Feelings in Sport: Theory, Research, and Practical Implications for Performance and Well-Being

Feeling states, including emotional experiences, are pervasive to human functioning. Feeling states deeply influence the individual’s effort, attention, decision making, memory, behavioural responses, and interpersonal interactions. The sporting environment offers an ideal setting for the development of research questions and applied interventions to improve the well-being and well-functioning of the people involved.

This ground-breaking book is the first to offer cutting-edge knowledge about contemporary theoretical, methodological, and applied issues with the contributions of leading researchers and practitioners in the field. Feeling states in sports are comprehensively covered by adopting an international and multi-disciplinary perspective.

Part I covers most relevant conceptual frameworks, including emotion-centred and action-centred approaches, challenge and threat evaluations, an evolutionary approach to emotions, and the role of passion in the experience of emotion. Part II focuses on interpersonal aspects related to emotions and regulation, encompassing social and interpersonal emotion influence and regulation, social identity and group-based emotions, and performance experiences in teams. Part III presents applied indications surrounding emotional intelligence training, and emotional regulation strategies including imagery, self-talk, the use of music, mindfulness, motor skills execution under pressure, self-regulation in endurance sports, and the use of technology. Finally, Part IV examines issues related to athlete well-being, including the role of emotions in sport injury, emotional eating, and mental recovery.

Feelings in Sport: Theory, Research, and Practical Implications for Performance and Well-being is an essential source for sport psychology practitioners, researchers, sports coaches, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Montse C. Ruiz (PhD, UPV sert.) is Senior Lecturer of sport and exercise psychology at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests involve emotional regulation and the study of emotional and motivational components of performance-related experiences. She is a Finnish Psychological Association Certified Mental Performance Coach and Exercise Practitioner (UPV sert.), and has worked with athletes in different sports, levels, and countries. Montse is a board member of national and international Sport and Exercise Psychology associations.

Claudio Robazza (PhD) is Professor of methods and didactics of motor activities at the Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences of the University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. As a sport psychologist, he has been working with top-level athletes of different sports. He has conducted field-based studies in physical education, motor learning, and sport performance domains, and his primary research interest is in the area of performance-related emotions, performance optimization, and motor learning. In 2015, Claudio received the Ema Geron Award from the FEPSAC (European Federation of Sport Psychology) in recognition of his national contribution to the development of sport and exercise psychology. In the same year, he also received the Diploma of Honour - Bronze Medal from the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) in appreciation of his service to the shooting sports.