Sport Psychology

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Superior de Estudos Interculturais e Transdisciplinares de Almada, Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: sport psychology; neuroscience; neurorehabilitation; psycghological factors; training and violence in sport

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sport Psychology is considered the science that studies the causes and psychological effects associated with sports and physical activity (Williams, 1991). It is a scientific area that is based on a structured theoretical and scientific knowledge, using methods and techniques that increase the psychological abilities of athletes and other sports agents and help them achieve objectives and the expected success. The sports psychologist applies his knowledge to train and support sportsmen and other sports agents, to control external and internal factors in order to overcome the obstacles that arise during the life of sport. In this sense, the sports psychologist helps to develop attention and concentration skills on tasks, to make decisions, to achieve goals, to discover and apply sports potential, to optimize teamwork or to maintain perseverance in the most difficult situations (Orlick, 2009; Vaamonde and Dalimier, 2015).

Thus, it is necessary to continue to create a solid knowledge about psychological factors (cognitive, emotional or behavioral) and to understand their relationship with other variables (e.g., sports injuries, high performance, sports leadership, violence, physical condition, etc.) in order to corroborate or refute theories and to develop new explanatory models that contribute to a better understanding of the workings of people involved in the world of sport.

Prof. Lídia Serra
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • psychology
  • sport
  • performance
  • training

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

10 pages, 666 KiB  
Article
An Examination of Ironic Effects in Air-Pistol Shooting under Pressure
by Recep Gorgulu
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2019, 4(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk4020020 - 8 Apr 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4263
Abstract
This study aimed to test the incidence of ironic performance errors in elite air-pistol shooters. Previous research has revealed that, when shooters are anxious, avoidant instructions can cause ironic performance breakdown, especially in the unintended direction. Fifty-seven experienced air-pistol shooters were given specific [...] Read more.
This study aimed to test the incidence of ironic performance errors in elite air-pistol shooters. Previous research has revealed that, when shooters are anxious, avoidant instructions can cause ironic performance breakdown, especially in the unintended direction. Fifty-seven experienced air-pistol shooters were given specific instructions not to shoot to a certain part of a target, under low- and high-anxiety conditions, respectively. Results demonstrated that, when instructed not to shoot in a specific direction, anxious shooters did so a significant number of times. Interestingly, there was no difference in non-target non-ironic error, which provides specific support for Wegner’s theory of ironic processes of mental control in air-pistol shooting. Consequently, these findings illustrated that the combination of increased anxiety with avoidant instructions could lead to such unintended performance errors, called ironic error. Thus, understanding the mechanism of the anxiety-performance relationship may be a useful theoretical framework which could provide practical, instruction-based interventions to reduce susceptibility to ironic errors under pressure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Psychology)
Show Figures

Figure 1

7 pages, 596 KiB  
Article
Tiered Levels of Resting Cortisol in an Athletic Population. A Potential Role for Interpretation in Biopsychosocial Assessment?
by Billymo Rist and Alan J. Pearce
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2019, 4(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk4010008 - 21 Jan 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3580
Abstract
Background: Cortisol is a steroid hormone that follows a distinct diurnal timeline; however, while healthy ranges exist, it not been determined whether or why individuals differ on baseline cortisol levels. The aim of this study was to test the anecdotal evidence of different [...] Read more.
Background: Cortisol is a steroid hormone that follows a distinct diurnal timeline; however, while healthy ranges exist, it not been determined whether or why individuals differ on baseline cortisol levels. The aim of this study was to test the anecdotal evidence of different levels of responders by classifying these levels in resting cortisol, and to correlate individual cortisol responses to psychological traits. Methods: Twenty-two male athletes (mean age 22.5 ± 4.34 years) provided two saliva samples at the same time each day over three days in week one of their pre-season to determine individual baseline salivary cortisol levels. Participants also completed self-report psychological traits measures for correlation to cortisol levels. Results: Three levels of cortisol in responders were clearly identified (F2,19 = 69.00, p < 0.001). Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed that there was no significant relationship between baseline cortisol levels and psychological traits (optimism, r = 0.23, p = 0.29; stress, r = 0.05 p = 0.82; decision making, r = 0.19 p = 0.38). Conclusions: This novel study identified that within an overall healthy range, individual athletes will likely fall into either a low, average or high band of baseline cortisol. However individual responses did not correlate to self-report psychological traits. Caution is required if sports science staff wish to use cortisol to measure psychological stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Psychology)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 243 KiB  
Article
It’s about Time: Effects of Physical Exertion on Duration Estimates
by Britton W. Brewer, Lawrence O. Schwartz III, Allen E. Cornelius, Judy L. Van Raalte, Edmundo L. Urbina and John S. Stubbs III
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2019, 4(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk4010006 - 16 Jan 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3018
Abstract
Background: Task duration is a fundamental aspect of exercise, but little is known about how completed bouts of physical activity are perceived. Consequently, the purpose of the five experiments conducted for this investigation was to examine the effects of engaging in physical tasks [...] Read more.
Background: Task duration is a fundamental aspect of exercise, but little is known about how completed bouts of physical activity are perceived. Consequently, the purpose of the five experiments conducted for this investigation was to examine the effects of engaging in physical tasks on retrospective duration estimates with college student participants. Methods: Across the five experiments, participants were 113 college students (82 women, 31 men). In Experiments 1 and 2, participants provided duration estimates of a period spent engaging in physical activity or rest. In Experiments 3, 4, and 5, participants provided duration estimates of periods spent engaged in physical tasks of high intensity and low intensity. Results: In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, participants engaged in physical activity tended to perceive durations as shorter than participants at rest. When completing less familiar tasks (Experiments 4 and 5), however, participants recalled a high intensity bout of physical activity as lasting longer than a low intensity bout of physical activity of comparable duration. Cohen’s d values for physical activity effects on duration estimates ranged from 0.40 to 1.60. Conclusion: The findings, which partially support a contextual-change interpretation, suggest that factors, such as perceived exertion and task familiarity, affect retrospective duration estimates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Psychology)
9 pages, 236 KiB  
Article
Playing in the UEFA Europa League Does Not Adversely Affect English Premier League or La Liga Performance
by Richard Stephens, Grant Bosworth and Thomas A. Shepherd
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2019, 4(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk4010002 - 22 Dec 2018
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4712
Abstract
Purpose: This article presents data challenging the widely held but untested view that concurrently playing mid-week Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League matches adversely affects domestic league performance. Method: Over 16 seasons we compared next-season domestic league performance of the two [...] Read more.
Purpose: This article presents data challenging the widely held but untested view that concurrently playing mid-week Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League matches adversely affects domestic league performance. Method: Over 16 seasons we compared next-season domestic league performance of the two highest finishing UEFA Europa League qualifying clubs with the two highest finishing non-qualifiers in England and Spain. Results: Clubs concurrently playing UEFA Europa League football showed significantly superior domestic league performance including wins, losses, goals, goal difference and points tally. The number of European matches played was not related to domestic league performance. Conclusions: The absence of prior rigorous analysis including appropriate comparison data has led to the proliferation of a widespread confirmatory bias, defined as the tendency to seek out evidence that backs one’s hunches and to ignore evidence that contradicts them. Based on our evidence, football professionals, journalists, pundits, and fans should consider the UEFA Europa League competition more favorably. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Psychology)
14 pages, 240 KiB  
Article
Stories of Identity from High Performance Male Boxers in Their Training and Competition Environments
by Thierry R. F. Middleton, Jacob Dupuis-Latour, Yang Ge, Robert J. Schinke, Amy T. Blodgett, Diana Coholic and Brennan Petersen
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2018, 3(4), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk3040058 - 24 Nov 2018
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3668
Abstract
The current submission was conceived to broaden the discussion around male athletic identities by exploring the stories told by four members of the Canadian National Boxing Team. The athletes’ stories were elicited through an arts-based method followed by a conversational interview. Stories were [...] Read more.
The current submission was conceived to broaden the discussion around male athletic identities by exploring the stories told by four members of the Canadian National Boxing Team. The athletes’ stories were elicited through an arts-based method followed by a conversational interview. Stories were then analyzed using an interpretive thematic analysis. Three salient themes were found—fluid masculinity, ethnicity brings an edge to boxing, and expressing identity through language. These themes present accounts that highlight how socially, culturally, and historically dominant narratives can allow athletes to feel comfortable in presenting the identities they might reveal or feel constrained from doing so due to factors outside of their control. The need to develop training and competition contexts that allow for the empowerment of athletes’ individually distinct identities is highlighted as a method to ensuring the positive mental health of elite level athletes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Psychology)
Back to TopTop