Achievement goals refer to the aim, purpose, or focus of a person’s achievement behavior. These goals are dynamic cognitive entities representing future-based possibilities that respond to changes in the person as well as the situation. They do not refer strictly to the level of aspired performance (as in the goal-setting literature) but, rather, to how
Attributions are explanations about why particular performances or behaviors have occurred. When faced with important, negative, novel, or unexpected events, individuals search for meaningful explanations for the causes of those events. In this regard, it is widely acknowledged that attributions are an area of importance in the field of applied psychology because of their implications
The aim of attachment theory has largely been to explain how relationships with parents in childhood have such a persistent effect on personality development. The focus of attachment theory has subsequently been extended from child to adolescent and adult development and social relationships within the context of both contemporary personality and social psychology. Attachment has
In sport, and sport coaching more specifically, the connection between coach and athlete is instrumental for optimal functioning, be it physical, psychological, mental, or social. In fact, there is strong evidence to suggest that success in sport is the product of the combined interrelating between the coach and the athlete. Athletes are unlikely to produce
Erik Erikson set forth a theory of ego identity development to account for the interactions between psychological, social, historical, and developmental factors in the formation of personality. Perhaps no single theoretician has had a greater impact on the way we perceive adolescent identity development than E. H. Erikson. His writing seems timeless, and ideas from
The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is one of a class of related theories of behavior change. The theory was developed by Icek Ajzen (1985, 1991) as an extension of the theory of reasoned action (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen 1975), itself a model of behavior change. The TRA originated as a solution to the problem
In the typical demonstration of dual coding, a list consisting of an equal number of pictures and words is presented to study participants. On encountering an item in the list, the study participant is asked to read the word or name the picture. Later, when the items are recalled, twice as many pictures than words
Feminist theory is a body of literary, philosophical, and sociological analysis that explores the inequality that exists between men and women in societies around the world. Specifically, this theoretical body of knowledge examines gender-based aspects that affect politics, power relations, and sexuality. Feminist theory consists of numerous subcategories that explain gender disparity through differing causal
Whether out of envy or admiration, people have long been fascinated by the extraordinary skills of champion athletes such as Roger Federer (tennis), Michael Phelps (swimming), and Lionel Messi (soccer). Building on this interest, recent years have witnessed increasing collaboration among researchers from cognitive psychology, sport psychology, and cognitive neuroscience in studying the mental and
Every waking moment we face an important selection problem. How do we pick some information for further processing while ignoring almost everything else? This problem is not easy to solve given the brevity and fragility of our working memory (the mental system that regulates our conscious awareness) and the all but unlimited array of information