UGC NET Physical Education Sports Psychology Syllabus

Sports Psychology syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Sports Psychology in UGC NET Physical Education, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Importance of Sports Psychology in Physical Education and Sports

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Sports Psychology — no further topic split in the official outline.

2. 2

   Motivation in Sports

   3 topics

   • Types of Motivation
   • Theories of Motivation
   • Dynamics of Motivation
3. 3

   Psychological Factors Affecting Sports Performance

   8 topics

   • Emotions
   • Anxiety
   • Aggression
   • Stress
   • Self-Confidence
   • Concentration
   • Mental Practice
   • Goal Setting
4. 4

   Personality

   2 topics

   • Theories of Personality
   • Measurement of Personality
5. 5

   Group Dynamics, Group Cohesion, and Leadership in Sports

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Sports Psychology — no further topic split in the official outline.

6. 6

   Cognitive Process in Sports

   2 topics

   • Memory
   • Thinking
7. 7

   Principles of Motor Skill Learning

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Sports Psychology — no further topic split in the official outline.

8. 8

   Transfer of Training in Sports

   2 topics

   • Types of Transfer of Training
   • Implications in Sports
9. 9

   Long and Short Term Psychological Preparation for Performance/Competition

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Sports Psychology — no further topic split in the official outline.

10. 10

    Psychological Skill Training for Activation and Relaxation

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Sports Psychology — no further topic split in the official outline.

11. 11

    Spectators and Sports Performance

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Sports Psychology — no further topic split in the official outline.

Sports Psychology flashcards for UGC NET Physical Education

22 of 63 cards from the Sports Psychology deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Define motivation in the context of sports psychology.

   Motivation is the internal and external drive that initiates, directs, and sustains goal-oriented behaviour; in sport it is often defined as the direction and intensity of effort an athlete invests.

2. What are the two broad types of motivation, and how do they differ?

   Intrinsic motivation comes from within (enjoyment, mastery, satisfaction of the activity itself), while extrinsic motivation comes from external rewards or pressures (medals, money, praise, avoiding punishment).

3. Distinguish primary (biological) motives from secondary (social/acquired) motives.

   Primary motives are unlearned physiological needs (hunger, thirst, sleep, sex), whereas secondary motives are learned through experience and culture (achievement, affiliation, power, recognition).

4. In achievement motivation theory, name the two opposing tendencies an athlete experiences.

   The motive to achieve success (Ms) and the motive to avoid failure (Maf); resultant achievement behaviour depends on the balance between them.

5. State Atkinson's achievement motivation equation for the tendency to approach success.

   $T_{s} = M_{s} \times P_{s} \times I_{s}$, where $M_{s}$ is motive to succeed, $P_{s}$ is probability of success, and $I_{s}$ is incentive value of success ($I_{s} = 1 - P_{s}$).

6. According to Atkinson's model, at what probability of success is approach motivation maximal for high achievers?

   At an intermediate difficulty of $P_{s} = 0.50$ (a 50-50 challenge), because $P_{s} \times I_{s}$ is maximised there.

7. What is the central claim of Drive Theory regarding arousal and performance?

   Performance is a linear function of arousal: $\text{Performance} = \text{Habit Strength} \times \text{Drive}$, so increased arousal enhances the dominant response (good for well-learned skills, harmful for novices).

8. State the relationship described by the Inverted-U Hypothesis (Yerkes-Dodson Law).

   Performance improves as arousal rises up to an optimal point, then declines with further arousal, producing an inverted-U; optimal arousal is higher for simple/gross tasks and lower for complex/fine tasks.

9. What does the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model by Hanin propose?

   Each athlete has a unique optimal band of pre-competition anxiety/arousal in which best performance occurs; the zone differs between individuals rather than being a single universal optimum.

10. Describe the key prediction of Catastrophe Theory (Hardy & Fazey) in sport.

    Under high cognitive anxiety, increasing physiological arousal raises performance up to a threshold, then causes a sudden, dramatic ('catastrophic') drop rather than a smooth decline.

11. What is Reversal Theory's view of arousal interpretation?

    High arousal can be interpreted as either pleasant excitement (telic/paratelic shift) or unpleasant anxiety; performance depends on the athlete's psychological interpretation, which can reverse between metamotivational states.

12. Name the three psychological needs in Deci & Ryan's Self-Determination Theory.

    Autonomy (control over one's actions), competence (effectiveness/mastery), and relatedness (connection with others); satisfying them fosters intrinsic motivation.

13. List the self-determination continuum from least to most self-determined.

    Amotivation -> external regulation -> introjected regulation -> identified regulation -> integrated regulation -> intrinsic motivation.

14. What does 'dynamics of motivation' refer to in sport?

    The changing, interactive processes by which motives arise, intensify, conflict, and are sustained or diminished over time through goals, incentives, feedback, success/failure, and environmental factors.

15. How does the over-justification effect undermine motivation?

    Giving large extrinsic rewards for an intrinsically enjoyable activity can reduce intrinsic motivation, because the athlete reattributes their behaviour to the reward rather than enjoyment.

16. Define emotion and name its three commonly cited components.

    Emotion is a complex psycho-physiological reaction to a stimulus; its three components are physiological arousal, subjective feeling/cognition, and behavioural/expressive response.

17. Summarise the James-Lange theory of emotion.

    Emotion results from the perception of bodily/physiological changes: a stimulus triggers physiological arousal first, and the awareness of that arousal IS the emotion ('we are afraid because we tremble').

18. How does the Cannon-Bard theory differ from James-Lange?

    Cannon-Bard holds that physiological arousal and the emotional experience occur simultaneously and independently in response to a stimulus, not one causing the other.

19. State the core idea of Schachter-Singer's two-factor theory of emotion.

    Emotion = physiological arousal + cognitive label; the same arousal is interpreted as different emotions depending on the cognitive appraisal of the situational context.

20. Define anxiety and distinguish state anxiety from trait anxiety.

    Anxiety is a negative emotional state marked by nervousness, worry, and apprehension with heightened arousal. State anxiety is a transient, situation-specific feeling; trait anxiety is a stable personality disposition to perceive situations as threatening.

21. Differentiate cognitive anxiety from somatic anxiety.

    Cognitive anxiety is the mental component (worry, negative thoughts, fear of failure); somatic anxiety is the physical component (increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, butterflies).

22. Which questionnaire is widely used to measure multidimensional competitive state anxiety?

    The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2), measuring cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence.

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