KIN 2231: Sport Psychology Case Study Analysis and Interventions

This document presents an analysis of three case studies in sport psychology, addressing issues related to team dynamics, aggression, and body image. Case 1 examines interventions to improve a team player's performance by addressing anxiety and promoting team collaboration using a SMART approach. Case 2 explores instrumental and emotional aggression within a hockey team, analyzing the coach's influence and the impact of aggression on team focus and performance, while also discussing the application of selective attention. Case 3 focuses on an individual's body image issues, particularly in teenagers, and its relationship to self-esteem and psychological well-being, offering insights into self-discrepancy theory and the need for counseling. The analysis integrates course concepts from KIN 2231, providing evidence-based recommendations and practical applications for each scenario.

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Contents
Case 1.........................................................................................................................................3
Sport Psychology Interventions Case Study...........................................................................3
Case 2.........................................................................................................................................3
Aggression and Moral Behaviour Case Study........................................................................3
Case 3.........................................................................................................................................4
Body Image Case Study.........................................................................................................4
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Case 1
Sport Psychology Interventions Case Study
As a sportsperson, an individual always needs that hormonal rush. In order to maintain this
hormonal rush coach often keep their team members in high spirits their coaches always
prefer to go for some SMART tactics. In the case of Jane, we can diagnose her problem under
two main headings.
1. Her Failure in playing as a team player
2. Her interpersonal conflict with an unrealistic ambition
Here we are presenting a SMART table of corrective action. This table is based on the mantra
given by the author where he says “anxiety is not arousal (Crocker, 2016, 115).
Problem Identification
Specific Her desire to be the best scorer
Measurable Her desire to score a goal in each match
Attainable Prompt her to play under the plan described
by the team management
Relevant Inducement of the role as a team player in her
Time The stipulated time of the tournament
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In the above mentioned Smart matrix, we can see the breakdown of the problem, based on
these SMART notes a coach can fix a behavioral intervention to change the psychology of
Jane and convert her into a team player. We can clearly see that she has created a measurable
problem in front of her; it is not possible for every football player to score a goal in every
match. However, they can contribute their bit to supporting the plans of the team (Crocker,
2016, 119).
In the present case, Jane is not able to perform because she is not playing as a part of the
team. She is trying to perform for herself in a team based sport. This conflict of the method is
harming her own performance and bringing her into a zone that can be considered as the zone
of anxiety. In order to cure this problem, the coach has to bring her out from this attack of
anxiety.
Case 2
Aggression and Moral Behaviour Case Study
In the current case study, the team players are showing aggression that can be termed as
instrumental aggression. It is purely the influence of the coach which is forcing them to
behave in a certain way. This situation can be explained best under the framework of Anxiety
performance relationship. There is nothing wrong in being anxious as long as an individual is
anxious about the things that are under his locus of control. In the current case, we can see
that Coach has instrumented the team to show some aggressive behavior. It can be considered
a failure of the coach because the team is showing aggressive behavior over some issues that
are beyond their control.
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The present case is the case where a catastrophe has happened along with the display of
instrumental aggression. In the field of sports, we can also consider it channelized aggression
as well. The reason behind an unstable behavior or the display of the anger and aggression
out of the proportion indicates that somewhere the things were going out of the control for the
team and giving rise to a condition that can be considered as emotional aggression. We must
not forget that anger is an emotion. Emotions have the power to charge a person in both
positive as well as negative fashion. Every team is like an organized army where the
collective force of the army matters. It is easy to handle the enthusiasm of the army.
However, an army riding on the waves of aggression can become an uncontrollable weapon
that can go for a self-goal.
It can become a tricky situation for the coach because he is trying to introduce the feeling of
aggression as the catalyst. However, aggression can go out of control in certain conditions
and it can alter the focus of the player quite considerably. We can further understand it with
the help of two theories associated with the main goal. The main goal of the hockey team is
to win the match. Aggressive behavior of the team is a tactic adopted by the coach in order to
bring out the best from the team. Under this calculation, aggressive behavior is only a tool,
whereas the main act of the team is to play the game.
In the current situation, the team is more focused on the display of the aggression, here we
would like to mention one more fact. The team is showing a collective display of aggression.
This collective display of aggression confirms team bonding. Which is a positive trait,
however, the same trait becomes a negative trait when it forces teammates to forget about the
basic goal of winning.
Handling aggression of a team and channelizing it for the best results is a difficult task.
Sometimes over-aggression can lead to certain situations where a team can lose its main
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focus. On a broad level, we can define this strategy as a strategy to inflict selective attention
in a team. The concept of selective attention allows a coach to force his team in a certain way
where they try to associate an anecdote with (Crocker, 2016, 190) the game and presents
victory as the culmination of the anecdote. In the present case, the team fell for wrong
selective attention.
Case 3
Body Image Case Study
The case of Ryan can be studied with the help of a cause and effect theory. The cause is the
self-body image of Ryan. Having a poor self-body image is very common among teenagers.
This syndrome can be explained under the framework of the self-discrepancy theory. This
self-discrepancy theory says that a poor body image can cause an inferiority complex in a
teenager that can lead to the condition of having low self-esteem. The presence of low self-
esteem can act as a detrimental fact. It can cause severe psychological problems in a kid
(Crocker, 2016, 212).
The case of Ryan can be seen from a different lens view as well. Sometimes we teenagers
started getting this impression that they are superior to the rest of the lot because physically
they are better than their peers. This can cause a superiority complex. Both these conditions
are not good for the fixation of a psychosocial behavior of an individual particularly a
teenager. Counseling is needed in both cases because both the conditions depict a
psychological imbalance. In the case of Ryan, we can see that he is heading towards an
inferiority complex.
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References
Crocker, P. R. E. (2016). Sport and exercise psychology: A Canadian perspective (3rd
edition).Toronto, ON Pearson Education
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