FUNDAMENTALS OF SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the fundamental ideas and practices of sports psychology. It is intended as an introduction though it assumes some familiarity with basic concepts delivered in the first year of the programme. The module moves from a physiological understanding of athletes, to understand the psychological processing also governing performance.

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

PARKER Matthew (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BMS1053 SKILL ACQUISITION & RESEARCH METHODS

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Motivation
• Competitive anxiety, arousal, stress and coping with these
• Attention and concentration
• Emotions
• Self-confidence
• Factors influencing Team dynamics – cooperation and cohesion – group processes
• Enhancing communication
• Skills training
• Visualisation and focus
• Goal setting
• Professional practice as a sports psychologist

The small-scale research study will introduce students to qualitative research methods and the design, execution and analysis of a study. This will include multiple opportunities to develop digital literacy, including the evaluation of previous theory, development of research tools using knowledge learnt throughout the module and gaining experience of transferable skills, such as digital coding of interview scripts, thematic analysis and integration of this analysis with prior theory.,

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

In the event that a student is unable to take part in the research project they will be asked to write a critical evaluation of a research paper. 

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

Key digital literacy skills, including: their ability to critically engage with academic literature and their ability to critically review the literature and to assess the quality and quantity of evidence in psychology.

The assessments will also allow students to demonstrate key employability skills, specifically their ability to present clear, coherent and concise arguments to an audience. The research report is used to summarize the students’ ability to conduct and report a small qualitative research project. The research report also includes the task of conducting an interview with a sportsperson, to help develop professionalism, interpersonal skills and expressing confidence within a applied setting. It is expected that students will work with peers on the development of their interview schedules and qualitative analysis, developing strong interpersonal skills that supplement their learning, in support of their own independent research.

  Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• One research methods report (50%, 6 pages using formatted template)

• One 4 hour essay format examination (50%)

 

Formative assessment

Throughout the module students will receive verbal feedback in question and answer sessions linked to the lectures.

Written Feedback on research methods report

Dialogue between students and staff in lectures and tutorials

Generic written feedback on examinations

Use of electronic voting in lectures 

Students are encouraged to reflect on their own decision making, considering solutions to practitioner-based problems

Module aims

• To provide students with an in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of the psychological preparation of sports performers
• Give students familiarity with the work of the key figures in sports psychology from a diverse range of backgrounds
• Give students the skills to critically evaluate research in sport psychology by employing evidence-based reasoning
• Provide students with the skills to critically discuss the implications of key findings relating to sport psychology
• Provide students with a basic understanding of qualitative research methods
• Provide students with opportunities to be critical and effective communicators, through interview and group-based activities.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

 

•Give students familiarity with the thinking and writing of the key figures in sports psychology from a diverse range of backgrounds.

•Provide students with the foundational knowledge to enable them to describe key theories used in sport psychology.

•Give students the digital literacy skills to critically evaluate different theoretical perspectives and the empirical evidence that tests them.

•Provide students with the resourcefulness to critically discuss the implications of key findings relating to sport psychology within a practical setting.

•Provide students with a foundational understanding of key psychological and professional research methods used within the field.

•Enable students to develop, demonstrate and apply research skills by engaging with key aspects of the research process such as recruitment; data collection, analysis and report writing.

Enable students to develop the knowledge, skills and critical thinking required to be able to engage with sports performance issues in a range of different sporting contexts, by applying theory to practice.

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

•Lectures of 2hrs duration for 11 weeks

•Five practical tutorial classes of 2 hours duration

Students are invited to contribute to discussions from their own background and experiences and are encouraged to be actively involved in problem solving, thus developing their own judgement and opinions. Students are further encouraged to engage with this through group work to develop interview schedule for the assessment.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMS2064

Other information

Resourcefulness and resilience:

Students are required to take their initial learning on the module and apply it to design an interview schedule (which is subsequently used and analyzed for the coursework assessment). The questions need to be open enough to invite discussion with the participant but focused enough to target the specific aspect of psychology they wish to investigate and analyze.

 

Global and Cultural Capabilities:

Students are encouraged to consider how differing perspectives (particularly within sports teams) can affect group dynamics and team performance.

 

Digital Capabilities:

Students are provided with multiple opportunities to develop their digital literacy, including evaluating different psychological theories, articles, their validity and practical use within a sporting environment. Students are also required to engage with digital technology, recording, transcribing and coding interviews, as well as annotating and organizing this information into a lab report. Digital methods of data collection (e.g. GPS, EEG) are discussed throughout module where relevant.

 

Employability:

The learning aims and assessments are designed to develop students’ employability skills. The lab report required group work and effective communication skills (with group members and during interview sessions with sportspeople). The research report also includes the task of conducting an interview with a sportsperson, to help develop professionalism, interpersonal skills and expressing confidence within a applied setting. It is expected that students will work with peers on the development of their interview schedules and qualitative analysis, developing strong interpersonal skills that supplement their learning, in support of their own independent research. Tutorials throughout the module are designed to improve research skills and application of knowledge to the settings of a practicing sports psychologist.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.