Short description:

This book introduces the epistemology and psychology of C.G. Jung to the sport psychology readership. It considers the implications of analytical psychology with respect to theorising on well-established psychological phenomenon in sport.

Long description:

Analytical Psychology and Sport: Epistemology, Theory and Practice introduces the epistemology and psychology of C.G. Jung to the sport psychology readership. In doing so, it considers for the first time the implications of analytical psychology with respect to theorising on well-established psychological phenomena in sport, including confidence, mental toughness and psychological momentum.

To date, sport psychology has given limited consideration to how epistemology itself informs the development of knowledge. In light of Jung?s epistemological contributions and more recent developments in psychology, this new book explores how a renewed focus on the philosophy of science can help facilitate the development of sport psychology as a scientific discipline.

This new research volume investigates analytical psychology in relation to a number of novel topics, including person?athlete interdependence and the psychology of performance variation, and will be key reading for academics and students of sport and exercise psychology, analytical psychology and related disciplines.

Recommended by CHOICE Connect (November 2024)

Cowen (Univ. of Derby) uses C. G. Jung's epistemology framework as a lens for understanding sport and performance psychology. The purposes of this book are to explore how we can wield subjectivity as a means to explain sport psychology practice and the importance of employing both subjective and objective markers to explore this discipline. Cowen suggests that it is important to explore how our own personal epistemology can shape how we perceive knowledge and experience within the world of sport psychology. There is a debate within the field surrounding the use of evidence-based practice (i.e., theory) and professional practice knowledge, and this book seems to argue that both are necessary, but deciding how to balance both for performance can be complex. Cowen hopes we can use this new lens to better inform our personal practices in the field of sport psychology as practitioners and educators.

--C. Hauff, University of South Alabama

Table of Contents:

1 Introduction

2 An introduction to the epistemology of Jung (subject~object)

3 Towards an epistemology of being and becoming

4 Positivism and analytical psychology

5 The psychology of momentum in sports: A Jungian analysis

6 The role of time: Theoretical implications for sport psychology

7 Applied implications (person~athlete)

8 Conclusions