This updated fourth edition of Arnold LeUnes’s textbook has comprehensive coverage of sport psychology with a healthy balance between theory and application. The strong applied approach is emphasized throughout but is essentially apparent in the second half of the book.
The book features a strong pedagogical program including interesting applied vignettes, chapter outlines, emboldened key terms with glossary, very thorough chapter summaries, student-oriented suggested readings, and numerous tables and figures to visually summarize the key concepts. The book’s shorter chapters make it easier to assign one per class.
In addition, a website of supplemental resources, free of charge to qualified adopters, makes this new edition even more accessible and student-friendly.
Preface. Part 1. Introducing Sport Psychology and Sport History. An Introduction to Sport Psychology. Professional Issues in Sport Psychology. Sport History: Antiquity Through the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. History of Sport and Sport Psychology in the United States. Part 2. Behavioral Principles and Applications. Behavioral Principles. Anxiety and Arousal. Anxiety Reduction: Classical Conditioning and Operant Learning Applications. Anxiety Reduction: Cognitive Learning Techniques. Part 3. Social Psychological Dimensions. Motivation: Attribution Theory and Need Achievement. Motivation: Locus of Control and Self Theory. Social Psychology of Sport: Leadership and Group Cohesion. Social Psychology of Sport: Audience Effects. Aggression: Dimensions and Theories. Aggression: Violence in Selected Sport Populations. Part 4. Personality, Assessment, and Special Athletic Populations. Personality and Psychological Assessment. Psychological Assessment in Sport Psychology. Minority Athletes. High-Risk Sport/The Elite Athlete. Athletes With Disabilities/Injured Athletes. Doping in Sports. The Female Sport Experience: Historical and Physiological Issues. The Female Sport Experience: Sport Socialization, Psychological Variables, and Other Issues. Youth Sport: Motives for Participating and Withdrawing. Youth Sport: Stress and Other Issues. Part 5. Coaching and Exercise. The Coach: Roles, Communication, and Psychological Variables. Youth, Female, and Black Coaches: Coaching Burnout. Exercise Psychology: Physical Fitness, Adherence, and Cognitive and Affective Benefits. Exercise Psychology: Running Addictions and Exercise for Senior Citizens. Glossary.
Biography
Arnold LeUnes received his three degrees from Texas A&M University (1960) and University of North Texas (1961, 1969). Professor LeUnes joined the Psychology faculty at Texas A&M University in 1966 and his teaching focus has been primarily abnormal psychology and sport psychology. He was a three-year starter at tailback in football, district champion in the 100- and 220-yard dashes, a state track meet qualifier, and ran sprints and hurdles in college for a year. Professor LeUnes has been awarded three distinguished teaching awards and at the same time has authored five books, generated 100+ articles, and presented 100+ papers at assorted conferences.
"The quality of the scholarship in this text is outstanding. No other textbook in the field is so extensively researched. A related strength of the book is the systematic method used to explain ideas from general to specific. The book is noted for its clarity and broad range of information. It can be used at a variety of levels — both undergraduate and graduate — and is so well referenced. The chapter lengths, clarity of writing, and use of examples/figures/graphs/summaries make this the best text in the field for a course in sport psychology." - Brian J. Wigley, Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Shenandoah University
"The LeUnes book provides a great balance between the psychological and the physical aspects of sport. This book does a great job of providing information and is easy for students to grasp. It is well suited for the mixed audiences from all disciplines that study sport performance. It's the book that others quote and the best source of current information on sport psychology." - Pamela Wuestenberg, Psychology Department, Texas State University
"This is a comprehensive, well written, engaging textbook on exercise and sport psychology written from a psychology perspective. There is a nice blend of research and scholarship along with applied perspectives." - Michael L. Sachs, Department of Kinesiology, Temple University
"There is more information packed into this book than any of its rivals in the sport-psychology textbook market, with the author’s expertise in psychology and passion for sport permeating the book. The summaries and annotated bibliographies at the end of each chapter are particularly strong features. It is arguably the most suitable textbook for an introductory sport psychology course aimed at students who are on psychology degrees or who are non-majors in sports-related degrees. For students and teachers of psychology courses related to sports science and coaching, the quantity and quality of material related to sports coaching will be appealing." -Simon Jenkins, International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching Volume 3
