Key facts

  • Norman Triplett's 1898 cycling and competition studies are treated as an early foundation of social facilitation in sport psychology.
  • Yerkes and Dodson's 1908 law links arousal with performance through an inverted-U pattern: too little or too much arousal reduces efficiency.
  • Coleman R. Griffith opened the Athletic Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois in 1925 and wrote The Psychology of Coaching in 1926.
  • Abraham Maslow's 1943 hierarchy of needs places physiological and safety needs below belonging, esteem and self-actualisation.
  • Albert Bandura's 1977 self-efficacy theory explains why belief in one's capability affects effort, persistence and recovery after errors.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Norman Triplett's 1898 cycling and competition studies are treated as an early foundation of social facilitation in sport psychology.

  2. 2

    Yerkes and Dodson's 1908 law links arousal with performance through an inverted-U pattern: too little or too much arousal reduces efficiency.

  3. 3

    Coleman R. Griffith opened the Athletic Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois in 1925 and wrote The Psychology of Coaching in 1926.

  4. 4

    Abraham Maslow's 1943 hierarchy of needs places physiological and safety needs below belonging, esteem and self-actualisation.

  5. 5

    Albert Bandura's 1977 self-efficacy theory explains why belief in one's capability affects effort, persistence and recovery after errors.

  6. 6

    Fitts and Posner's 1967 model divides motor learning into cognitive, associative and autonomous stages.

  7. 7

    The International Society of Sport Psychology began with the First World Congress of Sport Psychology in Rome in 1965.

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Scope and foundations of sport psychology

Sport psychology studies how mental processes affect sport performance, learning, training behaviour and social conduct in games. For an objective recruitment paper, the core focus is not clinical therapy but the practical link between mind, body and performance: attention, arousal, confidence, motivation, emotion, personality, team interaction and coaching. A PTI must know these ideas because physical education involves teaching skills, managing groups, correcting behaviour and helping learners handle victory, defeat and pressure.

The field grew from general psychology and physical education. Norman Triplett's 1898 work on cyclists and competition gave an early research base for social facilitation, the effect of others on performance. Coleman R. Griffith, often called the father of American sport psychology, made the subject practical for coaches through the University of Illinois laboratory in 1925 and The Psychology of Coaching in 1926. In 1965, the First World Congress of Sport Psychology at Rome helped internationalise the discipline through the International Society of Sport Psychology. In Rajasthan school and recruitment settings, this history matters because MCQs often ask who, when and why.

Exam cue: Sport psychology is best understood as applied psychology for performance, learning, participation and conduct in sport.

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