Coleman GriffithFather of Sport Psychology

Scott R. FurtwenglerEPSY 8351 History & Philosophy of Psychological SystemsTuesday, June 26, 2012

Overview

History of sport psychology Coleman Griffith Relation to my research interests

History of Sport Psychology

The Early Years (1895-1920) The Griffith Era (1920-1938) Preparation for the Future (1938-

1965) The Establishment of Academic Sport

Psychology (1966-1977) Multidisciplinary Science & Practice

in Sport and Exercise Psychology (1978-2000)

Contemporary Sport and Exercise Psychology (2000-present)

Coleman Griffith - Bio

Born May 22, 1893 in Iowa 1915 A. B., Greenville College 1920 Ph.D., University of Illinois 1925-1932 Research in Athletics lab 1932-1944 Bureau of Institutional

Research 1944-1953 Provost 1956 NEA’s Office of Statistical

Information 1962 Oregon State System of Higher

Ed 1966 Dies at age 72

Coleman Griffith – Pedigree

William WundtUniversity of

Leipzig

Edward Titchener

PhD Leipzig (1892)

Madison BentleyPhD Cornell

(1898)

Coleman GriffithPhD Illinois

(1920)

Harry WolfePhD Leipzig

(1886)

Coleman Griffith

“Psychology and Its Relation to Athletic Competition” (1925) To teach young and inexperienced

coaches Adapt information already gained in the

field of psychology to sport Use the scientific method &

experimental lab to discover new facts and principles that would aid the practitioner in the field

Coleman Griffith

Four Types of systematic observation & research The gathering, compiling, and interpreting of

records from different practice fields The observations of shifting moods and

temperaments of athletes when apparatus failed to do so

The surveying of athletic aptitude and athletic talent

The solving of special psychological and physiological problems

Coleman Griffith

Examples of experimental research Effect of physical exercise on rate of

learning Effects of emotions and anxiety on

learning Psychological hunches and jinxes Effect of will power on performance The psychology of pep sessions Relation between exercise, learning, and

resistance to disease

Coleman Griffith

Griffith’s Legacy Delineation of functions of the field Receptivity to multiple ways of studying sport

psychology Contributions to psychology and to sport Positive, realistic, expectations for the field Focus on performance enhancement and

personal growth Recognition that knowledge knows no

international borders Advancing both research and practice

My Research Interests

Background Robert Furtwengler’s martial arts school: Zen

and Maxwell Maltz Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Mind-Body problem Played and coached basketball and volleyball Sport Psychology at University of Tennessee-

Knoxville Honors program administrator Beliefs and their effect on learning &

performance

My Research Interests

Motivation in Education Achievement Motivation Theory: Atkinson,

McClelland Attribution Theory: Heider, Weiner, Achievement Goal Theory: Duda, Dweck,

Maehr, Nicholls Roberts Self-efficacy Theory: Bandura Self-perceptions of competence: Harter Expectancy-Values Theories: Eccles &

Wigfield, Lewin Stereotype Threat: Steele

My Research Interests

Personal epistemology: beliefs about knowledge and knowing

Mindset (Dweck) Placebo effect Belief formation Self-theories/Implicit Theories Belief bias Naïve theories

My Research Interests

Can we modify long-held beliefs to improve learning and performance? Is attribution retraining possible?

Can successful instruction ever effectively eliminate early, erroneous intuitions or will they persist of the comprehensiveness or systematicity of the newly acquired theory?

Are beliefs habituated thoughts? What are the neural correlates of belief?

My Research Interests

Mangels, J. A., Butterfield, B., Lamb, J., Good, C., & Dweck, C. S. (2006). Why do beliefs about intelligence influence learning success? A social cognitive neuroscience model. Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, 1, 75-86. doi:10.1093/scan/nsl013

  Shtulman, A. and Valcarcel, J. (2012).

Scientific knowledge suppresses but does not supplant earlier intuitions. Cognition, 124, 209-215.

My Research Interests

What are your questions?

References

Boring, E.G. (1950). A history of experimental psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Griffith, C. R. (1925). Psychology and its relations to athletic competition. American Physical Education Review, 30, 193-199.

Kroll, W. & Lewis, G. (1970). America's First Sport Psychologist. Quest (00336297), 131-4.

Weinberg, R. S. & Gould, D. (2007). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.