Kenneth R. Hammond * and Robert A. Bateman **
(*) Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado, USA
(**) Tennis Professional, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Citation
R. Hammond, K., A. Bateman, R. (2009). Reply to Comments: The need for representativeness persists. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 40(1), 182-189.
Abstract
In this brief reply to comments on our paper we first wish to express our gratitude for the thoughtful comments by Abernethy, Beek, and Nitsch regarding our work. We are also grateful to the editors for suggesting our participation in the production of this special issue of the journal. It will be apparent that this is our first publication in the literature of sport psychology, and that we have learned a great deal from it. Hammond, the academic, and Bateman, the tennis professional, have each deepened their respect for this discipline. Hammond now sees the considerable research competence within the field that of which he was previously unaware. More than that, however, he now sees the great promise sport psychology holds for breaking out of the boundaries traditional experimental psychology has created for itself over this past century. That promise may be realized because the nature of the dis- cipline requires it to move in the direction of ecological psychology and the representative design of experiments, as aptly demonstrated by the study that we will examine in more detail below, Williams, et al (2002). And Bate- man now sees the potential for an “outer” psychology that will be capable of producing the kind of knowledge that a tennis professional can use to improve his students’ skills. We both look forward to advances in the field that will make a difference.
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