including highly cited authors, publications, the most productive institutions, and countries through the analysis of citation indices. Bibliographic studies emphasize trend-driven authors in the research field and provide information on the current topics; they have been widely applied to a variety of other research areas and have provided valuable insights [ 17 , 18 ]. Thus, it allows researchers to determine the scope of research topics and assists them in planning their research direction and predicting research trends. Several bibliometric studies have investigated the publication trend of sport and exercise science concerning the research output of particular countries or areas [ 19 , 20 ], sub-specialized fields [ 21 , 22 ], or the production of a selection of sport science journals [ 23 ]. To the best of our knowledge, there are no bibliometric analyses that have investigated research regarding PST. This study used bibliometric tools to analyze PST articles retrieved on the Web of Science (Thomson Reuters Company, Toronto, ON, Canada) database and provides a better understanding of how PST research was initiated, organized, progressed, and interrelated throughout the world. In addition, it aims not only to provide insights into future research for experts in the academic field but also to provide practical help in the development of PST programs for coaches and athletes in the sports field.

2. Materials and Methods

The Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS) database’s bibliometric data for this study was obtained on 10 November 2021. Prior to data collection, five researchers in the field of sport and exercise psychology were asked to indicate search terms they would use to retrieve publications on PST and elite athletes. For the search, the terms “mental skill*,” “Psychological skill*,” “mental skill training*,” and “psychological skill training*” were used in the topic search field without limitation on the publication year of the documents. In order to retrieve publications that specifically focused on athletes or elite athletes, we refined our search with the following search terms “sport*,” “athlete*,” “elite*,” and “elite athlete*.” The topic field searches the title, abstracts, author’s keywords, and KeyWords Plus ® for the terms provided (keywords automatically assigned by WoS). Boolean operators (AND-OR) were also utilized to enhance the search for associated publications. Only journal articles and reviews were used for the analysis because they attributed the majority of document types and consisted of complete research ideas and results; therefore, 19 meeting abstracts, 14 early access articles, 4 book reviews, 4 proceedings papers, 3 editorial materials, and 2 book chapters were excluded. In the end, a total of 405 related articles and reviews were analyzed in the current research.

For analysis, the data were downloaded from WoS in “Full record and cited references” and “plain text” formats. First, to identify the authors, countries, journals, and institutions with the largest number of articles and citations, HISTCITE 12.3.17 (Thomson Reuters, Philadelphia, PA, USA) software tool was used to analyze the data. Qualitative indexes [global citation score (GCS) and local citation score (LCS)] were considered in this study [ 24 ]. The GCS and LCS metrics quantify the number of citations over the whole Web of Science Core Collection and the identical collection, respectively [ 25 ]. The co-word networks between the keywords were then examined using VOSviewer’s methodology [ 26 ]. The linkages and networks between the keywords were found and analyzed using this program.

To create a visualized map for the bibliographic analysis, we imported the downloaded data into VOSviewer. It enables us to select and adjust settings in accordance with various analytic objectives and data sources, as data cleaning is frequently required when producing maps based on web data. As a result, the following criteria are established for this study. (a) It is possible to combine or ignore certain terms when creating mappings based on text data by using the thesaurus files supplied by VOSviewer. For instance, for a more precise clustering analysis, the terms “coping,” “coping skill,” and “coping skills” were combined using the thesaurus file, while terms irrelevant to this study that were not explicitly filtered out, such as “coping skill therapist,” were not omitted. (b) The strength of the connection between normative items was determined using the association strength method [ 26 ], which was deemed to be the most consistent with the normalized technique. (c) Following testing, the layout with the parameter of attraction set to 2 and the parameter of repulsion set to 0 (producing a map of the co-word network) produced the best visual results. Additionally, the default settings for the other options.

Figure 1 denotes the step-by-step processes of this study: (Step 1) The topics and keywords related to PST/mental skill training and athlete/elite were identified, and then the search was defined. (Step 2) We refined the searched items and eliminated the irrelevant items. Finally, 405 articles were included. (Step 3) We sorted the papers into categories according to the year, author, number of citations, journal, country, and institution. (Step 4) The co-word map was generated. The information in the networks was examined in Step 5 to determine the outcomes.

Schematic process of the bibliometric analysis.

After the data were refined for this analysis, a total of 405 papers from 107 different journals between 1992 and 2021 were examined. As seen in Figure 2 , publications increased steadily between 2007 and the present, with 83.45% ( n = 338) of the total papers appearing in the previous fifteen years (2007–2021), while only 67 articles (16.54%) had been published from 1992 to 2006. In some research fields, the era of an extremely low number of articles (Since 1992, five articles on average have been published per year) might cause it to be regarded as a “niche” academic field [ 27 ]. The number of publications peaked in 2019, while the number of published articles in 2020 decreased by 35% compared to the previous year ( Figure 2 ).

Number of articles published per year (1992–2021).

Based on the results, PST in sports has recently drawn the interest of academics and professionals; however, it is impossible to tell for sure whether this trend will continue in the future. According to Price’s law [ 28 ], the research process, however, goes through four stages: (i) pioneers begin publishing on a specific research field, (ii) due to the interest of many academics in the study topic, there is exponential development, (iii) a concentration of information and research on the subject, and (iv) a decrease in publications. It may be argued that PST is now a topic of interest for academics and professionals due to the aforementioned procedure. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced coaches and athletes to train remotely and restrict the chance to meet a sport psychologist and practitioner, may have contributed to the decrease in publications in recent years, despite the fact that the number of related publications has decreased compared to 2019. The data acquired demonstrate that the number of publications in 2021 increased compared to the previous year, and the topics of PST-related research are becoming more diverse [ 29 , 30 ].

3.1. Authors and Number of Citations

There were a total of 1048 authors across the 405 publications that this study examined, hailing from 54 countries and 543 different institutions. Table 1 lists the authors who have published the most on PST in the sports area. The maximum number of publications to identify an author’s output in the topic area was the criteria used to rank the entries in Table 1 and Table 2 , and (ii) the highest number of citations, which are widely used to evaluate the significance [ 31 ] of articles and researchers.

Authors with the highest number of citations (>350).

No.: number of articles, LCS: local citation score, GCL: global citation score.

Authors with the highest number of publications (>5).

As a result, Andrew M. Lane, who has thirteen papers and a total of 411 citations in WoS, was named the most productive author (GCS). This author has published articles mainly related to emotion regulation and emotional intelligence for athletes in sports: develop a questionnaire and intervention regarding emotion regulation for the performance of endurance athletes. Second, Dave Collins has published ten articles with a total of 295 citations in WoS. The author developed the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence Questionnaire. Finally, Tracey J. Devonport has published nine articles with a total of 294 citations and also explored the emotional regulation of athletes.

Even though some authors are more productive than others, this field of study can be considered fragmented because there is no clear “reference author”. Thus, Table 2 presents the most prominent authors, taking into account the number of citations, with publications related to PST in sports partially consistent with the highest number of authors. Despite the relatively small number of publications, Patrick R. Thomas recorded a high citation score and developed the Test of Performance Strategies to evaluate the strategies and psychological skills used by athletes [ 32 ]. Daniel Gould’s Studies examining the influences of mental skills and strategies on Olympic performance are also listed because they have a large number of citations.

3.2. Institutions

PST has been covered in articles by 543 different institutions. The institution is the one to which the researcher is affiliated at the time the article is published. More than 88% (481 out of 543) of the institutions have published only one or two articles. Moreover, institutions that published more than three articles but fewer than seven accounted for less than 2% (53 out of 543) of the total. The nine institutions that are presented in Table 3 have published more than seven articles.

Number of publications by Institutions.

Secondly, the University of Wales Institute Cardiff stands out in first place among institutions with the most citations across the whole WoS (GCS = 472), followed by Wolverhampton University (GCS = 432). Interestingly, although it did not list in Table 4 because of a small number of articles, Griffith University (GCS = 457) and the University of Western Ontario (GCS = 323) published four papers that recorded a high citation score and took second and fourth place, respectively. As confirmed by the number of citations and authors, research institutes in the UK are actively conducting research related to PST.

Journals by the Number of Publications and Citation Received (LCS and GCS) and Impact Factor (JCR).

3.3. Journals

At least one paper on this subject has been published in 107 different journals. Journals accounting for more than 56% (60 out of 107) of the total have only published one paper, whereas journals making up more than 20% (22 out of 107) of the total have published two or three. Table 4 . lists journals that have published more than 10 articles. Sport Psychologist, the most traditional journal in the PST field, published 58 articles and recorded the highest number of publications and GCS scores, but the recently reported impact factor was low at 1.45 (Q4). On the other hand, despite the small number of articles and low GCS scores, the Frontiers in Psychology and Journal of Sports Science and Medicine were reported as high-impact factors, which reflects the latest publishing trend that shows the option of open-access and a broad aim and scope of the journal.

3.4. Co-Word Analysis

In the field of research, keywords play a crucial role since they can be used to track the development of a specific area of knowledge. [ 33 ]. In the current study, 1076 keywords (both those chosen by the authors and by ISI WoS) were found, although only 428 (39.77%) of them co-occurred or showed up more than once. Of these, 60.22 % (or 648) were repeated just once. The term “co-word analysis” denotes a close association between the ideas and is defined as “a content analysis approach that employs the words in documents to identify relationships and develop a conceptual structure of the domain” [ 34 ]. Figure 2 shows the main co-occurrence connections found in the articles under investigation.

The most cited keywords are listed in Table 5 ; the most cited keyword was performance (GCS = 3333), followed by psychological (GCS = 2298), sport (GCS = 2157), and skill (GCS = 2121; Table 5 ). The keywords in Table 5 were chosen based on the following criteria: global citations in WoS (GCS) equal to or higher than 1000 citations for the most cited keywords and a frequency of presence in the search collection equal to or greater than 50 times for the most common keywords. However, compared to the most frequently used keywords, the keywords that receive more citations are slightly different.

Most frequent keywords.

f : frequency; LCS: local citation score; GCL: global citation score.

Currently, powerful analytic tools such as VOSviewer allow for the systematic identification, analysis, and representation of keywords. Based on bibliographic information, a map was made to display a co-word network. The “association strength” method, the “Visualization of Similarities” (VOS) approach, was used to graphically organize each term on the map after the “association strength” method was used to standardize the association values of the keywords [ 35 , 36 ]. Finally, the VOSviewer method offers the option to incorporate several resolution settings in order to detect the various clusters. The keywords picked by the authors and those picked by the ISI WoS, as well as every other term in the whole list of keywords, were taken into consideration while conducting the thematic analysis. The cut-off point was established in 10 or more occurrences of these keywords. In this study, we ultimately settled on 45 keywords, and we assessed the overall strength of the co-occurrence links with other keywords. According to the analysis, the leading four different clusters of keywords were found. Figure 3 displays a graphical depiction of the co-occurrence of keywords or co-words.

Co-word network created by VOSviewer.

This provides a generalized description of the knowledge or concepts found in previous works of literature [ 37 ]. Various sizes and colors of circles serve as representations for the analysis of the terms. A given keyword’s frequency is determined by the size of the circles; the larger the circle, the more times the term appears in the titles and abstracts of the publications under examination [ 38 ]. The clusters identified by the study correspond to the circles that can be distinguished by color. The distance between the circles (keywords) provides crucial information about how they are related; the weaker the relationship, the further apart the circles are. This connection is established by the frequency with the terms co-occur in the titles and abstracts [ 39 ]. According to the subject area, the VOSviewer identified four distinct clusters that could be differentiated by four distinct colors:

• Red cluster—“PST for stress, mental toughness, and coping”: This cluster is the largest and is composed of sixteen items as follows; stress, mental toughness, self-regulation, coping, and achievement. This cluster is associated with interventions regarding stress and coping skills and includes a perception of mental toughness for performance enhancement and questionnaire development;
• Green cluster—“PST for anxiety, motivation, self-confidence, and self-efficacy”: This cluster is the second largest and consists of fourteen items as follows; anxiety, athletic performance, motivation, attitude, self-confidence, and strategies. This cluster relates to a mental training program for anxiety and self-confidence of athletes in a variety of sports fields and a motivational climate for athletic performance;
• Blue cluster—“PST for flow and mindfulness”: the third cluster includes 11 keywords as follows; flow, imagery, intervention, mindfulness, and performance enhancement. This cluster refers to the implementation of mindfulness intervention for performance enhancement and the study of the relationship between flow, mindfulness, and PST;
• Yellow cluster—“PST for emotions”: the last cluster is composed of four items as follows; competition, emotions, model, and sports. This cluster mainly relates to emotional regulation and emotional intelligence in sports and athletic performance.

3.4.1. Cluster 1—Red: PST for Stress, Mental Toughness, and Coping

Primarily, this cluster accumulates publications related to the major role of PST, stress management, or developing mental toughness for peak performance. Nevertheless, we found three key approaches in this cluster. First, categorized studies that include the process of identifying the source of stress and measuring it through the development of a questionnaire [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. The second academic approach identified in this cluster is coping strategies and responses to the various sports settings and populations (e.g., soccer, volleyball, CrossFit, football, etc.) [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. The last approach of the analyzed studies related to the development and maintenance of mental toughness for performance enhancement [ 47 , 48 ] and examining the relationship between mental toughness and other psychological skill in a variety of elite athletes [ 49 , 50 ].

Sources of stress in the sports setting are diverse. Specifically, Kroll [ 51 ] categorized five psychological stress that was encountered by adult athletes; fear of failure, feelings of inadequacy, loss of internal control, guilt, and current physical state. Whilst sources of stress are considerably different across individuals, related studies of a variety of populations have confirmed the generalizability of Kroll’s idea. Studies focused on soccer players [ 52 ] and basketball teams [ 42 ] consistently reported sources of stress include fear of failure, concern about the expectations of others, making mistakes, the media, and unforeseen events. The most apparent application of these results seems to be that in order for performers to have any chance of putting on a relatively stress-free performance, they must have complete confidence in their goals, their organization’s system, and their event preparation.

Although stress can be viewed as both demanding and anxiety-inducing, the approach of PST literature on stress and performance has mostly concentrated on the use of coping strategies in various events. A study investigating the strategies for table tennis players coping with their anxiety level reported that the coping strategies include PST techniques such as positive self-talk, breathing techniques, and visualization to enhance their performance [ 53 ]. In the same year, Vidic and colleagues [ 42 ] published a mixed methodology study investigating the PST intervention effect on women’s NCAA division basketball player’s perceived stress and athletic coping skills. Both quantitative and qualitative results showed a progressive decrease in stress and an increase in athletic coping skills across the study. Moreover, their study opened up new possibilities for future research by incorporating mindfulness into the PST program.

Since the early 2000s, this area of knowledge has attracted the interest of sports psychologists, coaches, and professionals, as mental toughness is an essential aspect of success in sports. In the early stage of the mental toughness research, based on the studies that identify the mental toughness of athletes in various sports events [ 48 , 54 ], the development and validation of inventory to measure and maintain mental toughness continued [ 55 , 56 ]. Currently, mental toughness is a frequently studied topic, along with other topics such as anxiety, psychological skills, and mindfulness. For instance, a prior study in our search collection examined the psychological skills, mental toughness, and degree of anxiety of female football players in relation to their skill level [ 57 ]. The psychological skills of the athletes did not differ according to skill level, but in terms of mental toughness and anxiety, the national team scored highest and lowest, respectively. Similarly to this, Wu and colleagues [ 58 ] explored the connection between psychological skills, dispositional mindfulness, and mental toughness among collegiate athletes. The authors discovered a beneficial relationship between mindfulness, mental toughness, and psychological skills in relation to sports performance, and they offered potential directions for future studies to improve both athletic performance and quality of life.

3.4.2. Cluster 2—Green: PST for Anxiety, Motivation, Self-Confidence, and Self-Efficacy

Cluster 2, represented by the green color, includes 14 keywords. This cluster consisted of publications related to the PST interventions that athlete’s anxiety and motivation climate in various sports events. The papers that fit into our cluster can be classified into two distinct groups: (i) influence or relationship between anxiety and self-confidence in athletic performance and (ii) motivational climate and self-efficacy in athletes.

Goal setting, self-talk, pre-shot routine, relaxation, and imagery are the most popular mental techniques employed by professional athletes to improve their performance [ 59 ]. In terms of the techniques employed by the coaches to promote their players’ self-efficacy beliefs, according to Weinberg and Jackson [ 60 ], they were promoting positive self-talk, acting as a role model for confidence, and verbal praise and persuading. Ultimately, these techniques are based on the basic hypothesis that PST modulates anxiety and confidence to a certain degree in athletes. However, regarding the extent to which these programs can be successful in assisting athletes in controlling their anxiety and confidence, there was a lack of empirical evidence. Since then, through the two decades, numerous study has presented scientific evidence on the effect of PST on the control of self-confidence and anxiety. As a representative study, Terry, Coakley, and Karageorghis [ 61 ] studied the relevance of matching hypotheses for anxiety interventions in junior tennis players. The finding rejected the matching hypothesis and demonstrated that, while all techniques were effective in decreasing cognitive anxiety and increasing self-confidence, centering was the most effective treatment for lowering cognitive anxiety, while mental rehearsal was more successful in decreasing somatic anxiety. The only trait for which the combined intervention outperformed either centering or mental rehearsal alone was self-confidence. Furthermore, Thomas et al. [ 62 ] asserted that anxiety symptoms vary depending on personal interpretation. They measured the associated anxiety symptoms of facilitators (i.e., a performer with a positive interpretation of both cognitive and somatic symptoms) and debilitators across the dimensions of intensity, direction, and frequency throughout the 7-day competition cycle. The results showed that facilitators, interpreting their anxiety symptoms as positive toward performance, experienced higher self-confidence throughout the pre-competition period.

In general, the term “motivational climate” refers to the psychological environment that coaches, parents, and teammates primarily create for their athletes when they train and compete. Most studies on the motivational climate in sports settings have emphasized the importance of the coach in creating a positive sports environment [ 63 ]. Young athletes may improve their skill level, increase performance efficiency in competition, and develop not just as athletes but as people in a positive motivational environment [ 64 ]. According to athletes’ perceptions of the accomplishment environment, which are based on the Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), a related study confirmed two main motivational climates. The task- and ego-involving environments described by AGT can coexist or be combined [ 65 ]. Ames claims that the term “motivational climate” refers to how athletes understand the context-specific cues, rules, and expectations that enable the dissemination of task- and ego-involving motivational cues that support the formation of certain goal orientations.

On the other hand, the impact of various motivational climates on emotional, cognitive, and motivational processes has received a lot of scientific attention. Improvements in enjoyment, effort, perceived competence, and self-efficacy were connected to adaptive cognitive and emotional processes in a mastery setting. A performance climate, on the other hand, was linked to less adaptive behavior, including increased performance anxiety and concern [ 66 ]. In one of the earliest investigations into the relationship between motivational climate and self-efficacy, Wood and Bandura [ 67 ] found that a task-involving climate was linked to higher levels of self-efficacy and performance when people encountered difficulty as opposed to an ego-involving climate.

3.4.3. Cluster 3—Blue: PST for Flow and Mindfulness

In cluster 3, represented by the color green, there are eleven keywords, such as flow, mindfulness, and performance enhancement. This cluster included papers that examine specific links between psychological skills and strategies, mental state of flow, and optimal performance, as well as the relationship between flow and mindfulness. The investigation of these relationships serves the aims of expanding the research of antecedent of flow state in sports, as well as examining the relationship between mindfulness and quality of athletic performance.

Research on flow in sports increased in the early 1990s [ 68 , 69 ], and Csikszentmihalyi [ 70 ] encouraged the application of flow theory to sports settings, where some of his early flow research began. Theoretically, flow, as an optimal mental state, is expected to be related to optimal athletic performance, as well as delivering an optimal experience. A preliminary study that examines the conditions or factors that are positively associated with athletes being able to attain flow failed to identify the relationship between psychological constructs and attainment of flow in recreational sports settings [ 71 ]. However, more recently, Jackson et al. found positive and negative associations between flow and intrinsic motivation, perceived ability, and cognitive anxiety, respectively [ 72 ]. Flow is typically viewed as a peak performance state, and there is some evidence to support this assumption [ 68 ]. Nonetheless, further study is required to investigate the link between flow and performance in sports.

There has been little research investigating the relationship between mindfulness and the adoption of mental skills in sports. In the initiation of mindfulness study among athletes, Gardner and Moore [ 73 ] reported two case studies illustrating the potential efficacy of their mindfulness-based intervention program, which they named the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment approach. The author claim that planned self-regulation of present-moment awareness training that includes mindfulness awareness of breath and bodily movements enhanced participants’ athletic performance and enjoyment. In particular, the acceptance of negative thoughts reduced worrying, improved enjoyment, concentration, and persistence are some of the beneficial results of Gardner and Moore’s mindfulness-based intervention program. Starting with Gardner and Moore’s study, theoretical and methodological considerations regarding mindfulness have been made, and the scope of research is expanding to strength training [ 74 ], the sports field [ 42 ], and brain science [ 75 ]. More recently, efforts to increase mental toughness and psychological well-being through mindfulness programs have continued [ 76 ], and mindfulness programs are being used as a way to protect athletes from psychological distress, especially during COVID-19 [ 77 ]. Unfortunately, there is also a lack of research examining the relationship between flow and mindfulness. Although Clark [ 78 ] examined the impact of mindfulness training on the time spent in flow based on a non-athlete sample, there is only one study conducted on an athlete sample in this search collection.

3.4.4. Cluster 4—Yellow: PST for Emotions

This area of study is mainly related to emotional regulation or emotional intelligence during sports performance and emotional regulation strategies. Research on emotion in the field of sports was initiated in the late 2000s, and vigorous research has been conducted since 2010.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) indicates individual responses to intrapersonal or interpersonal emotional information and includes the recognition, expression, comprehension, and modulation of personal and other’s emotions [ 79 ]. There is a growing body of research that suggests that EI has a crucial role in athletic performance and physical activity [ 80 ]. To enhance sports performance or exercise adherence, a critical understanding of EI constructs is especially important to practicing consultants targeting the implementation of evidence-based intervention. Specifically, two studies that had investigated EI as it relates to psychological skill usage [ 81 , 82 ] in this search collection. A higher trait EI was shown to be related to more frequent use of psychological skills. In one study, high trait EI was associated with more use of task-oriented coping methods, and task-oriented coping is frequently characterized as the most effective coping style for successful sports performance [ 80 ]. Furthermore, stronger athletic success motivation (the capacity to efficiently push oneself toward sports performance) has been linked to higher trait EI [ 82 ]. A more direct examination of psychological skill utilization among athletes discovered that higher scores on trait EI components were associated with more frequent use of self-talk, imagery, emotional regulation, goal setting, activation, and relaxation strategies in practice and competition [ 81 ]. A recent study examined the relationship between EI and anxiety, motivation, and leadership in athletes using a structural equation model. The study shows a strong and direct relationship between EI and anxiety and between EI and motivation, but the direct relationship between EI and leadership is not identified [ 83 ].

The automatic or purposeful use of strategies to elicit, preserve, change, or express emotions is known as emotion regulation [ 84 ]. If an athlete believes that controlling their emotions will help them perform better, they are more likely to attempt. Athletes build meta-beliefs about the emotions necessary for peak performance, and these beliefs are important for emotion control during competition [ 85 ]. Specifically, many athletes like feeling nervous before a competition and will up-regulate that emotion accordingly [ 85 ]. A recent study that investigated emotion regulation strategies used in endurance athletes reported that meta-emotion beliefs that methods targeted at raising anxiety and/or anger would benefit performance, and they utilized techniques to raise the strength of those emotions; that is, they tried to make themselves feel angrier or anxious in order to improve performance [ 86 ]. Furthermore, athletes use many thoughts and behaviors to regulate their emotions. Robazza et al. [ 87 ] found that athletes utilized various emotion regulation strategies, such as self-talk and imagery. An advantage of using the Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) approach in sports (i.e., unpleasant but helpful for achieving success in competition) is that it facilitates detailed analysis of specific instance of real-world experience that has practical value as well as facilitate how theory can be observed in an ecologically plausible environment. In the research field of emotion regulation in sports, various theoretical approaches are being attempted to gain the broadest possible understating of the psychological and behavioral aspects of athletes.

4. Conclusions, Limitations, and Future Research

Our understanding of the existing situation and evolution of PST in sports is assisted by the study’s findings. This information is significant because it gives a comprehensive view of the publications, authors, institutions, and journals with the greatest number of publications and citations, as determined by an examination of 405 total articles. In this study, thematic areas where PST-related studies are flourishing in sports were identified through bibliographic analysis. Basically, traditional topics such as stress management, anxiety control, and coping were the main psychological techniques for optimal performance. In addition, confidence, self-efficacy, and mental toughness were identified as major topics for psychological factors for optimal performance. In addition, to improve athletes’ quality of life, PST programs include mindfulness, emotions, and positive psychology. This study allows not only to determine the topics and areas of interest for authors and academics but also to figure out future research associated with the development and state of each cluster.

It is important to acknowledge any potential limitations of this study. Although the Web of Science database was utilized for the search, which was commonly used in earlier research [ 22 , 88 ] and is extensively used for academic searches, not all of the pertinent material may have been covered in our investigation. Similarly, a qualitative analysis was conducted to decide which papers to include or omit in this study. Although this process may have taken into account the authors’ biases, it enhanced the credibility of the study results by removing studies that mentioned PST for firefighters., surgeons, and military soldiers and including only those referring to PST in sports/elite athletes. For future research, a comparison of these results is recommended with those from other databases such as Scopus, EBSCO, or Google Scholar. In addition, it is suggested to conduct a qualitative analysis of the search results so that useful information can be obtained for academics and experts. These types of studies can provide detailed information about gaps in the existing literature. Sport, especially in the field of PST, is going through a phase of change from a consumer-centric perspective, so it is important to focus attention on theoretical and empirical developments.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, I.P. and J.J.; methodology, I.P.; software, I.P.; validation, I.P. and J.J.; formal analysis, I.P.; investigation, I.P.; resources, I.P.; data curation, I.P.; writing—original draft preparation, I.P.; writing—review and editing, J.J.; visualization, I.P.; supervision, I.P and J.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Home > College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences > Departments > Sport and Exercise Psychology > Sport and Exercise Psychology Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sport and Exercise Psychology Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

A Randomized Need-Supportive Intervention with U.S. Youth Hockey Coaches , Diane Benish

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Living Your Best Life: The Mindful Pursuit of Student-Athlete Thriving , Andrew Augustus

Working with Community Partners in WV: Learning How to Frame Health Equity in Physical Activity Interventions , Karly Marie Casanave-Phillips

How do college student-athletes’ understanding and expectations of mindfulness and self-compassion change through an intervention? , Blake Costalupes

“Building the Roots”: A Delphi Study Examining the Aims of a Multicultural Competency Graduate Course in Sport and Exercise Psychology , Matthew Paul Gonzalez

Exploring the Conceptualizations and Utilizations of Learning Theories in Sport Settings , Kevin R. Lou

Drivers of Change in Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Interventions with Athletes: Investigating the Influence of Dosage, Readiness, and Attitudes , Thomas O. Minkler

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Short-Term International Sport for Development and Peace Programs: A Retrospective Analysis and Critique Informed by Stakeholders’ Perspectives in a Two-Year Follow-Up , Adam Hansell

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

'Deporte y Cambio Social': Women's Empowerment SDP Program in Mexico , Sofia Espana Perez

A Qualitative Study of College Athletes’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic , Carra Johnson

Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Student-Athletes: A Descriptive Study of Practitioners and their Perspectives , William C. Way III

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

A Phenomenological Photovoice Exploration of Female Exercisers’ Experiences of their Body in Fitness Center Environments , Katherine E. Fairhurst

Exploring the Relationship Between Hardiness and Performance in Collegiate Baseball Players , Kevin R. Lou

Using the social ecological model to build a path analysis model of physical activity in a sample of active US college students , Jonathan J. Stewart

"Yo, I Like Your Walk-Up Song": Music Integration in Professional Baseball Gamedays , Seth Swary

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Stigma, Attitudes, and Intentions to Seek Mental Health Services in College Student-Athletes , Robert C. Hilliard M.S.

Supporting The Injured Athlete: Coaches’ Perspectives On Providing Social Support , Stefanee Opal Maurice

Being Mindful of Perfectionism and Performance Among Athletes in a Judged Sport , Erika D. Van Dyke

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Competitive Aggressiveness, Anger, and the Experience of Provocation in Collegiate Athletes , Michael E. Berrebi

Functional Movement Screen Composite Scores for Collegiate Field Club Sport Athletes at One University , Daniel Camillone

Exploring the Use of Sport as a Platform for Health Promotion with Youth in Africa: A Scoping Review. , Adam H. Hansell

Use of Four Predictive Screening Variables for Determination of Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction in Adolescent Soccer Athletes , Brian Hanson

Coaching life skills through sport: An application of the teaching personal and social responsibility model to youth sport in eSwatini , Zenzi Huysmans

Psychosocial Development of Junior Hockey Players , Alexander John Sturges

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Players' Responses to and Primary Caregivers' Perceptions of Authoritarian and Authoritative Coaching in the Inner-City , Renee Brown

Examining the Impact of a Short-Term Psychological Skills Training Program on Dancers' Coping Skills, Pain Appraisals, and Injuries , Leigh A. Bryant

Changes in Athletes' Anxiety, Anger, and Impulsiveness following Concussion , Megan Byrd

Development of Ethics Education Guidelines for Undergraduate Athletic Training Education Programs , Kaitlynn Cullen

Using a Multi-Omic Approach to Investigate a Diet Intervention in Young Adults at Risk of Disease , Oluremi Ariel Famodu

Approaches to Supervision in Sport Psychology and their Influences on Initial Supervisees' Professional Development , Janaina Lima Fogaca

High School Coaches' Experiences with Openly Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Athletes , Meghan K. Halbrook

#Physical Activity: Influencing Parent Behavior Change Through Social Media , Adam Keath

The Effects of an Exercise and Kinesiotape Intervention on Forward HeadRounded Shoulder Posture and Scapular Dyskinesis , Lucas Klawiter

Student-Athletes' Experiences with Racial Microaggressions in Sport: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis , Sae-Mi Lee

The Effects of a Six Week Lumbopelvic Control and Balance Training Program in High School Basketball Players , Margaret Long

Thrombospondin-1 and Cd47 Mediate Peripheral Microvascular Dysfunction Following Pulmonary Exposure to Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes , W. Kyle Mandler

The Investigation of Motor Primitives During Human Reaching Movements and the Quantification of Post-Stroke Motor Impairment , Erienne Virginia Olesh

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Effect of Lower Extremity Asymmetries on Low Back and Lower Extremity Pain with Pregnancy , Erica Casto

Do Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors, and Nutrition Affect Healthy Weight in Middle School Students in an Appalachian Community? Children's Health Opportunities Involving Coordinated Efforts in Schools (CHOICES) Project , Kibum Cho

How Far is Too Far? Understanding Identity and Overconformity in Collegiate Wrestlers , Ashley M. Coker-Cranney

An Examination of Collegiate Athletes', Undergraduate Sport Science Majors', and Athlete Majors' Intent to Pursue Collegiate Coaching as a Career , Lauren Deckelbaum

A preliminary exploration of the application of self-compassion within the context of sport injury , Zenzi Huysmans

Psychosocial Predictors of Resilience in a Military Sample , Anna-Marie C. Jaeschke

Evaluating the Efficacy of Various Modalities to Improve Arterial Stiffness , Corey Moore

The Influence Over Time of Abdominal Strength Changes on Gluteus Maximus Strength , Taylor M. Opperhauser

Use of a Functional Movement Screening Tool to Determine Injury Risk in Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Athletes , Sara E. Spencer

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Surgery and Rehabilitation Treatment Options for Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries of the Elbow for Baseball Athletes: A Systematic Review , Amanda M. Damm

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The Influences of Participation in an Elite Paralympic Military Program on the Self-Identity of Active Duty Service Members with Acquired Disabilities , Lindsay M. Hammond

The Influence of Physical Activity on International Students' Cross-Cultural Adjustment: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study , Shuang Li

Becoming a Mindful Sport Psychology Consultant: Defining, Developing, and Integrating Mindfulness into Practice , Michelle M. McAlarnen

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Certified Athletic Trainers' Abilities to Identify and Refer Athletes with Psychological Symptoms , Marc L. Cormier

Usage of Evidence Based Medicine Resources in Clinically Practicing Athletic Trainers , Kenneth G. Faldetta

Division I College Student-Athlete Career Situation and Attitudes toward Career Counseling , Adrian J. Ferrera

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Sport Psychology "App"lication: NCAA Coaches' Preferences for a Mental Training Mobile App , Raymond F. Prior

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The Influence of Gender on the Peer Leadership-Cohesion Relationship , Michael E. Berrebi

Stressors and Coping Behaviors of Female Peer Leaders Participating in College Club Sports , Leigh A. Bryant

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An Exploratory Investigation of Baseball Coaches' Attitudes and Experiences With Sport Psychology , Jesse D. Michel

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Using Concept Mapping to Identify Action Steps for Physical Activity Promotion in Cancer Treatment , Sean J. Fitzpatrick

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At-Risk Student-Athletes and Academic Achievement: Experiences of Successful and Unsuccessful First Year Collegiate Football Players , Samantha J. Monda

A Survey of Bariatric Surgical Patients' Experiences with Behavioral and Psychological Services , Jessica C. Peacock

A tailored wellness intervention for college students using internet-based technology , Alessandro Quartiroli

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The effects of a walking intervention on self-efficacy for coping with cancer and quality of life among cancer patients during treatment , Sean J. Fitzpatrick

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The evaluation of a nutrition education and fitness program with a contest component among college students using the RE-AIM framework , Michelle L. Bartlett

An individualized multimodal mental skills intervention for college athletes undergoing injury rehabilitation , Jamie L. Shapiro

The role of emotional intelligence on coach-athlete relationships and motivational climate , Eric E. Steege

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Effectiveness of an educational intervention on the attitudes toward sport psychology of athletic training students , Damien Clement

Impact of a physical activity intervention for weight loss: A qualitative analysis of participant perceptions and expectations , Jessica Anne Creasy

Leadership and organizational culture transformation in professional sport , Joe Frontiera

Motivation in sport: Bridging historical and contemporary theory through a qualitative approach , Daniel J. Leidl

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Impact of a tailored intervention on coaches' attitudes and use of sport psychology services , Rebecca Zakrajsek

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The transtheoretical model and psychological skills training: Application and implications with elite female athletes , Linda Ann Keeler

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• Aug 05 2024

Unlocking the mind: The fascinating psychology of Olympic athlete, fan rituals

Body paint, mismatched socks, hidden knick-knacks — what do they have in common when chasing glory on the biggest stage?  

In the competitive world of sports, where every move matters, athletes often turn to rituals and superstitions to find comfort and boost confidence.  

These unique habits can also extend to fans. 

From the food on their plate to the clothes on their back, some sports enthusiasts also feel the success of their team hinges on having things done in such a particular manner that it’s often unexplainable to anyone else.  

With the Olympics underway — and these rituals on full display — UKNow called on two experts to better understand the psychology behind performance.  

Marc Cormier , director of the Sport and Exercise Psychology graduate program housed in the  College of Education’s   Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion , and director of Counseling and Sport Psychology Services in  UK Athletics , discusses how athletes handle high-pressure situations.  

 While  Jenny Rice , an associate professor in the  Department  of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies  in the  College of Arts and Sciences , helps us explain the seemingly incomprehensible psychology behind superstitions.  

 Athletes

UKNow: Let’s start by explaining. What is sport psychology?  

Cormier:  Sport and Performance Psychology (SPP) is a broad term that covers two main areas: mental health and mental fitness.  

Sport psychology professionals study the relationship between psychological factors and optimizing human performance. In short, these can include emotional regulation, anxiety, psychological adjustment, concentration, managing expectations and even team cohesion.    

Think of it this way, most elite athletes have strength and conditioning coaches to train the body and athletic trainers to rehabilitate the body. Sport psychology professionals aim to do each of these — but from the mental side of performance. 

We also help develop the “mental muscles.” By making athletes aware of the importance of mental factors, we can hopefully help them understand they have control over the way they think, and therefore, how they perform.  

 UKNow: Building off this, help us understand what usually goes through an athlete’s mind in high-pressure situations, such as the Olympics?  

Cormier:  Stress and anxiety are very common in high-pressure situations. 

Let’s take a step back — imagine a UK student preparing for an end-of-semester presentation. They’ve invested dozens of hours, have practiced, fine-tuned it and received and implemented feedback. Still, despite their best efforts, most will experience anxiety or fear. This, in turn, can have a real impact on their performance. Physical symptoms (muscle tension, sweating, increased heart rate) may be the difference in the overall execution, enjoyment and outcome of the task.

Now, let’s magnify this, and imagine what Olympians are going through. Not only do they invest more time, effort and money than our presenter, but they likely identify very strongly with their event/sport. Meaning, they don’t go back to their “normal” routine after they’re finished. Their performances likely define who they are for years following the games.  

In the end — as physically prepared as these athletes are — we must consider the mental factors that are involved.  

UKNow: What role do rituals play among athletes competing in the Olympics? These athletes are clearly talented and well-trained, but they also are very ritualistic. Why is that? 

Cormier:  We often assume high-achieving athletes are more ritualistic than non-athletes. The data is a bit mixed on that. Either way, there’s no doubt that athletes commonly display ritualistic behaviors before, and during, a competition.

Athletes may develop rituals for several reasons, but the one that I hear most commonly is due to a desire to be — or remain — in control.  

One of the more basic concepts in SPP (something we teach our graduate students at UK on day one) is, “control the controllables.” In sport (and life), there are controllables (your effort, behavior, attitude, communication patterns, etc.) and uncontrollables (weather, time of competition, skill of opponent, etc.).  

Routines, or process-driven behaviors, can help athletes feel grounded when faced with high-pressure and unpredictable environments. A routine should be a simple pattern of controllable behavior that allow athletes to mentally connect to a desired mindset. 

For example, a sprinter may go through their warm-up/stretching/music routine hours before a competition. This establishes a pattern of behavior that is consistent, predictable, controllable and comfortable.    

UKNow: In your professional opinion, what is the key to success when trying to balance mental and physical performance? 

Cormier:  The answer is actually in your question: balance.  

Every athlete has a different formula. The “success is 90% mental” myth is — you guessed it — a myth. The truth is, we don’t know how much of performance is mental versus physical. It’s different for every person, because people are different. It’s as simple as that.  

Ultimately, athletes need to meet their performance needs and not rely so heavily on what others, or competitors, do. In my experience, athletes naturally mimic those who are at the top of the performance spectrum without realizing it likely won’t work for them. In other words, Michael Phelps’, Simone Biles’, Anthony Davis’ routines work for them. Over many years, they’ve evaluated every piece of the performance puzzle to determine the most ideal formula in achieving the best possible experience/result. 

Achieving balance has less to do with what others are doing and more to do with asking the right questions. “Is this working for me?” “What do I need most when the pressure is on?” “Who will I trust to be in my inner circle one hour before competition?” “How early do I need to arrive before practice to achieve the right mindset?”  

UKNow: How can athletes develop effective rituals that enhance their performance without becoming overly reliant on them? 

Cormier:   Self-awareness is key.

Developing effective rituals to enhance performance is about understanding yourself.  

Most routines will develop over time, and completely at random, (e.g., “I do this before a competition because I did it once and played well, so I’ve been doing it ever since.”). This is not a bad strategy, but an inefficient one. When athletes are more intentional, the above statement changes to, “I do this before a competition, because I’ve learned that I need a few extra minutes to myself before entering the locker room.” 

Ultimately, self-awareness is never a bad thing. If it leads to discovering something you don’t like, you can work towards mitigating it.  

UKNow: What is the difference between a ritual and a superstition?   

Rice:   A superstition can be a ritual that is performed at very particular times — like when you see a falling star and make a wish. But superstitions also have a degree of magic and the supernatural attached to them. Rituals on their own are just habits performed regularly. I brush my teeth every morning, for example, which is a ritual. Superstitions, however, presume that the rituals I perform will have an effect that goes beyond my human ability.   

UKNow: When it comes to superstitions, we often believe them knowing — on some level — they can’t be true. Why do we believe the seemingly unbelievable?   

Rice:   One explanation relates to cognitive dissonance. Our brains have a hard time believing that two opposite propositions are both true. When we’re faced with information that contradicts something we believe, our brains “solve the problem” by providing a rationalization that gets rid of the conflict. For example, while most of us know that smoking is dangerous to our health, we might rationalize it by saying, “I only smoke when I am out with friends, so it’s not like I’m a REAL smoker.” So, we might believe that superstitions, in general, aren’t true, but we might also believe that *this* specific ritual is meaningful and important. We tend to look at our own actions and beliefs as different from the larger category of things that are untrue, dangerous, unhealthy, etc.   

UKNow: We often see fans “living by” superstitions during times of competition. Why do superstitions lend themselves to fan bases and athletic events?   

Rice:   Since superstitions are — to some degree — about hoping to achieve a result that isn’t within our own human abilities, it makes sense that they are part of fan culture. When watching basketball, we can’t make the shots ourselves from the stands, but we may feel like we’re able to able to “help” by performing a ritual that (we hope) will bring about that supernatural effect.   

UKNow: Do superstitions give a false sense of having control over an outcome? If so, is that healthy or unhealthy behavior?   

Rice:  Strong superstitious belief is all about a sense of control over a situation’s outcome. While I wouldn’t necessarily call it unhealthy behavior, there are certain times when we falsely believe that our situations are matters of pure luck — both good and bad. If I’m running a marathon and end up with a terrible performance, I might attribute it to “bad luck.” Maybe I forgot to wear my lucky socks, or I wore unlucky colors. But the truth probably has more to do with my preparation and training (or lack thereof). When we start thinking more in terms of luck than in personal accountability, superstitions can hold us back.   

UKNow: Even when our superstitions fail us, why do we still act on them?   

Rice:   We might not even necessarily be able to see that our superstitions failed. If I believe that my lucky Wildcats shirt always means a UK win, then I might explain a loss through some other reasoning. Maybe I was wearing the shirt, but I blame the fact that I washed it between games as the reason. 

Twenty-two current and former UK students, athletes and staff can be seen competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.  You can view the full list here .

Words: Meg Mills & Lindsey Piercy (Public Relations & Strategic Communication) Photo: iStock/Getty Images Plus