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Lesson Notes

Class-XI

Chapter-9 (PSYCHOLOGY AND SPORTS)

Meaning and definition of psychology
Psychology is a word derived from the combination of two words, i.e., „Psyche‟ meaning mind
or soul and „Logos‟ means science or study of. Some psychologists have given the definition of
Sports Psychology as under:
According to John Luther, “Sports psychology is an area which attempts to apply psychological
facts and principles to learning performance and associated human behaviour in whole field of
sports.”
According to K.M. Burns, “Sports psychology for physical education is that branch of
psychology which deals with the physical fitness of an individual through his/her participation in
games and sports.”
According to Singer, “Sports psychology explores one‟s behaviour in athletics.”
Importance of sports psychology:
1. Enhancement of Physiological Capacities: Sports psychology plays a very unique role in the
enhancement of physiological capacities such as strength, speed, flexibility, etc. Motivation
plays a major role in the enhancement of physical capacity of sportspersons.
2. Learning the Motor Skills: Sports psychology plays its major role in the learning of motor
skills. This depends on the individual‟s level of readiness, i.e., physiological readiness and
psychological readiness. Physiological readiness in children is development of the necessary
strength, flexibility and endurance as well as the development of various organ systems so that
they may perform motor skills required in the activity. Psychological readiness is related to the
learner ‟s state of mind. It means the desire and willingness to learn the particular skill. In
psychological readiness, sports psychology plays an important role. Sports psychology is also
helpful in the cognitive stage, the social-active stage and the autonomous stage of motor skill
learning.
3. Understanding the behaviour: Sports psychology helps in understanding the behaviour of
athletes or sportspersons engaged in competitive sports. Coaches also come to know about the
interest, attitude towards physical activity, instincts, drives and personality of sportspersons.
4. Controlling the emotions: The emotions like anger, fear, disgust, negative feeling, etc. bring
sports related changes in behaviour of sportspersons. If these emotions are not controlled in time,
the performance may decrease. Sports Psychology plays a very important role in controlling the
emotions of sportspersons during practice as well as competition.
5. Preparation of athletes psychologically for competitions: Sports psychology also plays its
role in preparation of athletes psychologically for competitions. It creates the will „to win‟ in the
players.
6. Role in the emotional problems of sportspersons: Stress, tension and anxiety are natural
during practice period and competitions or tournaments. There may be some other emotional
problems such as depression, frustration, anorexia and panic etc. The knowledge of sports
psychology may be helpful in such situations. Techniques of relaxation and concentration for
stress management can be applied on sportspersons who are under such problems.
Meaning of growth and development:-
Growth is the progressive increase in the size of a child or bodyparts of a child.
Development is progressive acquisition of various skills (abilities) such as head support,
speaking, learning, expressing the feelings and relating with other people.
Growth and development go together but at different rates.