Human Performance Pillars in Elite Sport

Michael Bar Eli, Ronnie Lidor

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter discusses three psychological underpinnings of human behaviour in elite athletic settings – arousal, motivation, and self-confidence. It focuses on these elements because, in sport psychology, they are considered by leading researchers, as well as practitioners, to be basic and crucial individual components of human behaviour in sport – both in individual and team sports. Lionel Messi is considered by many to be the current best soccer player in the world – unless you are a Ronaldo fan, of course. Moreover, in a comparison made with another Argentinian soccer genius, Messi often has the upper hand – Maradona would, of course, never agree. The athlete in professional sports is often regarded as a kind of machine. Performance – as distinguished from behaviour – is intentionally organized and, therefore, has been defined as a “goal-directed behavior”. This “maximization through optimization” principle reflects a so-called “instrumental rationality”, which is associated with Max Weber.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology
EditorsDieter Hackfort, Robert Schinke
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Pages359-368
Volume2
ISBN (Electronic)9781315187228
DOIs
StatePublished - 30 Apr 2020

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