Courses recently offered by Drs. McDonough and Smith:

Undergraduate Level Courses:

HK 372 – Sport and Exercise Psychology I

This course focuses on the social and psychological factors related to participation in sport and exercise, active living, health, and injury rehabilitation. Two general questions are explored: (a) how do social and psychological variables influence participation and performance in physical activity pursuits? and (b) how does physical activity participation affect the psychological well-being of the individual? Main topics include socialization into and through sport and exercise; personality; observational learning of motor and psychological skills; feedback and reinforcement; expectation effects; competition and competitive stress; self-perceptions; motivational factors; and psychological methods for enhancing personal development and physical performance.

HK 472 – Sport and Exercise Psychology II

This course is an extension of HK 372, covering new topics and placing special emphasis on the application of psychological principles in sport and exercise settings. Specifically, students explore the social and psychological factors related to exercise participation and peak sport performance. Main topics include exercise and psychological well-being; body image and self-presentational concerns; exercise addiction; theories of motivation; group dynamics; leadership and communication; team building; peak performance; and psychological skills and methods for performance enhancement.

HK 490 – Youth Physical Activity Behavior

This course addresses developmental, psychological, social, and contextual factors associated with physical activity behavior and sedentary behavior of young people. Students consider fundamental questions and assumptions that frame the study of youth physical activity behavior, are exposed to a breadth of empirical literature on youth physical activity and sedentary behavior, and learn how the existing knowledge base has been translated into physical activity promotion efforts. Course topics include historical views on youth physical activity, youth health outcomes, motivation, the physical self, the family, peers, school settings, organized sport, living environments, and the ethics of promoting physical activity behavior.

Graduate Level Courses (generally 500 or greater):

HK 574 – Advanced Sport and Exercise Psychology

This survey course focuses on the social and psychological factors related to performance and participation in sport and exercise, health, and injury rehabilitation settings. Two general questions are explored: (a) how do social and psychological variables influence performance and participation in physical activity pursuits? and (b) how does physical activity participation affect the psychological well-being of the individual? To help students address these questions, this course overviews theoretical and methodological approaches to a variety of sport and exercise psychology topics, including socialization, motivation, group processes, competition, and performance enhancement.

HK 611 – Data Analysis in Health and Kinesiology

This student-driven course addresses a variety of data analysis issues in health, kinesiology, and related fields (e.g., education, psychology). The course overviews the types of data prominent in health and kinesiology research, how these data are obtained and handled by researchers, measurement/evaluation issues, and ways to present and analyze data. Heavy emphasis is placed on matching research questions and conceptualization with data analysis techniques, obtaining familiarity with widely-used data analysis software, analyzing multivariate data sets, and constructing high-quality results sections in journal manuscript format.

HK 674Y – Psychosocial Aspects of Youth Sport and Physical Activity

This seminar course provides students who possess a background in sport and exercise psychology the opportunity to review and critique contemporary research pertaining to youth sport and physical activity. Emphasis is on psychological and social aspects of youth sport and physical activity involvement. Theoretical, methodological, and analytic approaches to youth sport and physical activity research are explored, covering a variety of topics. These topics include coach/teacher influence, parent-child relationships, peer relationships, readiness for competitive sport involvement, elite-level sport involvement, participation/attrition motivation, self-perceptions, and sport/physical activity as a context to develop character and social skills.

HK 678 – Motivational Processes in Sport and Exercise

This course overviews factors related to motivation in sport and exercise settings. Antecedents and consequences of motivated behavior are examined from theoretical, research, and application perspectives. Topics include participation motivation in sport, intrinsic/extrinsic motivational orientations, achievement goals, causal attributions, group processes, and contemporary theories of exercise motivation.

For a full listing of undergraduate courses offered by the Department of Health and Kinesiology – click here.

For a full listing of graduate level courses offered by the Department of Health and Kinesiology – click here.