The Mentalverse ep1 intro to psychology
WHERE PSYCHOLOGY AND ESPORTS MEET
Psychology is a fundamental science that is gaining popularity within the electronic sports (esports) scene due to the competitive nature of the industry, the scene’s rising popularity and the high demand on player performance. We see that timing, reaction speed and execution are essential, but what would happen when something doesn't go well? In the competitive world, players train many hours per day with the aim of seeking excellence which opens the door to sport psychologists who are providing support to optimize player and team performance.
To go deep within esports psychology, first we must define what psychology is.
PSYCHOLOGY, A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Psychology was a domain within philosophy till the year 1860 when it branched out and became an independent study due to the influence of people such as Gustav Fechner who created the judgments about sensory experiences or how its recognized today as signal detection theory. Some key players in the field you might have heard of include Sigmund Freud, William James, Jean Piaget, Ivan Pavlov, and Carl Rogers.
With the hundreds of theories, explanations and research done within the field, one common theme is that they revolve around the aspect of the self be it the emotional and behavioral of the one or many and the characteristics by how they think or feel. This even applies to a philosophical degree by study of both soul and mind and their influence on our lives.
RELEVANT BRANCHES AND SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
As time progressed new theories came to light so did new branches of psychology such as:
Business psychology or industrial organizational psychology as a merge of both human psychology and practical business application.
Social psychology as the influence enacted on individual or group behavior by others such as those using social media as a tool to become influencers to impact their fans.
Sports and Esports psychology as the study of how psychological factors affect the players such as their mental wellbeing. Despite minor differences between both types of sports they are practically the same from a psychological perspective as we will explore below.
These above branches could all relate to the esports space as it is operating within a business, social and competitive space. So what does esports psychology do?
ESPORTS AND SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY, BRINGING THE OLD TO THE NEW
Sports psychology has come to the world of Esports to stay! This is happening due to the importance and demonstration of the science’s capability to improve performance while also enhancing the players’ and staff’s quality of life.
Sports psychology studies the context, personality, and the education of emotions for both players and coaches, with the aim to enhance strengths and minimize weaknesses. We find that there are two evident concepts in the sports atmosphere. One of them being emotional intelligence and the other is emotional education.
As for intelligence, we have to say that the concept has evolved over the years and has been approached from different perspectives. It is said that since the second half of the 19th century there is a great interest in investigating the knowledge of intelligence, thus producing great advances. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE DEFINED
The first article that dealt with Emotional Intelligence was written by Mayer and Salovey in 1990, but it did not have a great impact. Five years later, the doctor of Psychology from Harvard University, Daniel Goleman published his book "Emotional Intelligence", which has been known worldwide.
Emotional intelligence brings together the fields of emotions and intelligence by viewing emotions as useful sources of information that help one to make sense of and navigate the social environment.
But what is emotional intelligence? Goleman defines it as the ability that people have to recognize their own feelings, as well as those of others, to manage our emotions in an appropriate way and to maintain a positive and motivating attitude.
BENEFITS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ESPORTS
Emotional management will be one of the most important tools anyone has to learn. For players it will aid in their emotional stability, allowing them to maintain their performance level within each game. Furthermore, it is important that players maintain a balanced lifestyle to not have repercussions impacting other facets of their everyday life.
Understanding and mastering the components within emotional intelligence has shown to help improve problem solving capabilities and communication skills while reducing stress levels, aid in understanding oneself, and most importantly greatly developing the quality of the player’s ability.
EMOTIONAL EDUCATION DEFINITION AND BENEFITS
On the other hand, Emotional Education, which appeared for the first time in the Journal of Emotional Education in 1966 was defined by Pérez-González and Garrido as the educational process whose objective is to develop emotional intelligence and emotional competencies.
On the other hand, we have Bisquerra’s definition, which tells us that emotional education is an educational innovation whose purpose is to develop emotional skills to improve personal and social well-being. It is said that Emotional Education intends to respond to all those social needs that are not tended to in formal education. Bisquerra highlights several problems in people to be treated through this field of education such as low self-esteem, depression, stress, anxiety, violence, and crime among others. We see that some of those problems are seen within the field of gaming and esports as well.
TOXIC BEHAVIOR IN ESPORTS
In gaming and esports, one of the main problems that we perceive is toxic behavior. Toxic behavior such as flaming, and harassment are prevalent in online games and are generally seen as detrimental to the player’s experience and the community’s wellbeing. However, many researchers disagree upon the definition and scope of toxic behavior. To make thing more confusing, researchers have also used many related and/or overlapping concepts like deviant behavior, anti-social behavior, disruptive behavior, griefing, cyberbullying, trolling, abusive language, and mischief.
We could attribute reasons for such behavior such as failing a match or the lack of sleep among others, but this is not a root cause. For this reason, different methods of psychology are intended to solve these behaviors.
ESPORTS PSYCHOLOGISTS VS PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES, FIGHT!
So, what does an esports psychologist do? A professional esports psychologists role tends to focus on three main components in an organization with individual players, the team as a whole and coaches. The threefold approach tackles different issues that can be found in professional esports teams from individual stresses of performing on the big stage to creating a common goal within the team.
Many esports psychologists work closely with teams, sometimes even embedding themselves within team houses. Being an accessible member of the team is a common tactic for psychologists working with a team, as team members are required to embrace the plan in order for results to come to fruition.
By being so embedded, psychologists are able to work on the micro-level to implement their techniques while working with individual team members on a daily basis. These techniques help players work through personal issues, stress and dealing with the pressures of esports. The techniques used are iterative in nature and require players to fully embrace the exercises in order to produce the desired results.
On the macro level, esports psychologists aim to provide a common goal for all members of the team, including the coaches and support staff. Having a finish line helps organizations maintain focus with all members working towards the same objective.
Psychologists also work closely with coaches, as they are crucial members of the team that can provide insights to the team during a live game, and also have the most influence over individual players.
ESPORTS PSYCHOLOGY, A WORLD TO CONQUER TOGETHER!
In conclusion, psychology should be concerned with Esports for many reasons, regardless of what discipline you're a part of. We have many people of many disciplines here. Whether it's the mental part, disorders, abnormal psychology, stress management, performance psychology, coming from sports psychology, development of a culture, communication, or team dynamics. There are many facets of Esports that are fascinating, and it is an open field that many psychologists should explore further.