Lecture: Psychological Foundations of Physical Education and

Sport

Psychology
Psychology is a science which is to give us a better understanding and control of the behavior of
the organism as a whole – William Mc Dougall.

The origin of Psychology is often traced to the Greek Philosophers. The term ‘Psychology’ is
derived from two Greek words psyche and logos. Herein psyche means the soul or mind, and the
meaning of logos is to talk about science or study. Thus the meaning of psychology is the science or
study of the soul. Greek philosophers believed that the soul was responsible for various mental activities
such as learning, thinking, feeling, etc and it was the essence or true being of an organism, the cause,
and the principles of life. As the relation of the soul to the body and the functions of the soul could be
explained, some philosophers tried to define psychology as the science of mind.

The systematic scholarly study of the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of people engaged in
sport, exercise, and physical activity.” (Vealey)

Man has always been interested in knowing about himself and understanding others. That is why
it is said that, through psychology as a subject to understand human nature. That is as old as that of the
human body. Human beings and animals are products of biological evolution. Their activities are highly
complex and directed from within. Since ancient times philosophers have tried to understand why
human beings and other animals behave as they do.

Learning
 Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or performance as a result of instruction,
experiences, study, and/or practice.
 Learning is inferred from changes in performance.
 Motor behavior is concerned with the learning or acquisition of skills across the lifespan and
encompasses three areas:
 Motor learning
 Motor control
 Motor development

Motor Behavior
 Motor learning. Study of the acquisition of skills as a consequence of practice.
 Motor control. Study of the neural mechanisms and processes by which movements are learned
and controlled.

Stages of Motor Learning

Cognitive Stage
  Understanding of the nature and goal of the activity to be learned
 Initial attempts at the skill - gross errors

Associative Stage

 Practice mastering the timing of the skill

 Fewer and more consistent errors

Autonomous Stage

 Well-coordinated and appears effortless

 Few errors
 “Automatic” performance allows attention to be directed to other aspects of skill performance

Information Processing Model

 Input. Information from the environment through the senses.

 Decision-making.

 Input evaluation and integration with past information.

 Response selection
 Output. Response execution
 Feedback. Information about the performance and quality of the movement. Information gained
here can guide future interpretations, decisions, and responses.

Factors Influencing Learning

Readiness. Physiological and psychological factors influence an individual’s ability and willingness to
learn.

Motivation. A condition within an individual that initiates activity directed toward a goal. (Needs and
drives are necessary.)

Reinforcement. Using events, actions, and behaviors to increase the likelihood of a certain response
recurring. May be positive or negative.

Individual differences. Backgrounds, abilities, intelligence, learning styles, and personalities of students

Motor Learning Concepts

1. Practice sessions should be structured to promote optimal conditions for learning.

2. Learners must understand the task to be learned.

3. The nature of the skill or task to be learned should be considered when designing practice.

4. Whether to teach by the whole or the part method depends on the nature of the skill and the learner

5. Whether speed or accuracy should be emphasized in teaching a skill depends on the requirements of
the skill.

6. Transfer of learning can facilitate the acquisition of motor skills.

7. Feedback is essential for learning.

 Knowledge of results (KR)

 Knowledge of performance (KP)

8. Learners may experience plateaus in learning.

9. Self-analysis should be developed.

10. Leadership influences the amount of learning.

Motor Development
 Study of the origins and changes in movement behavior throughout the lifespan.
 Biological and environmental influences on motor behavior from infancy to old age.
 Influence of psychological, sociological, cognitive, biological, and mechanical factors on motor
behavior.
 Rate and sequence of development.

Phases of Motor Development

Gallahue developed an hourglass model…

Early reflexive and rudimentary movement phases:

 Hereditary is the primary factor for development.

  Sequential progression of development but individuals’ rates of development will differ.

Fundamental movement phase:

 Skill acquisition is based on encouragement, instruction, and opportunities for practice.

Specialized movement phase: Refinement of skills

“Turnover”: Hereditary and environmental factors that influence the rate of the aging process.

Individual differences
Differences between individuals that distinguish or separate them from one another and make one
another unique individual in oneself are known as individual differences. Men and women differ from
each other because of sex. No two individuals of either sex are alike in the world. Even the twins are not
identical in all respects. Hence all persons differ from one another.

Categories of individual differences

1. Physical differences: Height, weight, complexion, size, the form of the body, eyes hair facial
expressions, speech, walking, etc

2. Mental differences: Strong memory, weak memory, quick grasp, slow grasp, reasoning and
thinking powers, power of imagination, creative expression, concentration, etc. Based on this
difference people are classified as genius, very superior, bright, normal, borderline, moron,
imbecile, and idiot.

3. Motor ability differences: Differences in reaction time, speed of action, steadiness, rate of
muscular movement, resistance to fatigue etc

4. Differences in achievement: Differences in knowledge and intelligence.

5. Emotional differences: Differences in love, affection, unstable emotions, anger, fear, etc

6. Differences in attitude, beliefs, and opinions: Differences in attitude towards different people
groups, objects, ideas, etc. Differences in respect of beliefs opinions etc.

7. Differences in interests and aptitudes: Differences in specific tastes, interests, attending social
functions, picnics, excursions, social gatherings, mechanical aptitude, scholastic, musical, or
artistic aptitudes, etc.

8. Learning differences: Differences are found in the field of learning some will earn easily and fast,
and some learn slowly.

9. Difference in social and normal development: Differences in adjustability, unsocial or anti-social,

differences in ethical and moral sense.

Individual differences and physical education

For physical education, the individual differences in the matters of buildup of body, height, motor
ability, etc are important as the differences are the most important item for general education.
 1. Keeping in view the natural differences between sexes, there should be different programs of
physical education for boys and girls.

2. A class may be divided into three or four groups based on motor ability and a separate physical
education program can be conducted based on their ability.

3. Each child should be allowed and encouraged to achieve attainments in training at his speed.

4. Each child should be given some special training in the game or activity for which he has a
special aptitude.

5. There should be separate classes for children who have retarded physical growth or are
physically handicapped.

Individual differences in motor learning:

In any learning situation, be it with children or adults, the teacher must provide for individual
differences among the learners. The importance of considering individual differences in motor
development, readiness, motivation, and reinforcement has to be taken into consideration.

While consideration of individual differences is advocated, designing learning experiences to

accommodate individual differences requires careful planning and commitment on the part of physical
educators. It is not an easy task to design learning experiences for a diversity of abilities, but it is not an
impossible one. The physical educator should drive to help each individual to be the best he or she can
be.

SKILL LEARNING

The learning of a task to give accuracy, speed, and performance after a high degree of practice. Skills may
be perceptual, cognitive, motor, or a combination of any two.

Skill acquisition follows three sequential stages: cognitive, associative, and autonomous. Regardless of
skill level, when a new skill set is presented, there may be mistakes and errors by the participant. A
beginner may make many mistakes and errors initially by comparison to the experienced/skilled step
participant.

The three Stages of Learning were defined by PM Fitts and IM Posner back in 1967. They are Cognitive,
Associative, and Autonomous.

What is the sequence of skill learning?

There are two main categories of levels of skill learning sequence: discrimination learning and inference
learning.

Discrimination learning is rote learning. It takes place when students are conscious of, though
they may not fully understand, what they are being taught.

Inference learning is learning by observing or experiencing them first-hand. In contrast, when we

make inferences, we reach conclusions based on evidence and reasoning.

What are the three types of skills in physical education?

Fundamental movement skills can be categorized into three groups:

body management skills involve balancing the body in stillness and in motion.

locomotor skills and

object control skills.

What is skill classification?

Skill classification systems are based on the view that motor skills are affected by three factors:

how precise a movement is.

whether the movement has a definite beginning and end.

whether the environment affects the performance of the skill.

Psychological Benefits of Physical Activity

1. Improves health-related quality of life.
2. Improves one’s mood.
3. Alleviates symptoms associated with mild depression.
4. Reduces anxiety.
5. Aids in managing stress.
6. Enhances self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-confidence.
7. Offers opportunities for affiliation with others.
8. Offers opportunities to experience “peak” moments.
9. Provides recreation and a change of pace.
10. Offers an opportunity for individuals to challenge themselves and strive for mastery.
11. Offers creative and aesthetic experiences.
12. Increasing recognition of physical activity as a therapeutic modality.