Experimental studies of psychological interventions with athletes in competitions: why so few?

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.