September, 2006 Volume 8, Issue 3 Sport Psychology – Past, Present and Future: The Perceptions of Swedish Sport Psychology Students Urban Johnson Halmstad University Introduction Interest in sport psychology has accelerated in the last 15-20 years, partly due to the increased realization that the winning edge in many sports is not just physical superiority, but rather a combination of psychological, physiological and technical factors. Health oriented issues such as the importance of physical activity in relation to well being and quality of life (Buckworth & Dishman, 2002) and applied issues such as the development of professional philosophy as a basis for successful sport psychology delivery (Poczwardowski, Sherman & Ravizza, 2004) have also contributed to the rising interest in the field. In order to describe the current and future developments in sport psychology, Swedish students answered questions administered by the author. Characteristic Features of Sport Psychology in the Mid ‘90s In the 1980’s, numerous researchers believed than an intensive development of applied sport psychology would occur in the ‘90s (Alderman, 1984; Silva 1984), specifically aimed at coaches and leaders in sport (Connel, 1986; Isberg, 1989). Moreover, questions relating to the positive development of human action (Uneståhl, 1985) as well as towards health and well-being were expected to come in the 1990’s (Ogilvie, 1989). Some researchers also recognized the importance of using cognitive theories in describing human performance (Straub & Williams, 1984). As analyzed in the 1990’s in Sweden, as well as from an international perspective, voices were raised calling for a bridging of theoretical models and frameworks into practical guidelines (Johnson, Carlsson, Hinic & Wetterstrand, 1998) and also for sport psychology for youth sport (Gould, 1996). The importance of having an eclectic perspective in sport psychology research and 64