Kinesiology 3474A/B Lecture 2: PST Myths
30 Apr 2018
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Kinesiology 3474 - Psychology of Interventions (Midterm)
Lecture 2
Myth 1: Only certain people can benefit from PST
□ Many people think that PST is only useful for elite athletes, or those who are highly
competitive; In reality, athletes at any level (including youth or those who are new to
sport) can benefit from learning psychological techniques (anybody can improve
psychological skills)
□ They can even be helpful to those with physical or mental disabilities; moreover, PST
can be employed by others (ex. Exercisers) to increase motivation and enjoyment
□ There is also a preailig otio that PST is for prole athletes; It is true that liial
sport psychologists are licensed to treat various psychological problems that arise in the
sporting environment, such as substance abuse, eating disorders, and severe cases of
anxiety or depression; yet only a SMALL proportion of athletes struggle with these types
of issues
□ PST is typically conducted with individuals who fall within the normal range of
psychological functioning (for the most part), with the purpose of helping those
individuals move toward self-regulation
Myth 2: PST is a band-aid solution
• Sometimes people will ask for help performing under pressure, but will wait until a few
weeks or days before a major event to seek help; not surprisingly, this approach usually
does not work, leaving the individual frustrated and disappointed
• Psychological skills take time and effort to develop, and one or two PST sessions are not
sufficient to radically change performance
Myth 3: PST is only needed when there is a problem
▪ The need for PST, which often means working with a consultant, becomes more
apparent where an individual is having a problem; however, including PST as part of a
regular training routine often means problems can be avoided in the first place (Why
ot e prepared efore the prole ours? So that the prole ot other us i the
first place)
Barriers
1) There are barriers to undertaking PST, with probability the major one being that
many people do not believe in it; if you do not believe in PST, you will not spend the
time and effort necessary to reap the benefits of PST (you have to believe in PST to
spend time and effort to get the benefits of PST)
o This course will consider the growing evidence clearly supporting PST
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