One Course: Psychology of Sport
Associate Professor of Kinesiology Christi Johnson’s Psychology of Sport course is not just for the sport obsessed, but applicable across life–anywhere a person encounters stress and anxiety along with the pressure to perform. What motivates us as individuals and teams of people? What creates cohesion among the group? What can enhance performance? What triggers aggressive behavior?
“Because of the title of the course, it draws a large number of athletes, and sports is the first thing that comes to mind. But then they start brainstorming about situations where they really are facing pressure in the same way that they would face in sports, and once we start doing that we can break open the skill-set that people use to deal with those situations more effectively,” Johnson says.
She kicks off the course by asking students to imagine contexts in their lives where they face pressure or judgment, or places in their lives where someone else is evaluating the quality of their work. Then she leads the students through the block spending a week each on three aspects of dealing with challenging situations.
Professor Johnson’s sport psychology tips for everyone.
“I am so proud of students who get excited about this work,” Johnson says. “Recently, Sophia Hollingsworth and Nina Deer recognized the need for sport psych services on campus. Both advocated for it, and this year we’ve brought in an outside consultant to support our athletes.”
That type of support could be useful to students like junior Colin Konicek, who found the course helpful to him as a Rams baseball player.
“There is a lot more that goes into sports than the physical aspect of the game,” says Konicek. “That is something that gets overlooked. Being able to look into the mindset piece of sports helps identify ways the athlete can perform better with less pressure and anxiety.”
Sophia Hollingsworth ’21 presented her sport psychology honors work at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology’s (AASP) regional conference in 2019 and the national conference in 2020, and Nina Deer ’22 presented her honors project at AASP’s national conference. Deer has also started graduate school at Illinois State.
“It is really remarkable for undergraduate students to present at the national level and is a testament to the passion that they have for this work,” Johnson says.
Did you take a course at Cornell that has stuck with you during your life after Cornell? Email us with the subject line One Course to share your story.
