Sport psychology - inside the mind of champion athletes: Martin Hagger at TEDxPerth

Martin Hagger is Professor of Psychology at Curtin University. His areas of expertise are social, health, sport and exercise psychology. He is involved in numerous research projects nationally and internationally with a focus on motivation and behaviour change. He is currently leading projects in drugs in sport, promoting physical activity and healthy diet, understanding the mechanisms of willpower and self-control, and reducing binge drinking and the prevalence of smoking.

At the highest level, athletes are well-matched in terms of their physical abilities, conditioning, and skill level. But often that is not enough to win and perform on the biggest of stages like the Olympic games. Developing strategies and techniques to get athletes minds in the best possible condition for optimal performance is increasingly important for sports teams and coaches.

Martin will provide an overview of the kinds of techniques that elite athletes use to prepare psychologically for their sport, give details of the scientific research into these techniques and how they work, and how the techniques might be used by competitive athetes and coaches to maximise performance.

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TEDxPerth 2012 took place on Saturday 8 December 2012 at the Octagon Theatre at the University of Western Australia. Over 500 people attended in person and listeners all over the country enjoyed the day by tuning in to the live broadcast on digital radio.

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In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)