The talk will delve into some of the psychological underpinnings of individual performance variation. In other words, why do athletes perform better or worse across different times? From a psychological perspective, there are two broad approaches we could use to answer this question: group-level (normative) explanations and individual-level (idiographic) explanations. The talk starts off with a brief overview of some normative explanations, such as choking and flow. Then, talk will highlight idiographic explanations based on Hanin's (2000) Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF). Specifically, the talk will focus on using probabilistic performance profiling through the ongoing research of the speaker on probabilistic performance profiles for cricket batters.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dhruv Raman is a PhD scholar in Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development at Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University. His research focuses on metacognitive processes and neural correlates of peak performance. Dhruv's broad interest lies in understanding individual performance variation, particularly in probabilistic performance profiling and decision-making. He also conducts applied sport psychology sessions for Division 1 college student-athletes and serves as the Sport Psychology Service coordinator at Boston University. Dhruv's research aims to examine neurofeedback interventions to enhance sports performance and make these accessible to athletes at various levels. His work bridges the gap between clinical mental health and performance psychology, contributing to both fields
