Field Of Sports Psychology

Psychology is a broad term that encompasses many small branches of science. On the whole, the field of psychology focuses on humans (however, research on animals does occur), and in particular, the human mind. The human mind is a vast cathedral of knowledge and potential that God gave humans. The media has imprinted in our minds an image of psychologists in long white lab coats talking to crazy patients sitting on couches. However, psychology is so much harder to picture because of the many roles psychologists play. A psychologist's work setting may vary depending on the occupation chosen and the end goal of the psychologist.

In the field of sports psychology, there are two primary fields that are the main focus: counseling and research.
For example, many argue that it could expand into the field of academics. After all, they share many similarities. For instance, both subjects require the determination to succeed in order to improve. "A strong case is being made for broadening the scope of research on academic motivation to include students' ethical, political values and their interpretations of the purposes of curriculum content (John G. Nicholls)." This research took me completely by surprise. When starting my research, I assumed that this was just for professional athletes competing at a high level. However, I discovered that sports psychology is much more than
For example, he/she could deal with many different problems; such as dealing with a patient lacking motivation or desire to compete. Sports psychologists strive to motivate and encourage their patients. They also, depending on the patient, use techniques to relax. However, they mostly focus on cognitive restructuring, just like clinical psychologists. Researchers, in the field of sports psychology could research any number of things. Case in point, they could study what makes the top athletes the best they can be? Or they could study how to make a team's dynamics improve.

In conclusion, sports psychology is one of the most rapidly accelerating fields of psychology. The growth and progress has been impressive to say the least. The field itself has the potential to expand into academics and beyond. Considering that I still play competitive sports, I enjoyed the promise that lies behind the sports psychologist. I have heard it said many times that a great deal of sports is mental, and not necessarily physical. Sports psychologists take that statement (and the athlete along with them) to the next