Sport and Exercise Psychology: A Critical Introduction

368 Pages·2004·3.54 MB·English

by  Aidan P. Moran

Sport and Exercise Psychology

Sport and Exercise Psychology
A Critical Introduction
Aidan P.Moran

LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2004 by Routledge 27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York,
NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.”
© 2004 Aidan Moran
Cover design by Anú Design
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
This publication has been produced with paper manufactured to strict environmental standards and
with pulp derived from sustainable forests.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Moran, Aidan P. Sport and exercise
psychology: a critical introduction/Aidan P.Moran. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-415-16808-2 (hard)— ISBN 0-415-16809-0 (pbk.) 1. Sports—Psychological aspects. 2.
Exercise—Psychological aspects. I. Title. GV706.4.M67 2004 796′.01–dc22 2003017078
ISBN 0-203-38024-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-38641-8 (Adobe e-Reader Format)
ISBN 0-415-16809-0 (pbk)
ISBN 0-415-16808-2 (hbk)
To three special people in my life: My mother, Nora Moran, my girlfriend, Angela, and
my late nephew, Tristan Moran, who died for his love of sport. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a
anam dílis.

Contents

Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements Xii
List of figures xiv

1
Part one Introducing sport and exercise psychology

1 Introducing sport and exercise psychology: discipline and profession 3

33
Part two Exploring athletic performance: key constructs

2 Motivation and goal-setting in sport 35
3 “Psyching up” and “calming down”: anxiety in sport 65
4 Staying focused in sport: concentration in sport performers 95
5 Using imagination in sport: mental imagery and mental practice in athletes 124
6 What lies beneath the surface? Investigating expertise in sport 152

182
Part three Team cohesion

7 Exploring team cohesion in sport: a critical perspective 184
211
Part four Exploring health, exercise and injury

8 Does a healthy body always lead to a healthy mind? Exploring exercise 213

psychology
9 Helping athletes to cope with injury: from theory to practice 241

Glossary 267
References 275
Author index 308
Subject index 323
Foreword

With increasing interest in and even a fascination with sport psychology and health
psychology in academic environments, to the sports world and exercise settings, it is not
surprising to note the variety of books being published on such themes at a rapid rate in
recent years. Contents range from the very superficial or highly practical to the
exceptionally scholarly and scientific, depending on the purpose and possible audience of
the publication. The challenge for the author of a textbook, especially intended for
undergraduate students, is to somehow present the research literature in an interesting,
informative, useful, understandable, and organized manner. Ideally, the reader would be
enthusiastic about learning the subject matter.
Professor Moran succeeds admirably. This is not just another sport psychology
textbook. Perhaps what primarily sets it apart from others is the integration of scientific
substance with real-sport examples of and reference to many famous athletes and
coaches. As a highly respected scholar and practitioner, his passion for sport as well as
sport and exercise psychology is obvious throughout the pages of the book.
Consequently, the reader becomes absorbed in the contents. Even though I am quite
familiar with the areas of sport psychology addressed by Professor Moran, my attention
was captured and my motivation sustained as I reviewed the various topics. They include
a blend of summaries of investigations and theories, issues needing to be resolved, and
anecdotes and references to sports, athletes, and coaches.
What I particularly admired was the recency of the scholarly literature and sport figure
references. Professor Moran is evidently very familiar with the latest happenings in the
field. His writing style is reader-friendly, and the contents are presented in an interesting
and intellectually stimulating way. Helpful are exercise boxes sprinkled throughout the
chapters, with questions to challenge the reader. These are intended to spark reflection on
issues of debate, as well as to generate possible small-scale research projects. The subject
matter throughout the book is organized very well, and evidence supportive of
conclusions is indicated as is inconclusive evidence. Thus, the reader can appreciate the
difference between scientifically based knowledge vs. intuition and beliefs based on
personal experiences and hearsay.
Professor Moran does not attempt to include every conceivable topic or theme
associated with sport and exercise psychology in his book. This is a wise decision. The
body of knowledge and areas of interest have exploded in contemporary times, making it
impossible to do justice to all these topics in one textbook. Professor Moran has included