Sports Psychology: Case Study of Sarah - Self-Determination Theory

This case study examines Sarah, a 25-year-old office worker struggling with obesity and a lack of motivation to exercise. The assignment requires an analysis of Sarah's previous negative experiences with gyms, highlighting the role of self-determination theory in understanding her current lack of motivation. The student is tasked with outlining strategies and recommendations as a fitness instructor to address Sarah's issues, focusing on building her confidence and promoting a more positive and sustainable approach to fitness. The analysis considers Sarah's sedentary lifestyle, her feelings of inadequacy in a gym environment, and the need for a personalized approach that fosters intrinsic motivation rather than external pressures. The solution emphasizes the importance of gradual progress, positive reinforcement, and creating a supportive environment to help Sarah achieve her health goals.

Running head: SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
The self-determination theory focusses on the development of the ideologies about the self among
individual focussing on the development of the ideals among the selves regarding perusing certain issues
in the society. The ideology and the mind-set of the people having low self-esteem issues due to the
physical form is one of the important reasons of people giving up their pursuits of improvement of their
health as seen in the case of Sarah. One of the major issues in the context is the issues that a woman faces
while comparing herself to the other people who come to the gymnasium (Matosic et al., 2017). The issue
that Sarah faces is with the identification of herself where she cannot perform according to her
expectations as she was underperforming in relation with the others.
The psychological aspects that plays a role in the forging of the relations between the people in an
environment. The failings of Sarah causes a major issue in her communication with her peers which will
also negatively impact her motivation to pursue her weight reduction. The lack of her perseverance in
doing what was needed to lose her weight. One of the important perspectives that Sarah feels is that she is
incompetent to be in the place. She could not focus on the work at hand as she had led a sedentary
lifestyle (Liu, Wang & Ryan, 2015). I will focus on the development of the psychological aspect of the
mind-set of Sarah focusing on her development of the various ideas of including positive reinforcement of
her behaviour about the various aspects affecting her. According to the Self-determination theory her
ideology about the identity of herself has been affected due to the years of redundancy and sedentary
approach. In this case the competition makes her more aware of her weakness rather than increasing her
focus on working towards her development. I need to make her understand about the changes she needs to
make and the gradual development that the workout will bring in her life (Nicholls, 2017). Rather than
indulging her with the regular gym members I would like her to train alone for some time and gain her
confidence. The positive change in her body I think will help her in working towards better results.
The overall motivation of interacting with the individuals in this case in the way in which Sarah
can improve her ideology and be confident about the changers that she wishes to see in herself. Though
she has joined reluctantly, I would make her interact with a number of people who were facing same
weight issued and underwent extreme physical changes in due time. This will help her in working towards
her goals and motivate her in focussing on the overall development of her health. I think her self-
consciousness and the lack of motivation are some of the reasons which hinder her development and
thereby affect her negatively. In think I would arrange a plan for Sarah to socialize other than focussing
on her physical changes so that she feels motivated to come to the gymnasium.

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References
Liu, W. C., Wang, J. C. K., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2015). Building autonomous learners: Perspectives
from research and practice using self-determination theory. Springer.
Matosic, D., Ntoumanis, N., Boardley, I. D., Sedikides, C., Stewart, B. D., & Chatzisarantis, N. (2017).
Narcissism and coach interpersonal style: A self‐determination theory perspective. Scandinavian
journal of medicine & science in sports, 27(2), 254-261.
Nicholls, A. R. (2017). Psychology in sports coaching: theory and practice. Routledge.