Introduction to the Special Issue: Using technology in applied sport psychology
Published Oct 2, 2018 · Jack C. Watson II, Ashley M. Coker-Cranney
Journal of Sport Psychology in Action
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Abstract
The last several decades have seen dramatic advances in the use of technology in everyday life. As expected, these technological advancements have affected all areas of human existence, including sport performance. In recent years, advances have been made in biofeedback, virtual reality, reaction time trainers, and a host of other software applications and gadgets designed to enhance human performance. For instance, wearable technology can be used to monitor the users’ vital signs to facilitate real-time injury/trauma survival predictions and improve treatment response times. In sports, small performance gains can be the difference between winning and losing, ultimately affecting contracts and earnings. Consequently, the use of technology, which often comes with the promise to improve feedback quality and enhance performance, has become invaluable to coaches and athletes (Liebermann, Katz, Hughes, Bartlett, McClements, & Franks, 2002). Since the advent and incorporation of GPS locators, headmounted devices, wearable health monitors, assistive devices, and various physical training tools to extend the limits of performance capacities, monitor changes, and produce data for analysis (Burkett, 2010; Craig, 2013; Miles, Pop, Watt, Lawrence, & John, 2012; Travassos, Davids, Araujo, & Esteves, 2013; Vignais, Kulpa, Brault, Presse, & Biddeau, 2015), athletes and coaches have incorporated technology into their daily sport experiences. As coaches and athletes are exposed to and use technology to enhance performance from a physical or tactical standpoint, their interest in using parallel technology for psychological performance enhancement has also increased. With a desire to meet clients where they are physically, psychologically, and emotionally and to provide the best available services, technology is often used by sport and performance psychology practitioners to complement their traditional sport psychology consulting methods (Watson & Halbrook, 2014).