What Is Psychology?

In short, psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. However, when you dissect psychology further, it is incredibly complex and advanced. There are various schools of psychology which encompass a wide and diverse range of concepts, each
serving their own purpose towards our understanding of the mind and its behaviour.

“Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and its functions, particularly with regards to how the mind dictates and influences behaviour in a given context.”

“Psychology is about understanding certain thought processes of individuals and groups, and the behaviours that derive from these thought processes, in an attempt to help address any particular issues, or develop any particular strengths.”

How It Works

Practitioners often specialise in one of several divisions within psychology. I myself specialise in the division of sport and exercise psychology. While performance psychology is not officially recognised division of psychology here in the UK – many skills from our division are transferrable to clients who are interested in enhancing their performance and wellbeing outside of the sporting domain.

Sport Psychology

In the most generic sense, sport psychology can be defined as the psychological study of human behaviour within a sports setting. Specifically, the goal of sport psychology is to support, individuals, teams, and organisations in their continuous development, and facilitate people in performing to their highest standard.
Over the years, the role of a sport psychologist has expanded, meaning that they often wear many hats with regards to their work. That is, practitioners no longer solely work one to one with athletes. Rather, practitioners are becoming a larger part of the elite sporting environment, working from both an individual and organisational lens to facilitate personal and systemic performance enhancement.
Types of concepts that are worked on within the domain: performance anxiety, facilitating a successful culture, team dynamics, sustaining focus, developing resilience.

Exercise Psychology

– Exercise psychology can be defined as the understanding and application of psychological principles that inform and promote the psychological, emotional and health related consequences of sustained physical activity and exercise. Unlike a sport psychologist, an exercise psychologist works with individuals who are looking to improve their general health and wellbeing. Specifically, exercise psychologists work with people towards a health-related goal using psychological principles, aiming to develop effective and sustainable health-related behaviours.

– Typical areas of focus for exercise psychologists include promoting group and societal participation in physical activity and exercise, supporting patients during rehabilitation, facilitating individuals’ emotions towards exercise, promoting exercise as a tool to improve mental health, developing, and supporting clients through exercise programs, enhancing motivation towards exercise.

Performance Pscyhology

Performance psychology can be defined as the study and examination of psychological factors influencing optimal human performance. Sound’s similar to sport psychology, right? In essence, performance psychology mirrors sport
psychology in every way, asides from the fact that this division of psychology focuses on supporting individuals, teams, and organisations outside of the sporting domain. Therefore, you often find sport psychologists working in this domain as the skills we learn are transferrable.
In recent years we have seen a surge in the field performance psychology, primarily due to businesses seeing the valuable work that is being done in sport and wanting to apply this support into their domain. However, performance psychology is not limited to just businesses. Indeed, the demand for performance psychology support has reached a variety of domains, including the military, the performing arts and entertainment industry, the emergency services, and even politics. Therefore, you could argue that a majority of the population would find some form of benefit from working with a sport and exercise psychologist!