Thought stopping has its origins in the late 1950s and is a class of cognitive techniques (involving mental or behavioral aspects) commonly employed by sport psychologists to eliminate athletes’ recurring negative, self-defeating, or anxiety-related thoughts. Consequently, an underpinning foundation of thought-stopping techniques is the assumption that such thoughts are detrimental to task performance, to well-being,… Continue reading Thought Stopping
Category: Psychological Skills
Support Group
The term support group refers to all those supportive and potentially supportive people in an athlete’s or exerciser’s environment (e.g., parents, siblings, friends, peers, teammates, coaches, exercise leaders, athletic trainers, physiotherapists, physiologists, psychologists). This topic has been implicated widely within sport and exercise psychology (SEP) and has been noted to explain nearly a quarter of … Continue reading Support Group
Stress Management in Sport
Stress management refers to the environmental, physiological, cognitive, and behavioral techniques employed by an individual to manage the factors and components that underlie the stress process or experience of stress. A primary goal of stress management in sport is to allow the athlete to effectively regulate competition related demands to facilitate optimal performance as well … Continue reading Stress Management in Sport
Simulation Training
Simulation training is a popular technique used in many domains, including aviation, the military, medicine, music and theatre, and sport. It can be described as training or practicing under conditions that are reflective of performing under pressure. Whether this is to practice performing lifesaving surgery, rehearse a new dance piece, or preview the atmosphere of … Continue reading Simulation Training
What is Self-Talk?
Self-talk refers to statements that athletes and exercisers address to themselves; these might represent automatic verbalizations or more deliberate forms of speech. Although such statements can be said aloud, most self-talk is said covertly as a silent voice in one’s mind. The nature of self-talk can also reflect positive (e.g., I can do this) or… Continue reading What is Self-Talk?