A Sport Psychology View on How to Describe, Explain, Predict, and Optimize Expert Performance in Sports

In light of the 50th anniversary of the asp, this article focusses on the contribution of sport psychology in understanding expert performance in peak performance sports. According to the main aims of psychology, the following questions will be addressed: What are the main characteristics of expert performance in sports? How can we describe peak performance? How can expert performance be better understood and explained? Do we have empirical evidence to predict expert performance? How can sport psychology help in optimizing performance?These questions will be answered by reviewing research in sport psychology addressing expert performance and talent development. Applied sport psychology will be highlighted by outlining the topics of the publications in "Zeitschrift fur Sportpsychologie" in the past 50 years since the founding of the asp in 1969.