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During the past three decades, behavioral practitioners have been applying techniques to improve the performance of athletes. To what extent are interventions, designed to improve the directly and reliably measured performance of athletes in competitions, based on experimental demonstrations of efficacy? That is the question addressed by this review. All issues of three behavioral journals and seven sport psychology journals, from 1972 through 2002, were examined for articles that addressed the above question. Fifteen articles were found that met the inclusion criteria, yielding an average of only one published study every 2 years. This article reviews those articles, discusses reasons for the dearth of research in this area, and makes recommendations for much needed future research.

A prominent feature of behavior-analytic research has been the use of single-subject designs. We examined sport psychology journals and behavioral journals published during the past 30 years, and located 40 studies using single-subject designs to assess interventions for enhancing the performance of athletes and coaches. In this paper, we summarize that body of research, discuss its strengths and limitations, and identify areas for future research.

This study investigated the effects of an imagery rehearsal, relaxation, and self-talk package on the performance of a specific defensive basketball skill during competition. Subjects were four female intercollegiate basketball players. A single-subject multiple-baseline-across-individuals design was employed to evaluate the intervention package. The intervention was clearly effective in enhancing a basketball skill during games, and social validity measures were very positive. The need for further research in this area is discussed.

There is now considerable evidence that regular exercise is (a) a viable, cost-effective, but underused treatment for mild to moderate depression that compares favorably to individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and cognitive therapy, and (b) a necessary ingredient in effective behavioral treatments that reduce self-reported pain in individuals with chronic pain. Preliminary evidence also suggests that regular exercise deserves further attention as (a) a singular treatment for some anxiety disorders, for individuals suffering from body image disturbance, and for the reduction of problem behavior of developmentally disabled persons, and (b) an adjunct in treatment programs for schizophrenia, conversion disorder, and alcohol dependence. Critical Review of Empirical Research Using Clinical PopulationsWe reviewed studies since 1981 in which exercise was used as a primary or adjunctive intervention in treating individuals with the following clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders: depression, anxiety, developmental disabilities, schizophrenia, somatoform, and substance abuse. Because of their seminal contribution, two important studies from the 1970s are also mentioned. 275This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.