Lewis, Granic and the several chapter authors have produced a rich volume encompassing emotion theory and research with integration to clinical practice.

The book begins with a necessary introduction which defines several key terms one must grasp in order to follow the book with its heavy emphasis on emotion theory. These definitions include dynamic systems theory, non-linear dynamic, state space, chaos theory and variants of self-organization.

The book is otherwise broken into 3 major sections. Intrapersonal processes focuses on internal working emotional systems and their development. Neurobiological processes focuses on the neurobiological equivalents of emotion and emotion development. Interpersonal processes elaborate, in detail, on the role of parent-child relationships, attachment, interpersonal dynamics and the role of marital relationships as a model.

The various chapters take an in depth look at both recent and some more classical research findings. This is interwoven with new thinking of some of the brightest minds in this field today, The chapter on Marital Modelling for example blends theory to this (Washington University) group’s own research, to practical assessment and therapeutic instruments. To whet the theorist/researcher’s appetite, the chapter goes into a mathematical model describing the marital dyad. Finally, it concludes with eight hypotheses that this group is studying toward the development of an empirically based marital intervention. Such a chapter is bound to stir up other researchers’ competitive and collaborative instincts, resulting in the provocation of both thought and emotion.

This book is definitely dense, and, despite its relative brevity, it is geared primarily for a subgroup of research based professionals and interested others. Regardless of this challenge, it is well worth the read as much more than a primer on this evolving and cutting-edge research and clinical area.

Emotion, Development, and Self-Organization: Dynamic Systems Approaches to Emotional Development.

Science and Medicine of Exercise and Sport. Edited by Warren R. Johnson and E. R. Buskirk. Pp. 486. (Harper and Row: New York and London, 1973.) £10.00.

Exercise and sport

Representative co-design: Utilising a source of experiential knowledge for athlete development and performance preparation

A fundamental challenge for practitioners in high-level sporting environments concerns how to support athletes in adapting behaviours to solve emergent problems during competitive performance. Guided by an ecological dynamics framework, the design and integration of competitive performance preparation models that place athlete-environment interactions at the heart of the learning process may address this challenge. This ecological conceptualisation of performance preparation signifies a shift in a coach’s role; evolving from a consistent solution provider to a learning environment designer who fosters local athlete-environment interactions. However, despite the past decades of research within the ecological dynamics framework developing an evidence-based, theoretical conceptualisation of skill acquisition, expertise and talent development, an ongoing challenge resides within its practical integration into sporting environments. This article provides two case examples in which high-level sports organisations have utilised an ecological dynamics framework for performance preparation in Australian football and Association Football. A unique perspective is offered on experiences of professional sport organisations attempting to challenge traditional ideologies for athlete performance preparation by progressing the theoretical application of ecological dynamics. These case examples intend to promote the sharing of methodological ideas to improve athlete development, affording opportunities for practitioners and applied scientists to accept, reject or adapt the approaches presented here to suit their specific ecosystems.

/pdf/theory-to-practice-performance-preparation-models-in-2y3axwr8cv.pdf

Theory to Practice: Performance Preparation Models in Contemporary High-Level Sport Guided by an Ecological Dynamics Framework

As it is appreciated that learning is a non-linear process – implying that coaching methodologies in sport should be accommodative – it is reasonable to suggest that player development pathways sho...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/17479541211002335

Towards a contemporary player learning in development framework for sports practitioners

Analysing performance in competitive environments enables identification of key constraints which shape behaviours, supporting designs of more representative training and learning environments. In this study, competitive performance of 244 elite level jumpers (male and female) was analysed to identify the impact of candidate individual, environmental and task constraints on performance outcomes. Findings suggested that key constraints shaping behaviours in long jumping were related to: individuals (e.g. particularly intended performance goals of athletes and their impact on future jump performance); performance environments (e.g. strength and direction of wind) and tasks (e.g. requirement for front foot to be behind foul line at take-off board to avoid a foul jump). Results revealed the interconnectedness of competitive performance, highlighting that each jump should not be viewed as a behaviour in isolation, but rather as part of a complex system of connected performance events which contribute to achievement of competitive outcomes. These findings highlight the potential nature of the contribution of performance analysis in competitive performance contexts. They suggest how practitioners could design better training tasks, based on key ecological constraints of competition, to provide athletes with opportunities to explore and exploit functional intentions and movement solutions high in contextual specificity.

/pdf/how-performance-analysis-of-elite-long-jumping-can-inform-wx276q7e2y.pdf

How performance analysis of elite long jumping can inform representative training design through identification of key constraints on competitive behaviours.

Understanding performance behaviours provides useful information for practitioners that can assist with the design of tasks to enhance the specificity of practice. In this study, the experiential knowledge of six elite long jump coaches was investigated using a constructivist grounded theory approach, with the aim of furthering our understanding of the competitive behaviours of elite long jump athletes and how they adapt actions to the emotional and physical demands of performance environments. Findings offer a coaches’ perspective on three performance contexts which shape athlete performance – perform, respond and manage – towards two common performance intentions (maximum jump and sub-maximal jump). We contend that these findings reflect how coaches perceive performance as a series of connected events (jumps), during which athlete intentionality facilitates self-regulatory strategies in the face of unique interactions between individual, task and environmental constraints across a competition. These findings highlight how individuals must continually co-adapt with constraints in performance environments supporting how athletes self-regulate using intentionality, emotions and cognitions. Practice task designs should, therefore, provide greater opportunities for athletes to learn to self-regulate in performance contexts, with opportunities to perform, respond and manage. Interpreting the coaches’ insights, we suggest that these major performance contexts of perform, respond and manage could, therefore, be strategically used to frame representative learning designs, providing a framework for better organisation of training tasks.

/pdf/the-role-of-elite-coaches-expertise-in-identifying-key-4a3veu46rv.pdf

The role of elite coaches’ expertise in identifying key constraints on long jump performance: how practice task designs can enhance athlete self-regulation in competition

Christopher Mccosker

Papers

How performance analysis of elite long jumping can inform representative training design through identification of key constraints on competitive behaviours.

The role of elite coaches’ expertise in identifying key constraints on long jump performance: how practice task designs can enhance athlete self-regulation in competition