Sport and Exercise Psychology Research in China: An Introduction

Chunxiao Li and Ying Hwa Kee

Nanyang Technological University

Citation

Li, C., Hwa Kee, Y. (2019). Sport and Exercise Psychology Research in China: An Introduction. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 50(1), 1-3. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2019.50.001

Abstract

The field of sport and exercise psychology has advanced substantially as a whole since Norman Trippet’s initial work on performance psychology in 1898 (Vaughan, & Guerin, 1997). As the field matures, interests in the development of sport and exercise psychology research and practices across different cultures and geographic locations had also increased. Similar growth in interest can be observed in China, indicative by the increased number of research articles related to China or Chinese sport and exercise psychology internationally in recent years (e.g., Si, Duan, Li, Zhang, & Su, 2015). Given that there are unique features associated with the Chinese culture and the Chinese Whole-Nation System, some aspects of sport and exercise-related behavior in China is known to differ from the rest of the world, as Si et al.’s work demonstrated. As such, sport and exercise psychology research involving this unique population and culture may offer the international community some diversity and additional insight to the field. To facilitate such exchange, the International Journal of Sport Psychology (IJSP) announced the call for a special issue for manuscripts in topics related to sport and exercise psychology research related to China or Chinese culture in 2018. We are pleased to announce that many colleagues responded to our call and this special issue of “Sport and Exercise Psychology Research in China” is resulted.

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