Psychology
Credit value: 10
Unit 17 Psychology for sports performance
17
Psychology for sports performance
Sport psychology is the study of people and their behaviours in a sporting arena. Recently, interest in sport psychology has increased. Athletes and coaches talk regularly in the media about how sporting success can be attributed to how focused and motivated a player is, or how well a team has been able to work together.
As a result, there is now a growing appreciation of the huge impact that the mind can have on the performance of an athlete. Sport psychologists work with coaches, athletes and teams to try to help them to reach the highest levels of health and performance using a wide application of knowledge and a range of different techniques. Throughout this unit, you will examine a range of individual factors, including personality, motivation, stress, anxiety and arousal, that can influence an individual in their sports. After this, you will study the environment that athletes find themselves in and how the dynamics of a group or team can play a role in the outcome that an individual and teams can produce. Finally, you will apply your learning in a practical setting by assessing the psychological characteristics of individuals and deciding on methods to help them improve their performance.
Learning outcomes
After completing this unit you should: 1. know the effect of personality and motivation on sports performance 2. know the relationship between stress, anxiety, arousal and sports performance 3. know the role of group dynamics in team sports 4. be able to plan a psychological skills training programme to enhance sports performance.
1
BTEC’s own resources
Assessment and grading criteria
This table shows you what you must do in order to achieve a pass, merit or distinction grade, and where you can find activities in this book to help you.
To achieve a pass grade the evidence must show that you are able to: To achieve a merit grade the
Unit 17 Psychology for sports performance
17
Psychology for sports performance
Sport psychology is the study of people and their behaviours in a sporting arena. Recently, interest in sport psychology has increased. Athletes and coaches talk regularly in the media about how sporting success can be attributed to how focused and motivated a player is, or how well a team has been able to work together.
As a result, there is now a growing appreciation of the huge impact that the mind can have on the performance of an athlete. Sport psychologists work with coaches, athletes and teams to try to help them to reach the highest levels of health and performance using a wide application of knowledge and a range of different techniques. Throughout this unit, you will examine a range of individual factors, including personality, motivation, stress, anxiety and arousal, that can influence an individual in their sports. After this, you will study the environment that athletes find themselves in and how the dynamics of a group or team can play a role in the outcome that an individual and teams can produce. Finally, you will apply your learning in a practical setting by assessing the psychological characteristics of individuals and deciding on methods to help them improve their performance.
Learning outcomes
After completing this unit you should: 1. know the effect of personality and motivation on sports performance 2. know the relationship between stress, anxiety, arousal and sports performance 3. know the role of group dynamics in team sports 4. be able to plan a psychological skills training programme to enhance sports performance.
1
BTEC’s own resources
Assessment and grading criteria
This table shows you what you must do in order to achieve a pass, merit or distinction grade, and where you can find activities in this book to help you.
To achieve a pass grade the evidence must show that you are able to: To achieve a merit grade the