Background material
Getting started with your topic
Peruse reference materials to learn more about your topic
Searching Google or Wikipedia is an acceptable place to start to determine more about your proposed topic, though Wikipedia is not a resource that you should be citing in your research.
The library has other reference materials, including encyclopedias and databases like Gale E-books that explore current news topics in-depth.
- Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new windowA collection of over 100 online reference books, including specialized encyclopedias in many topic areas.
The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2016This resource covers the entire spectrum of psychology, including: notable people, theories and terms; landmark case studies and experiments; applications of psychology in advertising, medicine and sports; and career information.
Now available! Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
- Journal of Applied Sport PsychologyThis journal is now available through McKillop Library. Search your topic directly from this link to access full text articles in sport psychology.
Best bets for articles
Start your search for research articles from the library's home page "articles" search box (or use the embedded version, above). This searches across multiple subject disciplines. Then try searching more specific to the discipline of psychology, using the suggested databases listed below.
- PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Indexes psychology-related journal articles, book chapters, books, and technical reports.
- PsycArticles This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text articles from journals published by American Psychological Association and allied organizations. Coverage includes general psychology and specialized basic, applied, clinical, and theoretical research in psychology.
- Sage Journals This link opens in a new windowIncludes over 1,100 full-text journals with coverage of a wide range of subject areas, as well as journals published on behalf of over 500 scholarly and professional societies. 1999 to present.
- Social Science Full Text This link opens in a new window
Provides articles from social science journals.
- ERIC This link opens in a new window
Provides access to education literature and resources with links to full-text documents.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowIndexes life sciences, medical, and nursing journals. Look for the “Find @ Salve” button on article-level results pages to check for full-text from Salve's e-journal subscriptions.
- Proquest Psychology Database This link opens in a new window
Provides 540 periodicals related to the topics of social, industrial, experimental, evolutionary, cognitive, clinical, and situational psychology, as well as personality, psychobiology, and psychometrics.
Scholarly Articles, Books & & E-books
Find examples below of scholarly articles found in the following databases, and find scholarly chapters in books
- General articles search from the library's home page (EBSCO databases, includes psychology databases)
- Sage Journals (go to Databases A-Z > S)
- Science Direct (Databases A-Z > S)
- PubMed (Databases A-Z > P)
- JSTOR
- Competitive anxiety in young athletes: Differentiating somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption.Worry about performing poorly was highest in girls and in older athletes, whereas boys reported higher levels of concentration disruption in competitive sport situations. Implications for emotional perception and for the study of competitive anxiety in young athletes are discussed.
- Executive Function and Mood: The Moderating Role of Athletic ExpertiseExecutive function (EF) is known to be influenced by mood, but whether this relationship holds for populations of athletes and whether athletic expertise moderates it is uncertain. Thus, in the current study, we examined relationships between positive and negative affect (i.e., mood), the lower-order cortical aspects of executive function (i.e., inhibition, shifting and updating), and athletic expertise.
- Perfectionism, pre-competitive worry, and optimism in high-performance youth athletes.The purpose of
this study was to explore relationships between perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic
concerns, and the future-oriented thoughts (i.e. worries) and expectancies (i.e. optimism) of
athletes as they prepared to compete. - Positive youth development: A measurement framework for sport.The 4Cs of positive youth development (PYD; competence, confidence, connection, and character) have been advocated as desirable athlete outcomes of sport participation, and in effect, a useful proxy measure of coaching effectiveness. This article reviews the sport literature and presents a concise toolkit made up of existing questionnaires and measurement techniques that can collectively be used to assess coaches' ability to facilitate PYD in athletes in organized youth sport settings.
- Serious Leisure and Personality Dimensions in Club Sport AthletesThe purpose of this study was to examine the associations between personality types and sport seriousness and their influences on sport choice and skill level among club sport athletes.
**In Praise of Failure by Call Number: GV706.4 .A568 2016 (print book)ISBN: 9781442251571Publication Date: 2016-03-17Many of our greatest athletes, scientists, and entertainers failed repeatedly throughout their careers, yet they refused to allow past mistakes stop them from striving for future success. Instead, they turned those so-called failures into opportunities to learn, improve, and eventually earn the achievements they are celebrated for today. Why, then, is failure considered negative in our society? Mark H. Anshel provides a refreshing, new perspective on how we can embrace failure as part of the process of achieving and succeeding at the highest level.
**Key Concepts in Sport Psychology by Call Number: GV706.4 .K49 2012 (Print)ISBN: 9781849200523Publication Date: 2011-11-09Key Concepts in Sport Psychology provides a focused, accurate guide for students working within the dynamic field of sport psychology.The concise and authoritative entries have been selected by experienced teachers and researchers; each one defines, explains and develops a key topic in sport psychology acting as a springboard for further reading and debate.
**Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport by Call Number: GV706.4 .M57 2020 (Print)Publication Date: 2019Provides practical guidance for implementing mindfulness and acceptance approaches in work with athletes, and shares working methods, exercises, and cases to inspire the sport psychology profession.
**Mind Games by Call Number: GV706.4 .V476 2019 (print book)Publication Date: 2019How exactly do elite sports performers harness the power of their mind in pursuit of physical perfection? Examines areas such as motivation, competitiveness, gender, and teamwork, and the underlying psychological principles behind the sports that everyone enjoys.
**The Youth Sports Crisis by Call Number: GV709.2 .O84 2014 (print book)Publication Date: 2014Offers a comprehensive critique of the youth sports movement, pitting the reality of adult-run sports programs against the needs and interests of children. It examines whether the tradeoff of "normal play time" for structured sports activities teaches discipline and leads to stronger character development, or if the pressures of the game, the physical strain of practicing, and the general overscheduling of children's lives have eroded the benefits associated with playing sports.
**Youth Sports in America by Call Number: GV709.2 .Y677 2018 (print book)Publication Date: 2018Examines the state of youth sports in America today, analyzing how organized sports influence communities, discussing the potential emotional and physical benefits as well as drawbacks of youth sports, and profiling the industry's key participants, ranging from parent coaches to club sports owners to personal trainers.
Achievement Motivation: Perspectives, Influences and Outcomes by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2019Achievement Motivation: Perspectives, Influences and Outcomes aims to examine the definition and measurement of achievement motivation in sport.
The Burden of Sports by Call Number: GV 706.4 P364 2024 (print book)ISBN: 9781538175538Publication Date: 2024-02-20In The Burden of Sports, John Weston Parry examines the mental health and emotional well-being of elite American athletes generally, as well as in relation to spectator sports propaganda, the legal system, politics, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This book covers mental health conditions that any elite athlete may encounter, from depression and anxiety to substance abuse and concussion-caused brain damage, to the special challenges of female, queer, transgender, and intersex athletes. Parry also highlights the personal stories of famous American athletes who struggled publicly with their mental health, including Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Michael Sam, and Tiger Woods. From individual and team pressures to win and attain sport perfection to the prejudice and ignorance of fans, management, and corporate sponsors about mental health, addressing the mental health of athletes and challenging the public perception of such struggles is long overdue.
Child's Play: Sport in Kids' Worlds by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2016A more nuanced examination of the issue, considering not only the physical impacts of youth athletics, but its psychological and social ramifications as well. The eleven original scholarly essays in this collection provide a probing look into how sports--in community athletic leagues, in schools, and even on television--play a major role in how young people view themselves, shape their identities, and imagine their place in society.
Children, young people and sport: Studies on experience and meaning by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2016Understand the motivations of children and young people in playing sport, what it means to them, and how it fits into their everyday lives. It is research-heavy, with each chapter presenting the results of a different study conducted on children's and young people's participation in sport across a diverse range of ages, settings and sports from a humanistic perspective.
Exploring Sport and Exercise Psychology by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2014Provides a comprehensive overview of the field of sport and exercise psychology. Several chapters review common performance enhancement interventions, including goal setting, imagery, cognitive strategies, intensity regulation, and modelling. Includes the chapter "16 Psychological Interventions in Youth Sports."
Handbook of Sport Psychology by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2020Covers new material on emerging areas such as mindfulness, brain mapping, self-consciousness, and mental toughness, and covers special topics such as gender and cultural diversity, athletes with disabilities, and alcohol and drug use in sports. In addition, it covers classic topics such as what motivates an athlete to perform; why do some choke under pressure; how do top performers handle leadership roles; what does one do to mentally train; how an athlete deals with injury; and much more.
Ice 'n' Go by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2013Jenny Moshak, celebrated trainer of the legendary lady Vols basketball team and associate athletic director for sports medicine at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, reflects on the role of sports in society and addresses the high stakes and costs of winning in sports today. Covers social issues, medical concerns, motivational techniques, gender roles and expectations, the impact of sports on children, and how the body works, heals, and recovers.
It's All for the Kids: Gender, Families, and Youth Sports by Call Number: GV709.2 .M465 2009 (also e-book)Publication Date: 2009Leading sociologist Michael A. Messner probes the richly complex gender dynamics of youth sports. Weaving together vivid first-person interviews with his own experiences as a volunteer for his sons' teams, Messner finds that despite the movement of girls into sports, gender boundaries and hierarchies still dominate, especially among the adults who run youth sports.
Key Themes in Youth Sport by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2010Designed to help students get to grips with the basics and go on to master the central ideas and debates in contemporary youth sport, this book reflects the multi-disciplinary interest in youth sport, exploring perspectives from sociology, and psychology.
Mental Practice in Sport by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2012This book covers 20 case studies which center upon psychological skills training (PST) for various sports and athletes. Emphasizes the importance of psychological support for athletic performance enhancement and brings together a summary of their theoretical and practical knowledge on this subject.
Performance Excellence by Call Number: GV706.4 .P4725 2020 (print book)Publication Date: 2020Covers skills and concepts including team cohesion, dynamics, and leadership; goal-setting, motivation, and adherence; exercise identity, athletic identity, transitions, and self-awareness; mental training; mindset; and facing and overcoming challenges such as anxiety, burnout, and rehabilitation.
Playing to Win by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2013Follows the path of elementary school-age children involved in competitive dance, youth travel soccer, and scholastic chess. By analyzing the roots of these competitive afterschool activities and their contemporary effects, this research contextualizes elementary school-age children's activities, and suggests they have become proving grounds for success in the tournament of life--especially when it comes to coveted admission to elite universities, and beyond.
Positive Youth Development Through Sport by Call Number: GV709.2 .P68 2016 (print book)Publication Date: 2016Offers insight into how and why participating in sport can be good for children and young people by focusing on the role of sport in positive youth development (PYD).
The Psychology of Effective Coaching and Management by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2015The reader is guided through models of the coaching process, approaches to coach learning, context specific education, and tools for observing coaching behaviors. Additionally, considerations for enhancing positive youth development, motivational climate, group dynamics, self-regulation, emotions, and mental toughness are outlined.
Sport Pedagogy by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2013Refers both the ways in which children and young people learn and the pedagogical knowledge and skills that teachers and coaches need to support them to learn effectively.
Sport Psychological Interventions in Competitive Sports by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2015Addresses the importance of personality factors for sports performance, illustrates how an athlete's personality development can be enhanced, gives basic knowledge about diagnostic tools, and discusses talent selection. The second part of the book focuses mainly on relaxation techniques, as well as skills training, essential for the stabilization of athletic performance.
Sport Psychology for Youth Coaches by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2012Today, more than 68 million children and adolescents participate in sport programs in the United States. Yet despite the growth and popularity of highly-organized athletic competition, controversy still swirls around the role that adults, particularly coaches, play in the world of youth sports. Coaches not only occupy a critical leadership position in the athletic setting, but their influence can extend into other areas of life as well.
Sports Psychiatry by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2016Covers the anxiety of performance, mood disorders; eating disorders; substance misuse; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; the athletic personality and personality disorders, Exercise participation and mental health; and more.
Until it hurts: America's obsession with youth sports and how it harms our kids by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2014
Youth Sport, Physical Activity and Play by Call Number: e-bookPublication Date: 2013An important reference for students and scholars from a wide-range of sub-disciplines, including sports pedagogy, sports development, sport and leisure management, sports coaching, physical education, play and playwork, and health studies.
