MODERN TRENDS OF SPORT PSYCHOLOGY IN RUSSIAN PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Abstract

The current article is devoted to the main trends of sports psychology in Russia. At present, sports psychology in Russia and abroad is at a new stage of development, which is attributed to the acceptance of the notion that psychological characteristics influence the athletic performance. Russian sports psychology is basically aimed at the development of optimal methods and techniques facilitating the improvement of sport performance and detecting adverse tendencies in athletes. Several main theoretical approaches and psychological schools of thought that determined the historical course of Russian sports psychology are described in the article. Methodological principles for physical skills development in young athletes are discussed as well. The following modern research avenues of Russian sports psychology are also presented in this paper: time perception, attention, visual attention in field settings, anticipation, mental training and motor imagery. Each of these topics highlights the recent advances of sports psychology in Russia with an overview of the key studies providing their specific findings and interpretation in terms of contemporary scientific views. In addition, the three-step approach is proposed for the development of mental imagery interventions in sports. From the theoretical perspective, this approach can be used to standardize mental imagery research in sports by systematically controlling all variables that can influence study results. Overall, the article encompasses both the theoretical methodological aspects of Russian sports psychology and the examples of specific studies providing an opportunity to look forward to future lines of research

Keywords

• sport psychology
• sense of time
• visual attention
• anticipation
• motor imagery
• mental training.