Self-talk The internal or covert dialogue which people engage in when they “talk” to
themselves inside their heads.
Sensation seeking A variable which refers to people’s need for, and willingness to take
risks in pursuing, various novel, complex or adventurous experiences.
Serotonin A type of neurotransmitter in the brain.
Short-term memory See “working memory”.
Simulation training The theory that athletes can learn to concentrate more effectively in
real-life pressure situations if they have practised under simulated versions of these
conditions.
Situational attributions Explanations of behaviour that invoke environmental factors as
the causes of a given outcome.
Snooker A game played on a billiard table in which people use a cue to hit a white ball to
send 21 coloured balls in a set order into the pockets around the table.
Social cohesion (see also “team spirit”) The desire by team members to form and
maintain interpersonal bonds.
Social desirability A bias that occurs when people who are answering questions try to
make themselves “look good” rather than responding truthfully.
Social facilitation The improvement in people’s performance that can occur when they
are either part of a group or are being observed by other people.
Social loafing The tendency of people to work less hard on a task when they are part of a
group than as individuals due to a diffusion of responsibility.
Sociogram A technique that is used to measure social cohesion by asking group
members confidentially to indicate their like or dislike of other members.
Somatic anxiety An unpleasant state of bodily tension that is usually accompanied by
increased heart rate, rapid breathing and “butterflies” in the stomach.
Sport and exercise psychology An academic discipline and profession in which the
principles, methods and findings of psychology are applied to sport and exercise
settings.
Sports injury Any physical or medical condition that prevents an athlete from
participating in a training session or competitive encounter.
State anxiety Transient, situation-specific feelings of fear, worry and physiological
arousal.
Strategic knowledge The ability to recognise and respond to various patterns of play in a
given sport.
Survey research A research method in which questionnaires or interviews are used to
obtain information from a sample of people about specific beliefs, attitudes,
preferences or activities.
Task cohesion The desire by group members to complete a common task.
Task orientation A type of motivation in which an athlete perceives success as
mastering a given skill or task to a self-defined standard of excellence.
Team (see also “group”) A task-related group which is characterised by a collective
sense of identity and a set of distinctive roles.
Team-building The attempt to improve team performance by developing communication
and cohesion among team members.
Team spirit A term that is used loosely to indicate the degree of social cohesion that is
apparent.
Glossary 273