Sports Psychology

meaning that some (or even all) sports psychologists who tried and failed to help the team win games might have to find a new job. Not so for academic sports psychologists, whose careers are related to their findings, not just whether they help a team get a much-needed win. As such, these psychologists can study topics that are not related to winning at all: research on how long gymmembers work out relative to the music being played, for example, might yield insight into the relationship between what we hear and how our bodies react. Finally, academic sports psychologists can challenge conventional wisdom about athletics. At the beginning of the 2021 hockey season, the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs chose to relax the team’s strict dress code, meaning that players did not have to show up to games wearing a suit and tie; forward Mitch Marner wore a Mickey Mouse T-shirt to one game. However, after winning just two of their first seven games, the team decided to return to the traditional clothing requirements. An academic sports psychologist could look more closely at individual or team performances to study how players perform under such unusual circumstances, and whether the adoption of a dress code (which most professional sports teams require) really creates stronger team unity.

Chapter 4: How Psychology Helps

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