Baker Joseph, Johnston Kathryn
Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord St., Toronto, ON, M5S 2W6, Canada.
Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sports Med. 2025 Jan;55(1):1-7. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02155-5. Epub 2024 Dec 5.
Many areas of mainstream psychology have embraced the notions that understanding human behaviour can be improved by integrating developments from evolutionary science; however, evolutionary principles have not been as widely applied among sport researchers or practitioners, especially those examining athlete development and the psychology of competition and performance. In this paper, we discuss the distinction between ultimate and proximate explanations of psychological outcomes, and the relevance of this distinction for exploring issues related to skill acquisition and athlete development. We use three examples-deliberate practice, early sport play and sustained engagement-to highlight the benefits and challenges of applying evolutionary theories to sport contexts. Embracing our species' evolutionary history has the potential to inform ongoing debates in athlete development and performance, among other areas of sport science.
主流心理学的许多领域都接受了这样的观念，即通过整合进化科学的进展可以增进对人类行为的理解；然而，进化原理在体育研究人员或从业者中并未得到广泛应用，尤其是在研究运动员发展以及竞争与表现心理学的人员中。在本文中，我们讨论了心理结果的终极解释和近因解释之间的区别，以及这种区别对于探讨与技能习得和运动员发展相关问题的相关性。我们用三个例子——刻意练习、早期体育游戏和持续参与——来强调将进化理论应用于体育情境的益处和挑战。接受我们物种的进化史有可能为运动员发展和表现等体育科学其他领域中正在进行的辩论提供信息。
