Cultural sport psychology: a critical review of empirical advances

Abstract

Despite a long standing assertion that sociocultural domain is one of the factors constituting human psychological phenomena, sport psychological science has only recently begun to examine culture as the principal basis of physical activity and sport participants' behaviour, wellbeing, engagement, and performance outcomes. Emphasizing the centrality of culture in bringing meaning to athlete careers and life projects, I summarise empirical literature explicitly positioned within cultural sport psychology (CSP). Specifically, I focus on two areas of psychological inquiry - acculturation and athletic career - in which the CSP theoretical tenets and agenda stimulated emergence of novel research trajectories. I conclude by suggesting directions for future work in CSP.

Career development and transitions of athletes: the International Society of Sport Psychology Position Stand Revisited

“…Figure 1 depicts the key conceptual and applied frameworks that contributed to the development of a new paradigm termed cultural praxis of athletes' careers . Embracing the whole person and the whole environment perspectives of the ACD, Stambulova and Ryba embedded their theorising in the cultural praxis heuristic (Ryba, 2017;Ryba & Wright, 2005;Ryba, Schinke, & Tenenbaum, 2010) to contextualise athlete subjectivity in lived culture and to mend the gap between theory and applied work. The cultural praxis of athletes' careers navigates career researchers and practitioners to: (a) reflexive positioning of career projects in particular sociocultural contexts, (b) taking the holistic perspectives on athlete career and environment, (c) exploring diversity of career pathways and their construction within and across international borders, (d) engaging culturally sensitive methodologies, and (e) developing transnational networks and collaborative projects by career researchers and practitioners.…”

“…To meet these challenges the ISSP supports methodological diversity in career research and multiple approaches in career assistance. (10) The ISSP, through this and its other recent Position Stands (2013;2015;2017; see https://www.issponline.org/index.php/publications/position-stands), encourages further interactions between different sport psychology discourses (e.g., ACD, talent development, cultural sport psychology, performance enhancement, mental health, injury) to deepen our understanding of the complexity and interrelatedness between performance, career, and personal development of diverse athletic populations within the dynamic and multicultural world of sport. Having athlete career excellence on the sport psychology agenda requires integration of competencies and efforts.…”

“I don’t need a flat tummy; I just want to run fast” – self-understanding and bodily identity of women in competitive and recreational sports

“…This study might be understood as a supplement to recent studies on the culture of sports [24], especially with focus on the existential aspects [25]. Aspects of meaning and authenticity in the bodily understanding may deepen the understanding of psychological process.…”

Aplicación del modelo de las 5Cs para la formación de entrenadores: Un ejemplo de práctica basada en la evidencia.

“…Además, el conocimiento generado tanto desde la Psicología del Deporte en general, como de la investigación de la figura del entrenador en particular, han sido construidos tradicionalmente desde la perspectiva masculina y desde una epistemología positivista (Cooky, 2016;Norman y Rankin-Wright, 2018). Por esta razón, es importante que futuras investigaciones exploren cómo las entrenadoras construyen y experiencian su rol, teniendo en cuenta los diferentes mecanismos y estructuras de poder (i.e., interseccionalidad) y la influencia específica de la cultura en la que se encuentran inmersas (Ryba, 2017;Ryba et al, 2010).…”