The Sport Psych Show

In this episode I welcome back Prof Mark Williams. Mark is one of the world's leading authorities in sports performance. This time, Mark is joined by Prof Nicola Hodges. Nikki is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver in the School of Kinesiology. It is at UBC that Nikki runs the Motor Skills Laboratory where she studies the mechanisms of motor skill learning. Her research focuses on processes involved in watching, learning and predicting from others and how practice should be best structured to bring about long-term enhancement of motor skills and high-level performance (particularly in sport). She has been involved in sport-consulting and she has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Mark and Nikki have just released the 3rd edition of a book they edited entitled Skill Acquisition in Sport: Research, Theory and Practice. This edition has 40 new authors and 10 new chapters. And it's this book that we discuss in detail.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Paul McCarthy and Zoe Moffat in this episode. Paul is Programme Director of the Taught Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University and has his own private practice supporting athletes and coaches in a range of sports, particularly in golf & football. Zoe is in her final year as a DPsych student and is a trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist at Glasgow Caledonian University. Zoe is also a tennis player and tennis coach. Zoe and Paul, along with Dr Bryan McCann, have written a research paper which reports a brief attribution-retraining (AR) intervention with youth tennis players. Athletes were struggling to maintain emotional control, resulting in problematic on-court behaviour (e.g., racket throwing). The intervention used a Think Aloud protocol and AR. Evaluation suggested that AR and Think Aloud interventions can improve athletes' emotional control and attribution capabilities, and, in turn, their behaviour. The case seeks to present a novel approach to working with youth athletes, highlighting the importance of practitioner adaptability.

I'm excited to be speaking with Christian Jarrett in this episode. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, Christian is Deputy Editor of Psyche, a global digital magazine that explores all aspects of the human condition. Christian has written about psychology and neuroscience for publications across the world, including BBC Future, WIRED, New York magazine, New Scientist, GQ Italia and The Guardian. He was the founding editor and creator of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, presenter of their PsychCrunch podcast, and an award-winning journalist on The Psychologist magazine. His books include The Rough Guide to Psychology and Great Myths of The Brain. Christian also has a new book out entitled Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change which argues that contrary to the old adage, not only can leopards change their spots, they can swap them for stripes, and they can do so to their own advantage. In psychological terms, although our initial personality type is moulded by a combination of genetic influences and early experiences, it is not fixed. It's malleable, voluntary even. This book will tell the story of how our personalities are formed and gives us the tools to shape them in the ways which we desire and which will benefit us most. Drawing on the latest psychological theories and methods, interviews with leading experts, as well as personal anecdote, Christian Jarrett shows us that we can shape ourselves in ways that make our lives better.

I'm excited to be speaking with Ian Leslie in this episode. Ian is a writer, speaker, and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. He also writes about psychology, culture, technology and business for the New Statesman, the Economist, the Guardian and the Financial Times. Ian and I discuss his fascinating new book Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together which draws essential lessons on how to disagree well from world-class experts: interrogators, hostage negotiators, divorce mediators, diplomats and addiction counsellors. It tells inspiring stories of productive disagreements and combines them with fascinating insights from the science of human communication. Whether it's at work, at home, or in public, confronting our differences is the only way to make the most of them. Conflicted is about how to do that successfully.

In this episode I speak with Dr Andy Hill. Andy is a professor at York St John University. His research focuses on the antecedents and consequences of participation in sport and exercise. His main areas of interest are the consequences of perfectionism for athletes, exercisers, and youth sport participants. He has published in leading journals in sport and exercise psychology, health psychology, and general psychology on this topic. Andy has written an insightful chapter in the book Handbook of Self-Regulation and Motivation. We speak about this chapter and explore what perfectionism is; perfectionism in sport; goal-setting; creating sporting environments that are healthy and less perfectionistic; and what things coaches can do to help athletes with perfectionistic tendencies.

I am so excited to be joined by Dr Michael Gervais in this episode. Michael is a high performance psychologist working in high-stakes environments with some of the best in the world, training the mindset skills and practices essential to pursuing and revealing one's potential. His clients include world record holders, Olympians, internationally acclaimed artists and musicians, MVPs from every major sport and Fortune 100 CEOs. A published, peer-reviewed author and recognized speaker on optimal human performance, Dr Gervais has been featured by NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, ESPN, NFL Network, Red Bull TV, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Outside Magazine, WIRED, ESPN Magazine and others. He is the co-founder of Compete to Create, a digital platform business helping people become their best through mindset training. He is also the host of Finding Mastery, a podcast that takes you inside the rugged and high-stakes environments of those on the path of mastery to explore how they train minds to be at their very best.

I'm delighted to have Dr Josie Perry on this week's episode. Josie is a chartered sport psychologist, working mainly 1-1 with athletes – from novice athletes just starting out through to world champions. She teaches athletes the skills they need to overcome barriers to success and ensures they feel more comfortable and confident when they compete. Josie is also an author, writing features for magazines including cycling weekly. She has written three sport psychology books including her latest, I Can: The Teenage Athlete's Guide to Mental Fitness which is designed to help young athletes become mentally skilled. The book covers what it takes to be successful, how to handle competition nerves, ways to push harder and get braver, techniques to build confidence, ways to improve emotional control, activities to increase concentration and focus, tactics for dealing with setbacks and injury, advice on how to feel comfortable in the sporting world and tips on how to look after your wellbeing as an athlete.

I'm honoured to be speaking with Dan P. McAdams in this episode. Dan is a Professor of Psychology at ‎Northwestern University. He is author of over 300 scientific articles and chapters, numerous edited volumes, and 8 books. Professor McAdams works in the areas of personality and life-span developmental psychology. His theoretical and empirical writings focus on concepts of self and identity. Professor McAdams is most well-known for formulating a life-story theory of human identity. In this episode we're going to speak about one of my all-time favourite psychology books: The Art and Science of Personality Development which draws on state-of-the-art personality and developmental research. This book presents a new and broadly integrative theory of how people come to be who they are over the life course. We discuss the 5 personality traits in detail, what they are, what they mean and why they can be useful for coaches to know about.

I'm excited to have Prof Mark Williams back on the show for this episode. Mark is one of the world's leading authorities in sports performance. He completed his PhD in Movement Science with a focus on perceptual cognitive expertise. Mark has worked at various academic institutions including Liverpool John Moores university, University of Sydney, Brunel University London, Florida State, and he is now Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at the University of Utah. Mark has come back on to discuss a fascinating book he has co-edited entitled Anticipation and Decision Making in Sport. This is the first book to identify the underlying science behind anticipation and decision making in sport, enhancing our scientific understanding of these phenomena and helping practitioners to develop interventions to facilitate the more rapid acquisition of the perceptual-cognitive skills that underpin these judgements.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Jon Rhodes in this episode. Jon is an Associate Lecturer in Motivational Psychology and Sports Psychology at the University of Plymouth. Jon is also a Chartered Cognitive Psychologist and is co-developer of a new technique called Functional Imagery Training (FIT) which is a unique approach to behaviour change that uses mental imagery to motivate change. FIT teaches people new ways of thinking about their immediate future to help them stay motivated as they achieve each small step towards their goal. And it's this fascinating topic that we delve into in this episode.