Understanding and enhancing motivation is one of the most popular areas of research in psychology, as well as sport and exercise psychology. In psychology and sport psychology, this research has primarily addressed the role of motivation in individual lives, especially when addressing motivation in achievement contexts. Motivation has usually taken the form of managing the
An athlete leader in sport is defined as an individual who holds a formal or informal leadership role within a team and influences other group members in the pursuit of common objectives. Researchers suggest that approximately one quarter of athletes occupy some form of leadership role within a team, and highlight the potential importance of
Most athletes will encounter one or more major setbacks or adversities during their sporting career. An elite athlete may, for example, experience a career-threatening injury, garner demotion from a top-tier team because of poor performance, or need to relocate to another country to continue competing in their sport. Despite the potential for setbacks and adversities
Sex differences are often referred to interchangeably as gender differences, often to offset taboos associated with the word sex. Use of the word gender originated as a social construct to include biological sex, social roles, and gender identity and is conventionally used in biological delineations. The significance of physical differences between and within sexes lies
Neural plasticity is the mechanism by which the brain encodes experience and learns new skills, behaviors, and habits in daily life and on the athletic field. Brain cells called neurons form a communication network that serves as the foundation of information processing in the brain. The neural network of the brain holds the capacity to
Modern sport culture is replete with qualities thought to make burnout prevalent, including high training volumes and competitive demands, near year-round training, and in some sports, specialization at young ages. Given this sport landscape and the concerns raised by sport scientists and others involved in the sport community (coaches and administrators), the importance of athlete
Mentoring is a process in which a mentor, who is typically more experienced or older, helps a mentee or protégé grow and develop in some way. As such, a mentor may be thought of as a guide, tutor, counselor, or adviser. In sport and exercise psychology (SEP), mentoring is commonly thought of in terms of
Relaxation has been defined as a psychological strategy used by sports performers to help manage or reduce stress-related emotions (e.g., anxiety and anger) and physical symptoms (e.g., physical tension and increased heart rate [HR]) during high pressurized situations. Several different types of physical and mental relaxation strategies will be discussed in this entry, all of
In recent years, there has been an increase in research and practical applications concerning the use of biofeedback training for athletic performance enhancement. It is important to be aware that the terms biofeedback and biofeedback training are not identical, and therefore need to be defined separately. Biofeedback (BFB) is the output from an electronic device
Rest is the cessation of activity. Rest is of interest within sport and exercise psychology because performance and learning in sport and exercise domains are affected positively by appropriate use of rest and negatively by inappropriate use of rest. The specific effects of rest depend on the length of the rest period and the length and