Applying Sport Psychology to Health Promotion

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Applying Sport Psychology to Health Promotion
Robert A. Swoap, Ph.D. Professor of
Psychology Warren Wilson College Asheville, North
Carolina
The Art and Science of Health Promotion
Conference, March 2006
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Learning Objectives
Identify seven skills that successful athletes
use in training and competition. Understand how
sport psychology skills can transfer to the field
of health promotion. Apply sport psychology
skills to individuals trying to make health
behavior changes.
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Habits of Successful Athletes

• Small-group exercise Identify several
  behavioral and/or psychological skills that you
  see in successful athletes. Do any of these have
  apparent applications to health behavior change?

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Seven Habits
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1. Effective Goal-Setting

• Challenging but realistic
• Specific and with a time-frame
• Short-term and long-term
• Written down
• Action-oriented focused on the process more than
  on the end-result (e.g., place kicker)

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2. Training Smart / Work Ethic

• Work on weaknesses (e.g., Tiger, Mia, JJ)
• Have a routine (mental and physical) for
  CONSISTENCY
• Intentions vs. behaviors Past behavior is often
  a better predictor of future behavior than are
  stated intentions. (Just do it is not bad
  advice!)
• Power of inertia (can be a benefit or a barrier)

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3. Using Others as Support

• Get feedback from coaches, teammates, and others
• Ask for (and accept) critique
• Get support and instruction
• Accountability to ones stated intentions (e.g.,
  posting goals exercise in post-menopausal women)

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4. Mental Rehearsal

• Imagery/visualization
• Planning for a competition (e.g., race plan)
• Developing a strategy for health behavior change
  (e.g., smoking cessation plan)
• Imagining potential barriers and how one will
  overcome them (e.g., Coach Jackson, next slide)

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Mental Rehearsal Imagining potential barriers

• Visualization is an important tool for me.
  During one of those imagery sessions, I
  visualized a way to neutralize Magic Johnson
  double-teaming him in the backcourt to force him
  to give up the ball.
• That was one of the keys to beating the Lakers
  to win our first championship in 1991.
• -- Coach Phil Jackson, Sacred Hoops (1995)

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5. Dealing with Self-Doubt

• Cognitive control
• Being able to manage self-talk (e.g., when the
  pain comes)
• Controlling automatic thoughts
• I cant do this.
• Im a choker
• Use of cue words / phrases to get focus back on
  the ACTION vs. the outcome

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6. Concentration and Focus

• Sean ONeills Rules

• Rule 1 Try For EVERY Ball.
• Rule 2 If The Ball Is Too Far Away To Reach,
  See Rule 1
• Rule 3 Stay In Present Moment In Competition
  (Focus On Technique or Point-by-Point Strategy)

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Concentration and Focus

• Focus on the present
• Past and future largely irrelevant (press conf.)
• What if I cant . needs to be replaced
  with What do I need to do right now?
  (e.g., Anne Riddle Lundblad)
• Practice refocusing during drills (e.g., Todd)

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7. Dealing with Setbacks

• Contingency planning
• Preparing for scenarios
• How will I handle a slip?
• Failure isnt fatal. All the setbacks Ive had,
  although heartbreaking at the time, were only
  temporary. Don Shula
• Avoiding mental traps
• Black-white thinking
• I always get stressed-out when someone cuts me
  off.
• Catastrophizing
• This is the worst

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Applying sport psychology skills in health
promotion settings

• Guidelines
• With whom will this strategy be most effective?
• Ask the client to describe how an athlete
  improves
• Likely, youll get a vague response (e.g., She
  works hard.)
• Your response Lets look at this more closely
• Help the person operationalize working hard by
  introducing the seven habits of highly effective
  athletes
• Overall goal To help the person understand the
  connection between his/her situation (changing a
  health behavior) and that of an athlete training
  and/or competing
• Some of the seven habits will, of course, apply
  more obviously than others depending on the
  person and the situation

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Applying sport psychology skills in health
promotion settings

• Case Studies
• Weight Management
• Gerald, 43-year-old male, 510, 225 lbs,
  pre-diabetic
• Intelligent, motivated, self-employed website
  designer
• Family history of obesity. Father died of M.I.
  (had a long-term struggle with managing Type-2
  Diabetes).
• Wife is also overweight, but not to his extent
• Enjoys travel, NCAA basketball, playing with his
  children

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Weight Management (case study 1)

• 7 Habits (recap)
• Goal-setting
• Training smart / Work ethic
• Using others as support
• Mental rehearsal
• Dealing with self-doubt
• Concentration and focus
• Dealing with setbacks

• Go step-by-step through the seven habits
• In reality, this would occur over several sessions

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Small-group exercise 2

• Case study 2 (Allison)
• Case study 3 (Vivian)
• Handouts
• You can add details to the case studies as needed

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Smoking Cessation (case study 2)

• 7 Habits (recap)
• Goal-setting
• Training smart / Work ethic
• Using others as support
• Mental rehearsal
• Dealing with self-doubt
• Concentration and focus
• Dealing with setbacks

• Allison, 22-year-old female
• Smokes 1 ppd
• Single, college senior, majoring in history, most
  of her friends smoke (at least socially)
• Has tried to quit several times before found it
  too stressful
• Works part-time as a server in a coffee house
• Enjoys hiking, reading, and going dancing

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Starting an Exercise Program (case study 3)

• 7 Habits (recap)
• Goal-setting
• Training smart / Work ethic
• Using others as support
• Mental rehearsal
• Dealing with self-doubt
• Concentration and focus
• Dealing with setbacks

• Vivian, 71-year-old female
• Widow, four children, many grandchildren
• Recently diagnosed with osteoporosis
• Always been a sports fan, but never very active
  herself
• Doesnt want to be a burden on her children (is
  motivated to become healthier)