Sport and Exercise Psychology

Three years full-time or four to six years on a flexible part-time basis.

This innovative degree is for students interested in understanding human behaviour in sport and exercise settings. The study of Psychology is combined with, and applied to, the study of Sport and Exercise. Therefore this degree is delivered by qualified and experienced staff from both the Psychology and the Sport and Exercise fields.

Students will recognise the role that the disciplines of Psychology and Sport and Exercise play in optimum preparation of the body for performance and in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Students on this pathway are also equipped with transferable, critical and analytical skills to enhance their employability. The course is accredited by the BPS as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered membership (GBC). Students who attain second class honours or above and who complete an empirical dissertation should be able to progress to training for a career in sport and exercise psychology. Each student has the support of a personal tutor to advise on academic and professional issues.

Full-time students take six modules per stage for three years. Some modules are mandatory whilst others are selected from a range of options in Psychology and Sport and Exercise. In stage one important core areas, evidence and methods are introduced. The basic knowledge and skills are built upon in stages two and three to foster a cutting-edge understanding of the field of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Stage one

In stage one, three compulsory modules permit excellent grounding in Sport and Exercise Psychology. One module enables students to acquire skills in the design and execution of a range of psychological research methods, the analysis and interpretation of data and report writing. A second module introduces the major approaches to understanding human behaviour; social, cognitive, biological, developmental and personality psychology. The third covers specific psychology theories as applied to sport and exercise settings. Students can select from a number of electives.

Stage two

Students undertake core modules in biological, cognitive, social, developmental, personality and conceptual and historical issues in Psychology. There are also modules to expand students' skills and knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research and data analysis in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Students also undertake a module in Sport and Exercise Psychology which expands on the knowledge gained at stage one and introduces applying psychological skills to sport and exercise settings.

Stage three

In stage three, students undertake an empirical dissertation, under the guidance of an experienced supervisor. The dissertation allows students to immerse themselves in a topic of their choosing, subject to staff availability and ethical approval and to implement the research skills they have acquired through the course.

• Excellent preparation for careers in sport and exercise psychology
• Course accredited by the BPS for the next five cohorts (from 2009)
• Modular programme offering flexibility and choice at all levels of study
• Access to superb research and sporting facilities, including an observation suite and physiology laboratory

• Psychology of Individuals and Groups in Sport
• Physiological Function and Response
• The Psychological Basis of Sport and Exercise
• Sports Coaching and Motor Learning
• Sport and Exercise Psychology Dissertation
• Applied Sports Psychology
• Psychology of Exercise and Health
• Motivation and Emotion

Course outline

Sport and Exercise Psychology is concerned with understanding people's actions and mental experiences in relation to sport and exercise. This innovative degree is for students interested in understanding human behaviour in sport and exercise settings. Students on this pathway are also equipped with transferable, critical and analytical skills to enhance their employability.

The programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR), provided the minimum standard of second class honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist and a pre-requisite for postgraduate training in the psychological professions.

Stage one modules

Core modules:

Psychology of Individuals and Groups in Sport

Introduces students to Sport and Exercise Psychology through a series of lectures and workshops focusing on topics such as motivation, audience effects and fostering behavioural change.

Introduction to Psychology

Introduces the major approaches to understanding human behaviour, including biological psychology, social psychology, individual differences, cognitive psychology and developmental psychology.

Becoming a Psychologist

Actively involves you in a range of practical problem solving exercises, all of which will develop your knowledge of many ways in which psychologists carry out their research. The module is conducted in small workshop groups.

Optional modules:

Physiological Function and Response

Introduces students to the core principles of the physiology of exercise.

Anatomy and Human Movement

Provides an introduction to the anatomy of the muscular-skeletal system together with applied mechanics and movement analysis.

Sport in Context

Analyses sport's social and historical role in the UK.

Sport and Leisure Management

Introduces a number of themes in the management of sport including political, economic and social influences.

Psychology in Practice

Looks at the many ways in which psychological knowledge is applied in real-world settings, including those of health, sport, counselling and the workplace.

Stage two modules

Core modules:

The Psychological Basis of Sport and Exercise

Focuses on understanding how individual differences and group dynamics can affect performance, training and exercise. The module also aims to develop your understanding of the interventions used by sport and exercise psychologists.

Sports Coaching and Motor Learning

Focuses on the cognitive and behavioural processes involved in learning skilled performance. This will enhance your understanding of the processes that underpin coaching.

To become eligible for GBR, you will complete the following six ten credit modules and the 20 credit Research Methods and Data Analysis modules which build upon the foundations of stage one.

Social Psychology

Looks at the psychological processes influencing behaviour within groups and relationships.

Developmental Psychology

Increases students' appreciation of the interactions among the social, biological and psychological processes shaping human life-span development.

Personality and Individual Differences

Provides a thorough grounding in the psychology of why each of us in certain respects is like all other people, like some other people and like no other person.

Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology

Considers key debates within psychology that continue to have a major impact today.

Biological Psychology

Looks at the many insights into human psychology that come from understanding fundamental processes taking place in our brains and bodies.

Cognitive Psychology

Examines the mechanisms by which individuals think, perceive, remember, use language and attend to the world.

Research Methods and Data Analysis

A coursework-only module that builds upon the skills developed in stage one, looking at intermediate level statistics, more complex research designs and alternative methods of investigation to the experiment.

Stage three modules

Students undertake a dissertation, modules in Applied Sport Psychology and Psychology of Exercise and Health and choose two modules from a wide range of advanced modules on relevant psychological topics.

Core modules:

Sport and Exercise Psychology dissertation

Enables students seeking GBR to undertake an empirical dissertation, under the guidance of a Sport and Exercise Psychology lecturer. You will immerse yourself in a topic of your choosing, subject to staff and ethical approval, and exercise the research skills you have acquired through the course.

Applied Sport Psychology

Provides an in-depth focus on applied sports psychology. A variety of topics commonly found in applied consultancy work will be investigated; including, team building, stress management, building confidence and psychological support during injury rehabilitation.

Psychology of Exercise and Health

Focuses on the effect of exercise from a health and wellbeing perspective and considers the link between exercise and mental health. Topics covered include, stress reduction, exercise addiction, burnout and behavioural change.

Optional modules:

Motivation and Emotion

Looks at findings and explanations regarding motivational and emotional phenomena with an emphasis on biological and ethological approaches. The topic is applicable to a wide variety of different areas, including pleasure, pain, achievement, eating, drug use, sexual behaviour and particularly positive psychology.

The Psychology of Health

Allows you to advance your understanding of human behaviour through an exploration of two related aspects of applied psychology. It examines the application of psychological principles to issues of physical health and psychological well-being through student engagement with the two sub-fields of health psychology and counselling psychology.

Psychology of Mental Health

Focuses on the work of clinical psychologists. The module looks at the contrasting psychological and medical approaches to the understanding and treatment of so-called 'mental health problems'. It also offers an opportunity to explore the real world application of psychological theories already encountered at earlier levels.

The Developing Adult

Draws on diverse areas of psychology such as social, clinical and health, in order to offer you a range of perspectives for understanding aspects of adult development. Emphasis is placed on the ecology of personal relationships, the lifespan approach to attachment, the meaning of life satisfaction in the later years and myths and stereotypes of ageing.

The Developing Child

Studies a range of contemporary issues concerning typical and atypical development in childhood and adolescence. The module focuses on, social, emotional and behavioural development within the school environment, critical perspectives in developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology.

Educational Psychology

Enables students to explore a range of issues in education and some of the processes involved in teaching and learning. Issues covered include assessment, individual differences and self-belief. The module offers the opportunity for a placement within an educational establishment.

Occupational Psychology

Designed to help you to acquire knowledge of the psychological research and theory underpinning the work of organisational psychologists and to develop a critical appreciation of the relationships between basic and applied research and between theory and practice.

NB The third year options are indicative and may change according to student interest and staff availability.

A variety of assessment strategies are used at each level to ascertain your level of competence in a range of academic and transferable skills. These strategies include essays, practical reports, multiple-choice tests, oral presentations, time-constrained essays, seen and unseen examinations, critical reviews and group project work.

Dedicated laboratories and PC suites for Psychology students.

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical / laboratory workshops, computer assisted learning, independent and group work. Discussion and student participation is encouraged. Practical work will represent an important component of your Psychology course in each of the three years of study.

Psychology is applied to many professional contexts. After further qualification, you can obtain 'chartered' status as a counselling, clinical, educational, occupational, health or forensic psychologist. Also, academic psychologists conduct research and teach in higher education. Northampton graduates have followed each of these careers. It is widely acknowledged by employers that Psychology degrees provide an excellent grounding for a diverse range of non-psychological careers. Our graduates are employed in education, the health service, the police force, human resources management, marketing, the civil service, broadcasting, social work and many other professions.

This course not only prepares graduates for work in the areas of Sports and Exercise Psychology, but other areas too. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study (such as MSc, MPhil or PhD) and careers in the psychological professions. In addition, graduates acquire a combination of skills much sought after by employers in many non-psychological professions such as education, health, and human resources.