Psychological Dimensions of Success and Failure in Sport
A special issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1229
Special Issue Editor
Interests: interdisciplinary studies; research methodology and design; human and social dynamics at individual, organizational, and societal levels; psychosocial risk assessment; bullying in sport; aggression in sport; violence in sport; discrimination in sport; harassment in sport; wellbeing; mindfulness; emotional intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Success and failure in sport are shaped by a complex interplay of psychological dimensions. Psychological preparation is just as crucial as physical readiness for athletic achievement. In this Special Issue, we aim to attract research that explores the psychological constructs contributing to success in sport—such as player engagement, motivation, self-esteem, psychological resilience, enjoyment, stress management, emotional regulation, perceived exertion, psychological responses to training, and attentional focus.
Equally important are psychological dimensions associated with failure in sport, which can provide valuable insights into how setbacks are experienced and potentially transformed into growth and success. These dimensions may include perception of failure, failure resilience, fear of failure, shame and guilt, self-criticism, social pressure following failure, psychological pressure, emotional exhaustion, and self-handicapping.
We welcome interdisciplinary research that addresses these psychological dimensions within broader contexts—encompassing education, sociology, communication, cultural studies, and health sciences—with the aim of fostering a comprehensive understanding of the psychological and social dynamics underlying success and failure in sport.
Dr. Jolita Vveinhardt
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- psychological preparation in sport
- motivation in sport
- self-esteem in athletes
- psychological resilience in sport
- stress management in sport
- emotional regulation in sport
- attentional focus in sport
- enjoyment in sport
- perceived exertion in sport
- psychological responses to training
- player engagement in sport
- failure in sport
- perception of failure
- fear of failure in sport
- success and failure in sport
- shame and guilt in sport
- self-criticism in sport
- social pressure in sport
- psychological pressure in sport
- emotional exhaustion in athletes
- self-handicapping in sport
- wellbeing in sport
- mindfulness in sport
- emotional intelligence in sport
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