Sport Psychology and Performance
Sport Psychology and Performance is a research topic within Developmental and Educational Psychology. Science Explorer counts 20k research works in it since 1954. 23.7% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the development of expert performance in sports psychology, covering topics such as motor imagery, athlete development, attentional focus, mental toughness, coaching effectiveness, youth sport specialization, deliberate practice, and qualitative research methods.
- Expert Performance
- Motor Imagery
- Athlete Development
- Sport Psychology
- Attentional Focus
- Mental Toughness
- Coaching Effectiveness
- Youth Sport Specialization
- Deliberate Practice
- Qualitative Research
- Research works
- 20k fractional, since 1954
- In the world top 10%
- 4.8k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 23.7% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +46% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Sport Psychology and Performance research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (702 and 538 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 702 works
- 2 United Kingdom 538 works
- 3 China 362 works
- 4 Türkiye 316 works
- 5 Spain 283 works
- 6 Australia 266 works
- 7 Germany 252 works
- 8 Canada 228 works
- 9 Brazil 185 works
- 10 France 159 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Sport Psychology and Performance research?
By volume in 2022–2025, German Sport University Cologne publishes the most Sport Psychology and Performance research, followed by Loughborough University and Universidad de Extremadura.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 German Sport University CologneGermany 45 works
- 2 Loughborough UniversityUnited Kingdom 28 works
- 3 Universidad de ExtremaduraSpain 26 works
- 4 Beijing Sport UniversityChina 24 works
- 5 Leeds Beckett UniversityUnited Kingdom 24 works
- 6 University of TorontoCanada 22 works
- 7 Shanghai University of SportChina 20 works
- 8 Liverpool John Moores UniversityUnited Kingdom 19 works
- 9 University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom 19 works
- 10 Yogyakarta State UniversityIndonesia 19 works
Who are the leading researchers in Sport Psychology and Performance?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Sport Psychology and Performance include Richard M. Ryan and Herbert W. Marsh.
- 1 Richard M. Ryan United States 10k citations
- 2 Herbert W. Marsh Australia 4.6k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Sport Psychology and Performance research done?
The largest centres of Sport Psychology and Performance research in 2022–2025 are Melbourne (Australia), Beijing (China), London (United Kingdom) and Tokyo (Japan). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Badajoz and Loughborough.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- BadajozES · 26.7 works24×
- LoughboroughGB · 29.2 works23×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Sport Psychology and Performance than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Sport Psychology and Performance?
Among universities, judged by research, Leeds Beckett University, Halmstad University and University of Bath score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds Beckett UniversityUnited Kingdom | 73.9 | 47.4% | 61.6× | 24 | +77.7% |
| 2 | Halmstad UniversitySweden | 71.2 | 48.7% | 44.0× | 9 | +238.0% |
| 3 | University of BathUnited Kingdom | 70.4 | 54.8% | 9.5× | 11 | +92.7% |
| 4 | Norwegian School of Sport SciencesNorway | 70.3 | 43.7% | 153.3× | 15 | +65.2% |
| 5 | University of PortsmouthUnited Kingdom | 70.3 | 37.1% | 17.0× | 13 | +248.2% |
| 6 | German Sport University CologneGermany | 69.9 | 31.1% | 151.7× | 45 | +53.7% |
| 7 | Loughborough UniversityUnited Kingdom | 69.7 | 44.5% | 23.0× | 28 | -19.5% |
| 8 | University of BernSwitzerland | 69.6 | 34.8% | 8.4× | 18 | +244.6% |
| 9 | University of LimerickIreland | 67.4 | 39.5% | 10.8× | 9 | +393.2% |
| 10 | La Trobe UniversityAustralia | 66.4 | 29.7% | 11.6× | 18 | +157.1% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Sport Psychology and Performance research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 46% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Sport Psychology and Performance.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.