PS314: Applying Psychology in the Pacific.
Project Submission 2
Course Coordinator: Dr. Annie Crookes
Group members:
1. Jessica S.O. Work - s11185977
2. Sinal Devi - s11184669
3. Leah-M. Qalomai - s11185643
4. Anjali A. Prasad – s11187039
The underlying psychology in increasing the engagement of people into sports and physical
health: School and Workforce Environment.
Sports Psychology is a new but relatively growing field that looks at and deals with the
underlying attitudes, behaviors, and factors that influence physical activity (leisure or
competitive) among individuals. In the past decades, it has become a largely engaged in field in
assistance to many professional sporting clubs and athletes worldwide. It can be noted that the
field itself is divided into two dimensions: ‘exercise’ and ‘sports. Zenko & Jones (2021, p. 2)
mention that both exercise and sports psychology (collectively) aim to examine the
psychological antecedents and penalties of physical activity behavior, which is inclusive of
factors that dispose people in engaging in physical activity, how engagement in such activities
influences an individual’s well- being; as well as how psychological principles and theories
enhance the performance and well-being of athletes. Moreover, physical activity is in itself a
separate yet relative part of exercise and sports psychology; it refers to any movement of the
body that results in energy and/or caloric consumption beyond resting- which can involve
activities such as doing laundry, walking, lifting weights, etc. (Zenko & Jones, 2021, p. 2)
Narrowing it down, engagement in sports and physical activities have their own reasoning and
need. As such, sports psychology is a specialized field and unlike exercise, is more focused on
psychological principles, as it directly affects athletic performance and the competitor’s mental
health (Zenko & Jones, 2021, p. 2). It is a proficiency that is attained after an individual has
achieved a doctoral degree in the main areas of psychology pertaining to sports, and integrates
interventions designed to assist athletes as well as other sporting individuals, i.e., coaches,
parents, etc. (American Psychological Association, 2008). Additionally, the field encompasses
aspects such as cognitive and behavioral training, counseling interventions, along with
consultation and training as part of intervention and assistance mechanisms to help the athletes.
Along with this, engaging in physical activity also contributes to a person’s well-being.
Moreover, schools and work environments are known to be spaces where such activity is
encouraged. For instance, Orhan (2020) stated that the acquisition of physical activity habits in
childhood and youth is significant as the practice of such habits are correlated to physical
education taught or introduced in schools. Furthermore, both athletes, as well as regular
individuals are constantly engaged in sports and/or physical activity. Athletes are beings exposed
to harsh training conditions that overtime, can take a toll on their physical and mental well-being,
and regular persons may find themselves participating in physical activity out of necessity,
achievement of a goal, etc. The reasoning and influencing factors differ from person to person, as
well as maintaining motivation throughout trainings and competitions. Therefore, discovering
and understanding the various factors that influence this, the following literature review aims to
explore the following research questions:
1. What motivates individuals to engage in sports and physical activity?
2. What are the interventions in schools that encouraged students to engage in sports and
physical activity?
3. How do work environments encourage workers to engage in physical activity?
4. What role can psychology play in engaging people in sports?
To begin with, there are various reasons for engaging in sports. There are individuals who come
from sporting backgrounds and are encouraged to carry on the legacy, while other individuals
join out of passion and talent. There are also individuals who participate in such activities out of
interest or for leisure purposes, and for mental and physical well-being. As such, Cerar, et al.
(2017) conducted a study among University of Ljubljana students, with the aim of finding and
assessing the different reasons and motivations for student’s participation in sports in association
with their gender and field of study. The research conducted had a large number of participants
(n=5271), all of whom were presented with the Exercise Motivation Inventory (EMI-2). The
study also covered twelve different socio-demographic parameters to determine whether
motivation and reasoning varied across regions. Upon examination, it was discovered that leisure
sports were the most engaged-in. The results from the analyses also surmised that among the
male cohort of participants, the main reasons for participating in sports were enjoyment, social
recognition, competition and strength, challenge, and affiliation. As for the female cohort, results
showed factors such as stress and weight management, positive health, revitalization, avoidance
of ill-health, and appearance and agility as the main drivers of participation. Similarly, in another
study it was found that people chose to engage in sports due to the social and psychological
health benefits it resulted in, most noticeably self-esteem (Eime, et al., 2013). Concurrently in
the Pacific context- Fiji in particular has engaged in many sporting activities for many of the
same reasons. This is evident in the creation and participation of ‘Inter Tertiary Games’ among
the nation’s universities that involve sports such as rugby, soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc. with
the purpose of engaging and promoting students in sports for their health and well-being (FISU
Oceania, 2022). Moreover, in the workforce, majority of the activities participated in are for the
purpose of wellness. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Center for Disease Control
and Prevention, 2022) states that engaging employees in physical activities assist in the creation
of a more productive employees and helps them lower health costs. Additionally, some
workplaces have in-door gyms that are free or offer lower fees for employees which is a driving
factor for people in the workforce to work-out/participate in physical activity. In Fiji, a policy
has been implemented to help employees take part in more physical activity- this is however, a
mandated reason for people participating. This is reference to the National Wellness Policy that
was put into effect in 2015, which included all civil servants but are not limited to businesses,
civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, etc. to conduct wellness
activities/trainings on Wednesdays (Ministry of Health and Medical Services, 2015).
A study proposed by Velayati (2015), stated that inner motivation is an important factor within
people who wish to make a career in sports. It is something that keeps people active in
participate and taking advantage of the opportunity that they come across. Inner motivations can
positively encourage the person and their behavior, controls the endurance, provides clear
directions, and helps maintains a clear part of success. With a sample of n = 290 students, a
questionnaire was prepared to obtain information from the students aiming to look at the origins
of inner motivation within them. The probability of the results (p < 0.05) showed that students
utilize their free time to enjoy sports activities and be physically active. Individuals act
differently on the basis of the different types of inner motives; enabling them to be inspired by
other famous players, concentrate on their performance, become skillful and enjoy every moment
with other people in the field. The author also stated that, through inner motivation, people
preform with great interest and experience inner pleasure, enabling them to aim for gaining
privileged outcomes. Thus, in the Pacific Island countries, people are getting into sports because
of being self-motivated and overcome their challenges through any kinds of support from
anyone. This also cognitively helps exercise their brain and be able to help themselves
physically. Hence, there is a gap in the sporting facilities in Fiji and how the tournaments are
organized, which is a challenge for people but if they are driven to become a good player, they
need to be fully prepared for what they want in their life (Harvanua, 2021).
Sports have always enabled greater engagement between people. A literature by Patrick et al.
(1999) noted that both males and females have been able to benefit from getting involved into
sports. Different sporting fields have always been able to develop people’s attention and
motivation of gaining greater opportunities, building new friendships and being able to learn
from them. There are certain variances in opportunities based on in-school and out-school
activities for peer interactions and social fulfilment. As part of his study, semi-structured
interviews were conducted with students for two days. The results from the study shows that,
40% of males and 19% of females have mentioned the importance of the development of the
players motivation, which is, increasing confidence level of people and social skills of students
participating, of different ages. It enables students to be physically active and enjoy participating
in sports and social intersections. This is similar to the pacific region where people enjoy
sporting activities with their colleges and get motivated from each other. In the Pacific,
initiatives to encourage players are in place such as; sports scholarships, sporting activities in
schools, funding from local doners, equipment donations and many other measures. With the
provision of having good and experienced coaches, the motivations of players are high to
perform in the field. A coach with good leadership styles, talents, skills, capabilities, and
performance has a high level of impact and influence on students in school to perform and learn
from them (Nasiruddin et al., 2020). The authors also identified that more research is needed to
understand about gender difference as an influence to their participation and motivation. It can
be seen that adolescent’s participation and social interaction can be differed by the difference in
gender.
A study by Chang-Yong (2012) aimed to look at the skills level of players in sports and their
level of psychological state and self-confidence, during the time of the tournament. Being a good
player means that it is important to healthy, active and maintain confidence. He states that self
confidence in a player is also generated through experience, performance, knowledge and taking
advantage of the skill, the player has while being in the field. As part of the study, there was a
total of 10 participants (5 males and 5 females) from the tennis sport field. They were given the
questionnaire to answer with an aim to understand their mindset/ physical state during their best
competition performance in the tournament. The author found out that with high state of focus
and self-confidence, people are able to perform well however, many people have bad experience
when being in the field in their past which can impact the players confidence level at present.
The author did not really state if self-confidence could also be maintained through exercising as
it is a way that develops people ability to perform in the field. An article by Haravanua (2022)
from the Fiji Sun reported that the main focus of the Gujrati Football Tournament in Fiji is to
work on players development and there are more youngsters in the grounds today to become
good football players and represent their district teams. He also states that good motivation and
confidence drives one’s performance to do well in the field and inspire others to represent the
country.
However, there are many factors that hinder athletes throughout their training, in turn; possibly
affecting their performance. Such challenges may represent itself in financial, personal, mental,
social forms, among others. Dehghansai, et al. (2021), led research that focused on the stressors
that elite athletes faced. The study involved Australian Paralympic athletes (n=7), and coaches
(n=5), all in preparation for the Tokyo Paralympics. The study was conducted through semi-
structured interviews and concluded that challenges presented were budget constraints,
decentralized exposure, relocation in order to access better coaching and resources, as well as
improbabilities, such as Covid-19 for instance. Additionally, demand and expectation from
family, administration, etc., puts more pressure on the athletes, as well as the coaches, which
could sometimes result in burnout, and therefore, affect the overall training and performance of
the athlete. It does not imply that every athlete faces the exact same hinderance, as challenges
can also differ according to cultural subtexts. For instance, in Fiji, Rugby is a dominant sport and
though the players are compensated well, cultural obligations and expectations, demands from
family, and even limited business opportunities are some struggles faced by players in Fiji
(Stewart-Withers, et al., 2017). However, as professional athletes, mental toughness is a common
characteristic achieved in order for athletes to overcome such challenges. Mental toughness
refers to a set of psychological traits that are essential for maximum and optimal performance in
a sport (Liew, et al., 2019). It is imperative to note that all athletes face challenges in the face of
consistency with any sport, but it is important to know that there are always solutions to help
bridge the gap and maintain optimal performance.
Reflecting on the literature, future studies can be improved through the creation and research
focused on athletes within the Pacific. Mainly to consider the key challenges, motivations, and
influences whilst engaging in their respective sports. There is also a lack of statistics in
quantitative data regarding the engagement of the general population in physical and/or sporting
activities. Research within this area can help to find any correlations between physical activities
and the well-being of people in the Pacific- applicable to professional athletes as well as those in
society and the workforce.
In conclusion, the increase in the engagement of people into sports and physical health have been
very beneficial to individual’s lives. There are times when people get engaged with a lot of work
in their lives that they are unable to get physically active through sports and workouts. Therefore,
it has been a good approach to include sports and physical exercises in schools and workforce,
allowing them to spare out some of their time to become physically active and engaging. All
schools in Fiji engage students into sports by giving them a certain time and organizing sporting
activities enables students to gain greater opportunities. At workforce, there are certain days and
time that all the staffs are given with so that they can do any form of activity planned. For
example, wellness Wednesdays. The literatures used are studies based on sports, physical
activities and how people gain motivation to become physically active and perform well in the
field.
(2311words)
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