About The Department

Our research team currently consists of 16 researchers (with backgrounds in Psychology and Sport Sciences), including teaching staff, PhD students, postdocs and project staff. Approximately a further 10 student assistants support us. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kleinert has been the head of the research team since 2006.

Sport Science is characterized by the unity of research, practice and teaching. For us, good research is practically relevant and good practice is informed by scientific research; good teaching encompasses both scientific research and its practical application.

Our research specifically focuses on motivation, stress, emotion, coaching and supervision, particularly from the perspective of interpersonal processes in sports. Interactions and relationships between people affect their motivation, stress and mood, whilst these processes also form the basis of successful coaching- and supervision work. Thus, interpersonal theories, particularly Self-Determination Theory, Balance Theory and Field Theory, represent essential foundations from which we create models and develop diagnostics and interventions. Our research is primarily orientated towards application in the areas of health and rehabilitation sports, competitive sports and school sports.

A key objective of the institute is to transfer the knowledge and competencies derived from our research findings to the wider audience, specifically to students, athletes, coaches and supervisors. An example of this is our supervision of competitive athletes in both individual sessions and workshops (the “MentalTalent” initiative). In particularly critical periods we further support athletes and their social environment through our “MentallyPrepared” initiative. Moreover, the German Research Centre for Competitive Sports organises symposia and online courses for coaches.

Contact: Marion Sulprizio

The research group “Coaching and Psychological Care” deals with the process of sports psychology care and counseling for athletes, coaches and teams with regard to different topics (such as motivation, stress, emotion, social processes).

The aims of the research group are (1) to identify current competitive sports and socio-politically relevant topics in the sports psychology care process, to take a more differentiated approach to the coaching and care process, and to develop recommendations for different target groups (e.g. sports psychologists, coaches, athletes, teams). In addition, the working group aims to (2) strengthen the position of sports psychology in Germany, support regional sports psychology initiatives at the federal level, and thus achieve optimal provision of sports psychology care for the various target groups by 2028.

In order to achieve the first goal, the working group is focusing on the questions (a) Where can sports psychology help in the process of influencing and developing the performance, personality and mental health of athletes and coaches? and (b) How can the various topics be successfully addressed and influenced in sports psychology care? In answering the first question, the working group aims to identify the specific situations in which the various target groups require support in the field of sports psychology and to further define the terminology used in the care setting (e.g. what is an athletic crisis? What is failure?). In addition, when answering the first question, it is also important to consider how sport psychology work in competitive sports differs or changes both between different types of sports and in terms of gender and age. The aim of answering the second question is to develop, describe and recommend theory-based sport psychology methods and strategies that can be used effectively and efficiently for specific sport psychology support issues. In addition, guidelines are to be developed regarding the frequency, intensity and duration of the use of sport psychology techniques and methods, which will provide sports psychologists and coaches with clear guidance on how these methods can best be implemented.

The second goal of supporting sports psychology and providing optimal care for athletes, coaches and teams by 2028 is to be achieved through increased lobbying work for the field of sports psychology. In addition to various publications, this also includes the presentation of sports psychology initiatives and sports psychology work in general at conferences for coaches, association meetings, etc. in the form of lectures, working groups and workshops.

Contact:Dr. Hanna Raven, Juliane Mackenbrock

Although the health benefits of regular physical activity are well known, these known benefits are often not enough to sustain motivation for sports, exercise, or physical activity in the long term. A wide range of often contradictory and complex reasons motivate people to exercise, cause them to stop abruptly, or drive them to start again after a relapse. An insight into these reasons and their changeability over time and the associated motivational dynamics is useful for designing sports-related intervention programs.

Our research focuses on motivation and physical activity in the following contexts: health, recreational sports, competitive sports, work, and school.

The topics of interest include both the motivation to participate in sports among different groups of people and more complex relationships between certain forms of motivation and their effects on physical activity. In addition to cross-sectional research, changes investigated in longitudinal research designs are also of particular interest. Furthermore, methodological questions regarding the operationalization and conceptualization of motivation are the focus of the working group. This working group meets at least once a month and as needed to discuss current topics, publications, tasks, or proposals.  In this way, experiences on the topic of motivation in the various projects of the group members can be exchanged and mutual support can be provided for the respective tasks.

The theoretical basis of the working group takes into account personal and interpersonal resources from a salutogenic perspective, with the self-determination theory of motivation, according to Deci and Ryan (2000), playing a central role. Cognitive appraisal processes such as self-efficacy expectation and locus of control are examined in the context of physical activity in the above-mentioned contexts. The classification of motivational and volitional processes in interventions is also being investigated.

Overall, our research has practical implications for health and recreational sports, physical education in schools, and competitive sports. In the context of physical education in schools, for example, seminars and teaching modules are (further) developed for students and teachers in training. Materials are developed for everyday physical education in schools that can support physical education teachers in designing motivational lessons.

Contact:Dr. Fabian Pels

Relevance. Groups and group action are significant components of various life domains, be it in sports, at work, or in the area of education and training. On the one hand, this significance arises from the frequency of their occurrence and, on the other hand, from the diversity of their occasions, which can vary depending on the domain. Groups and group action contribute, for example, to the achievement of goals through the joint accomplishment of tasks, the transfer and acquisition of knowledge or simply to the satisfaction of basic psychological needs such as the need for relatedness.

Goals. The work group “Social Processes” pursues goals in both scientifically and socially relevant areas. In terms of science, the primary aim is to (further) develop theories and methods and to research the fundamental mechanisms of social processes. In terms of societal aspects, there is a particular emphasis on the usability of research results. For example, by developing intervention programs based on experimental findings, the research results should be usable for individual groups or life domains, but also for society in general.

Contents. The specific contents of the work group “Social Processes” arise from phenomena as well as research- or practice-related problems, which may be interrelated. For example, the underlying processes and mechanisms of motivational gains or losses in groups and group flow are examined. Central research tasks of the work group relate, for example, to methodological challenges such as the (further) development of experimental paradigms for the investigation of group phenomena. Central practice-related topics arise primarily from the needs of sports psychology, health psychology, and work and organizational psychology practice. This includes the (further) development of diagnostic methods for use in practice (e.g., team diagnostics) or the development and testing of interventions in the field.

Work and thinking philosophy. The work of the group “Social Processes” is theory-based. Interpersonally oriented theories are the basis for the formation of (new) theoretical approaches and models, the derivation of new research questions, and the (further) development of diagnostics and intervention. The interpersonally oriented theories include, for example, the approaches of the Self-Determination Theory, the Balance Theory or the Collective Effort Model. The empirical investigations of the Social Processes working group are primarily experimentally oriented. Both laboratory and field experimental approaches are pursued. The working results of the Social Processes working group are to be continuously made visible to science and the general public in publications.

Contact: Dr. Johanna Belz

In our daily lives, we are exposed to a variety of stresses. Chronically high stress levels combined with inadequate coping strategies and a lack of recovery can lead to impairments in physical and mental health as well as a drop in performance in various areas of life (e.g. work, studies or sports). Thus, it is of great relevance to deal with stress, recovery and coping strategies and their significance in terms of mental health in different life contexts.

The working group's considerations and research projects are based, among other things, on Lazarus' transactional stress model and Antonovsky's salutogenic approach. On the one hand, it is assumed that stress arises from an evaluation process of the personal significance of situational conditions and the available coping options. On the other hand, it is assumed that, in Antonovsky's sense, protective resistance resources help to cope with stress. Accordingly, the working group not only considers physical, psychological and psychosocial stressors and risks, but also protective factors (e.g. recovery, stress management behavior) that are essential for the health and well-being of individuals.

The research work of this working group is designed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, as well as in the form of intervention and experimental studies. They mainly deal with the investigation of stress, recovery and coping strategies and mental health in the contexts of school, university, health and competitive sports. The research work currently focuses on the following target groups: sports teachers, competitive athletes and sports students.

The research results of this working group serve as a basis for imparting knowledge and developing skills in the various target groups. For example, (1) intervention tools (e.g. setting up a stress laboratory, developing teaching/learning modules) for sports teachers to learn how to deal with stress better, (2) workshops on the topic of stress and recovery for adolescent competitive athletes and (3) recommendations for action, counseling and workshops on the topic of physical and mental stress in college for physical education students. The aim is to evaluate the feasibility of implementation and the effectiveness of developed intervention modules.

This working group meets at least once a month to exchange information on relevant current research projects and proposals, publications, events and best practice models, and to support each other in our respective tasks. In doing so, we benefit from the individual skills of the members of the working group in order to strengthen the research process in the area of stress and mental health in the long term.