September 2003
Volume 16, Number 9
Workout Tips From the Exercise and Sport Science Department
Unlike most others who have written columns for this series on non-psychology departments, and unlike most who will read this column, I did not receive my training in psychology. I began in exercise and sport science and I have continued to research, teach, and advise graduate students in exercise and sport science departments throughout my career. Since I began 30 years ago, however, much in the field has changed.
After completing an undergraduate program in physical education and teaching for two years, I entered the graduate program at the University of Illinois, and quickly focused on the emerging area of sport and exercise psychology. Although I was in a physical education (now kinesiology) department, I took most of my graduate coursework in the psychology department, focusing on social psychology and statistics. My advisor, Rainer Martens, was connected with the Children's Research Center, and I assisted with several projects following the social psychological models and experimental methods that dominated at that time.
After completing my PhD in 1976, I held faculty positions at the universities of Waterloo and Iowa before moving to my current position at University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1987. All these positions were exercise and sport science programs, and I specialized in sport and exercise psychology, with a major role in graduate teaching and research.
Sport and exercise psychology has changed over those years, and my work has changed, although I continue to emphasize social context and dynamics. Through the 1980s and 1990s, sport and exercise psychology moved away from experimental lab research and followed psychology trends in differing emphases and highlights. At the same time, sport and exercise psychology developed its unique content, with sport-specific research models and measures, and many professionals took on consulting roles with athletes.
As the research and practice of sport and exercise psychology changed, so did the students and professionals in the field. When I began my career, psychologists rarely mentioned sport or exercise, as though the topic was not worthy of psychology. Today, many of the more active researchers and consultants have all their training in psychology, and most of the students who apply to our graduate programs are from psychology backgrounds. However, most sport and exercise courses, as well as most graduate training programs, are in departments of exercise and sport science.
Exercise and sport science departments are different from psychology departments, and expectations for research and teaching are different. Exercise and sport science students and faculty are expected to have an understanding of and appreciation for an integrated, multidisciplinary field that encompasses biochemistry and socio-cultural perspectives as well as varied psychological perspectives. Undergraduates in exercise and sport science typically aim for careers in fitness and health or sports medicine, with smaller numbers in teaching or sport management. Exercise and sport psychology courses include a wide range of topics such as motivation, stress management, and group dynamics, with specific application to sport and exercise settings. Graduate education and research is more specialized within those larger areas.
Many graduate students are interested in the broad area of "applied sport psychology" and in working as consultants with athletes. Very few graduates actually do sport psychology consulting as a full time professional, as those opportunities are limited, and many who do such work have counseling or clinical practices. Sometimes faculty members in exercise and sport science departments engage in sport psychology consulting through an educational, psychological skills training approach. More often, though, faculty in exercise and sport science are focused on their research and teaching. Those with more applied interests might engage in research related to psychological skills development, anxiety and performance, emotional control, or team building and social support.
Many sport and exercise psychology faculty have focused their research on exercise and health, engaging in collaborative research related to physical activity for health promotion and prevention. Much sport and exercise psychology research is closely aligned with health psychology, one of the fastest growing sub-areas in psychology. Other sport and exercise psychology researchers are expanding in other ways. Youth programs focusing on the development of life skills often incorporate sport and exercise, and many psychologists from exercise and sport science departments are engaged in those efforts.
Research and practice in sport and exercise psychology continue to incorporate more sub-areas of psychology and to expand in new directions. Those who are interested in sport and exercise psychology might look to exercise and sport science departments. But it would be a mistake to limit research and practice to psychological skills training for elite athletes. Spend time considering the many ways psychology intersects with sport and exercise. Much of the research is relatively new and we have only begun to address the endless possibilities.
