Emotion is a central feature of many sporting events. Athletes, as well as supporters, can experience many emotions, including joy, sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, shame or guilt, and pride. Most emotion theorists argue that emotions have the power to motivate and regulate cognitions and behaviors in sport. To understand the antecedents, experience, and consequences of
Affect, also referred to as core affect, is the basic substrate of consciousness, its most elementary constituent. It is the constant readout of human feeling. Affect has a distinctive experiential quality that does not consist of nor require cognition or reflection. It is an inherent and necessary ingredient of emotions and moods; it is what
Obesity is commonly defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2or higher. Increasing rates of obesity in many countries represent a great challenge for public health. In the United States, for example, the rate of adult obesity exceeds 35%. Obesity is associated with increased risk of premature mortality resulting from chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes,
Mental health has been described as the emotional and spiritual resilience that enables people to enjoy life and to survive pain, disappointment, and sadness. It is fundamental to health and well-being and is more than the absence of symptoms of mental illness. Mental illnesses are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood
The “runner’s high” is a euphoric sensation reportedly experienced during running, usually unexpectedly, in which the runner feels a heightened sense of well-being, enhanced appreciation of nature, and transcendence of barriers of time and space. There are many terms in the research and popular literature that have been used to describe the runner’s high. These
Personality has been defined as the relatively stable organization of an individual’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique, which shapes the individual’s behavior and his or her actions in a given situation. For each individual, there are core personality components that are quite stable and unchanging. However, when one observes patterns of behavior in an individual
The dualistic model of passion (DMP) describes two types of passion, namely harmonious and obsessive passion. This model allows for a better understanding of the passion of people involved in sport (athletes, coaches, referees, and fans) as well as the outcomes they experience. The DMP defines passion as a strong inclination toward a self-defining activity
Repetition can make a simple behavior very powerful. Improving your physical health by exercising, increasing body strength by working out, or building up your potting skills in playing snooker can only be achieved by frequently executing these behaviors. However, people often struggle to maintain such regimes; sport schools typically see a decline in attendance a
Sport commitment is a central motivational construct because it goes right to the heart of athletes’ persistent pursuit of their sport. Simply put, it is a psychological state explaining why athletes do what they do. There are two types of sport commitment: enthusiastic and constrained. Enthusiastic commitment (EC) is the psychological construct representing the desire
Psychopharmacology refers to the study of the actions of drugs on behavior. Drugs and substances with the potential to modify or completely change human behavior are best known as psychoactive. It is noteworthy that psychopharmacology has developed along with advances in neuroscience research. These two fields of scientific inquiry revealed the mechanisms of brain function—and