The pedagogical tools provide a metaphorical handrail, and the book is thus ideal for undergraduates

Stuart Carrington
St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London

In 2019, the journalist David Epstein wrote Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World. In this book, Epstein offers an antidote to the current trend of hyper-focus on a particular aspect of a field, stating that a breadth of knowledge is advantageous over niche specialism. In my experience, this is a justified and worthwhile stance to take, particularly for those involved in education and coaching, as those involved in these fields frequently adopt different roles that require an awareness of several disciplines and perspective. Within education and coaching, there are two levels, pure and applied, both of which are discussed in the book Sports Psychology: Concepts and Applications, and both of which help provide the reader with a broader range of understanding in this field.

The ‘pure’ aspects of psychology (e.g., its theories and principles) are presented within this book in a straightforward and accessible way. While the first two chapters (“The Meaning, Nature and Scope of Sport Psychology”, and “Sport Psychology: Historical Perspectives and Development”) are important to contextualise the book for the reader, it is from the third chapter that this volume begins to really explore pure psychology. Investigating the importance of genetics and the environment, the reader gets a sense of why people behave the way they do. While not groundbreaking (and for a deep dive into the role of genetics on behaviour other volumes, such as Behave by Robert Sapolsky. are recommended), the chapter provides an invaluable introduction to a typically complex topic in an accessible way. In fact, this accessibility is found throughout the book, with readers of varied experience and prior knowledge being able to take away fundamental principles of psychology. For those starting out on their journey investigating sport psychology, the ‘pure’ principles of biology and behaviourism covered in chapter three will be invaluable and contribute to their range of understanding of how psychology can be seen from several perspectives. This is why range is important. Behaviours cannot be explained or understood from only one perspective. One is reminded of the axiom, ‘when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.’ This volume introduces the reader to the pertinent perspectives of pure psychology.

For instance, nomothetic methods are discussed and presented as suitable approaches for sports psychology study. While true, there is also support for an increase in idiographic approaches, such as single case studies.

The following chapters contribute to similar, underlying principles of psychology. These include a look at the research methods used within the science, and the role of individual differences. Some readers, depending on their role or area of interest, may choose to skip these sections, choosing instead to focus on the bulk of the book that focusses on three general topics: learning in sports, emotions and their effect on performance, and athlete mental health and well-being. Some of these valuable themes may have been discussed at length previously (matters such as attention, stress and team cohesion are typically considered as sport psychology canon), but rarely in one volume.

The range of concepts explored in this book is its strength and the authors should be applauded for achieving the clear aim of providing the reader with such a comprehensive review of relevant aspects of sport psychology. Books such as this one are invaluable to many readers. Indeed, it was Richard Cox’s (1998) volume of the same title that provided a literary bedrock for my own undergraduate degree. It is therefore not a flaw that depth is sacrificed for breadth (as Epstein would argue). However, it is necessary to clarify whom this book would benefit the most. The accessibility of the concepts discussed, along with the checkpoints and review questions at the end of each chapter that provide a metaphorical handrail for the reader, make this an ideal resource for undergraduates. Additionally, the practical guidance provided in some of the more applied chapters (e.g., “Guidance and Counselling in Sports” and “Sports Injuries and their Management”) would provide a useful template for the sport psychologist and/or coaches who recognise their obligation to safeguard their athletes but may not have any formal qualifications or experience in this area. However, and this should be considered an observation rather than a critique, those who are at a more advanced stage of their development may not find the chapters as rich as they hoped.

To elaborate, in chapters five and six, that review individual differences in sports performance and methods of study in sport psychology respectively, there seems to be some contemporary features of the subject omitted from review. For instance, nomothetic methods are discussed and presented as suitable approaches for sports psychology study. While true, there is also support for an increase in idiographic approaches, such as single case studies (see Barker et al., 2011). This is a trend that can be found in other chapters. Chapters seven and eight, that look at learning and transfer of learning in sports, provide an excellent overview of relevant aspects of these subjects. This review is especially valuable for coaches, who must appreciate the value of real learning (e.g., retaining information and skill acquisition) and transfer (e.g., application of learning across different situations). However, other perspectives, such as challenge point framework (see Hodges & Lohse, 2022, for a description and application) may have been a useful addition, as it challenges some existing assumptions involving skill acquisition. Finally, in chapter sixteen (‘Anxiety and Stress in Sports’), cognitive restructuring is briefly discussed, but there was potential to provide the reader with some information around cognitive behavioural therapies that have experienced heightened interest in sporting populations recently (see McCarthy et al., 2023; Turner et al., 2023). Newcomers to such concepts will not object to these omissions, but more experienced researchers in the area may notice their exclusion.

A final observation that should be noted is the attention the authors give to the development of sports psychology in India. The international growth of the discipline is not only welcome for academics but would be interesting reading for those who wish to understand more about how concepts are interpreted, applied, and received across different cultures. For readers that wish to look deeper in this area, broaden their knowledge of concepts they have not yet uncovered, or introduce themselves to the sports psychology discipline and enhance their ‘range’, this book would be an excellent entry point.

Copyright © Stuart Carrington 2024

References

Barker, J., McCarthy, P., Jones, M., & Moran, A. (2011). Single-case research methods in sport and exercise psychology. Routledge.

Cox, R. H. (1998). Sport psychology: Concepts & applications (4^th Ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Epstein, D. (2019). Range: How generalists triumph in a specialised world. MacMillan.

Hodges, N. J., & Lohse, K. R. (2022). An extended challenge-based framework for practice design in sports coaching. Journal of Sports Sciences, doi:10.1080/02640414.2021.2015917

McCarthy, P., Gupta, S., & Burns, L. (2023). Cognitive behaviour therapy in sport and performance: An applied practice guide. Routledge.

Sapolsky, R. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Press.

Turner, M. J., Jones, M. V., & Wood, A. G. (2023). Applying cognitive behavioural therapeutic approaches in sport.Routledge.