Sport and Exercise Psychology Review - Sport Psychology Goes to ...

Book Review
chapters in this section gel together well. In
Chapter 1, Aidman and Scofield bring new
reflections and approaches to Morris’s
original chapter on traditional approaches
of assessment by drawing upon themes of
athletic identity and self-concept to offer
wider considerations in an area hindered by
issues of measurement. Chapter 2 is a new
topic addition by Terry on mood and
emotion, which efficiently assesses current
models in the literature and greatly supports
reader accessibility by presenting relevant
empirical findings alongside theory. In
chapter 3, the scope within the area of
anxiety is given full recognition. Hale (1997)
criticised the first edition suggesting the
topic would be more appropriately
addressed if the consideration of applied
interventions for anxiety was carried in
another part of the text. The editors appear
to have tidied up this area which literally
sprawled across four chapters over two parts
of the book, by dividing the matter into two
succinct and fittingly located chapters, one
theory based and the other applied. As such,
Marchant and Morris present a full review of
key developments in sport anxiety research
including reversal theory and an
examination of the antecedents of choking.
This chapter is notable for a particularly
international selection of real world
examples and discussion, which ably sets the
scene for consideration of applied
perspectives in a chapter in the subsequent
part of the book. In Chapter 4, Moran and
Summers thoroughly cover the three key
theoretical perspectives in a well-organised
chapter that also examines the dimensions
of attention. Previously manifesting as a
single chapter on individual and social
motivation, Chapters 5 and 6 (on intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation by Frederick-
Recascino and Morris and achievement goal
theory by Chi, respectively) share the
motivational load in a development that
better acknowledges the diversity of theory
in this area and permits more thorough
examination of these facets. This potentially
allows readers to more accurately target
particulars fields.
In this second edition, prior chapters on
attribution theory and social facilitation have
been removed. Additionally, Morris’s original
chapter on self-efficacy is now consumed
within Chapter 7, which focuses on Selfconfidence
and is authored by Morris and
Koehn. An excellent reflection on the dual
concepts of state self-confidence and sport
confidence alongside self-efficacy is coupled
with a critique of currently utilised
inventories in this chapter. However, it is
somewhat let-down by a future directions
section that fails to present any firm potential
developments in a relatively under
researched area of sport psychology. Closing
with Chapter 8, Hodge presents current
perspectives in team dynamics in a
comprehensive review coloured with solid
up-to-date practical examples, it is especially
accessible. As a whole, the revised Part 1 feels
far more substantial and it is undoubtedly
more functional as the parts of its sum appear
to be pulling their individual weight.
In an especially damning part of his review
Hale (1997) concluded that part 2 of the
original text did not succeed as an updated
analysis due to lack of research grounding
and how-to intervention explanations and
cited several chapters as ‘weak’. Whilst no
chapters in the section have been replaced as
such, renowned contributors have again been
sought to provide fresh approaches to current
key issues. This is apparent in the new
Chapter 10 on Goal Setting, now contributed
by Weinberg. Not only is content overhauled,
but also the way the information is structured,
or proffered, for use. This chapter in the
original edition largely consisted of on a brief
goal setting cookbook. In this second edition,
Weinberg provides a very accessible review of
the industry vs. sport and exercise setting
research debate. Additionally, the weaker
links in the chain of the goal setting process
are identified through examination of recent
research into elite athletes and coaches
attitudes to and usage of goal setting. This
serves to put forward a far more rounded
presentation of an area frequently sought-out
54 Sport & Exercise Psychology Review Vol 1 No 2