SPO2057 Psychology of Sport Performance

Assignment Task:

Title: PS1 Research Proposal & Defence

This assignment requires you to work independently to research and prepare for a presentation. Presentations are planned as face to face, in class but will be made via the online platform of Collaborate on NILE should social distancing enforcements or any further Covid-19 restrictions come into play at any time. The presentation will require you to outline and defend a sport psychology intervention you have designed to ultimately enhance performance. It must be underpinned by appropriate theory and research. A range of athlete case studies will be provided for you - choose one to focus on for your presentation.

You must save your PowerPoint presentation as a PDF document and submit through Turnitin (Submit your work folder).

You will be notified of your individual presentation slot by the module tutor nearer the time.

Should you need to present virtually, you will do so via BlackBoard Collaborate (you will be instructed on how to do this by themodule tutor).

Assignment Guidance:

You should consider the following when preparing your submission:

• Setting the scene: What separates good athletes from extraordinary athletes is often their ability to perform in high pressure situations. The best physical skills or abilities in the world aren't valuable if athletes can't perform when it matters most in competition, the most demanding of sporting events. Understanding why sometimes athletes crumble under pressure whilst others seem to thrive, enables sport psychologists to educate and equip performers and coaches with psychological strategies (e.g., goal-setting, imagery, self-talk, relaxation) to deliver peak performance every time.

• Presentation task:
• You should choose one athlete case study to focus on from the range that will be provided to you. Each case study will focus on a different psychological need of the athlete (e.g., low confidence, poor attention, increased levels of stress) so you should choose the one you feel interests you the most.
• The presentation should have the following structure:
• Introduction: Here, you should then introduce the environment surrounding sport competition (e.g., benefits & demands), introduce the reader to key psychological skills associated with peak performance, and the techniques used to develop psychological skills
• The Athlete: Provide a summary of the athlete case study you have chosen to focus on.
• Theoretical Framework: You should present a relevant framework to demonstrate your understanding of the theory underpinning the athlete's psychological need (e.g., the theory underpinning confidence or attention or stress in sport) and expand on this by offering a comparison with other theoretical explanations to provide a balanced perspective.
• Literature Review: A critical review of applied research for the psychological skill / concept in question, justifying why it is vital that athletes are in control of their psychological skills in order to attain peak performance.
• Intervention: You must propose, and defend, a sport psychology intervention, underpinned by the evidence base (theory and research), that will demonstrate how techniques can be applied to the case, to enhance psychological skill[s]) ultimately performance. It is important for sufficient detail of the intervention to be provided so that it can be easily understood and/or replicated by another coach or practitioner seeking to apply the intervention ideas / strategies to their own practice. The level of detail expected will be introduced throughout the course of the module, but it is expected you do your own reading and researching outside of this.
• Ethical Considerations: Show knowledge of the ethical principles underpinning applied case study research.
• Summary: A brief conclusion, summarising the key, ‘take-home' messages of your presentation.

• Some considerations:
• Presentation design: the appropriate presentation format is Microsoft PowerPoint. Please ensure that the number of slides does not exceed the range of 15-18 (excluding title page and reference section). Slides should not be text-heavy and you should consider alternative ways to present key information (e.g., pictures, diagrams, SmartArt).
• Presentation style: you should rehearse your presentation in advance of your assessment so that you are within the time allowance, sound confident and comfortable with the content you are delivering (without being scripted) and are well-informed by relevant theory and practice. Clarity, pace, and conciseness of speech should also be considered. It is important to adopt a professional approach to this presentation and accompany this with a smile!
• Theory-to-practice:whilst you must present, explain, and defend an intervention ‘idea', this must be based in relevant theory and research:remember, it is important that practical and applied sport psychology interventions are informed by the evidence base.
• For a face-to-face presentation, you should arrive ahead of your scheduled presentation slot and be prepared to upload your presentation on screen so that you can start on-time.
• In the event of virtual presentation, you too should be timely and additionally make sure, as far as possible, your internet / Wi-Fi connection is good and you will not be interrupted during the time of your presentation e.g. making others around you aware that you are being assessed at the time may be required.

• Academic Practice
• Please ensure that you read the university guidelines regarding plagiarism, collusion, and academic practice that are provided in your student handbook.