Lecture 2 Flashcards
Sport Psych as a science (25 cards)
What is a science
Science “systemised knowledge gained from observation, study and experimentation carried out to determine the nature, or principles of what is being studied”
Science is systematic Knowledge as opposed to
Opinion intuition, or belief
Sport psychology as “science”
Sport psychology builds its body of knowledge by following the “scientific method” (same as the other sport/exercise sciences; e.g sociology of sport, biomechanics, exercise physiology ….)
Scientific Method:
Research methods
tools to answer research questions….
Scientific Paradigm
A school of thought relative to the nature of knowledge and how one goes about studying the world”
Scientific paradigm gives us the rules … for scientific study
Positivism vs Naturalism
Positivism =
One concrete reality… that can be observed, measured, quantified, explained and predicted
Positivism Objective
–Knowledge is independent of knower
–Assumes cuase and effect
–Aims to generalise
Positivism Example
What effect does anxiety have on performance of a basketball free throw?
Downsides to positivism
-Human behaviour is …..
-True reflection….
-Individual and sport context…..
-Motivation…
-Would same result happen in ….
-Individual…
-Truly …….
-Human behaviour is complex
-True reflection of behaviour?
-Individual and sport -context cannot be isolated
-Motivation to perform? Expectations?
-Would same result happen in a competitive game?
-Individual differences ?
-Truly objective ?
Naturalism / Interpretivism are known as the
The story tellers
Naturalism / Interpretivism
Human behaviour is related to how we interpret and makes sense of the world
Naturalism / Interpretivism= Subjective :
- Aims to understand the….
- Realities are …..
- Knowledge and knower are…..
- Aim: ……
- Aims to understand the individual
- Realities are multiple and Constructed
-Knowledge and knower are inseparable - Aim: Holistic understanding
Interpretivism Example
What effect does anxiety have on performance of a basketball free throw
Downside to Interpretivism
-No cause…
- Is data ….
- Did they remember …..
- Did the researcher correctly interpret …..
- No cause and effect
-Is data credible?
-Did they remember events properly? - Did the researcher correctly interpret what the athlete really meant during the discussions?
Which paradigm is best?
Both
Mythological appropriateness?
Choose paradigm & methods deemed appropriate to the specific research question…
Pragmatism emphasises practical solutions to applied research questions
Value of different types (paradigms) of knowledge as tools to understand the research question / problem
The 2 Research method decisions
Qualitative methods
Quantitative methods
Qualitative methods
-Use of interviews, observation, etc
- Rich, in depth, detailed info
-Participants are ‘Purposely’ sampled/selected
Quantitative Methods
-Objective Measures (includes validated questionnaires)
-Experimental design
-Representative sample (selected process)
Just because one study finds a clearcut result doesn’t mean it is true
we need a body of evidence
Theory definition
Theory goes beyond observations and descriptions to explain and predict behaviour
Theories are never accepted as….
complete or absolute, but rather they are constantly tested and then modified or replaced
