The history of the department is characterized by continuity and upheaval
In October, the Department of Sport Psychology at the Institute of Sport Science celebrates its 50th anniversary. In preparation for the anniversary, the man who started it all posed an interesting question: “What are anniversaries actually for?” Prof. Dr. Willi Essing, the first professor of sports psychology at the University of Münster and now 89 years old, provided the answer. Celebrating belonging to something together, whether professionally or privately, can create and maintain identity. “When Willi Essing was commissioned to set up sports psychology in Münster in 1974, it was still in its infancy nationwide,” says Prof. Dr. Bernd Strauß, who took over as head of the department in 1998. It was therefore no easy task to develop and sharpen a scientific profile, an identity.
From October 1, 1974 until the 1990s, the sports psychology department consisted of the department head, a secretary, another full-time scientist and student assistants. As part of the Institute of Physical Education (now the Institute of Sport Science), the strategic focus was primarily on teacher training. Social psychology was a thematic focus. Even today, many projects still fall into this area (research on spectators, team sports or home advantage). The pioneering work of the 1970s and 1980s set the course for the further development of the discipline in Münster. “Back then, international congress trips were a rarity, and online publications of research results were not yet possible, just like emails to colleagues abroad,” emphasizes Bernd Strauß.
The upheaval in 1998 was not only of a personnel nature, but also a strategic one. Until then, sports science had mainly been based on permanent positions, which were reduced in favor of qualification positions (such as doctoral students or postdocs). “This changed the identity of the institute and also of sport psychology, as these positions have a high research component,” explains Bernd Strauß. In figures, this means 22 doctorates and five habilitations in sport psychology to date. Seven members of the department have since been awarded a professorship. The team has also grown steadily: Bernd Strauß started in 1998 without any research assistants. In the following 25 years, there were a total of over 50 full-time employees who worked in the department in various employment situations and via different funding models.
A success factor for the present and future is collaboration with international working groups, but also interdisciplinary cooperation - such as the Research Training Group “Trust and Communication in a Digital World”, which was funded by the German Research Foundation for nine years. “Many doctorates and a lively exchange of research between the disciplines have emerged from the research training group. That is one of our greatest successes,” says Bernd Strauß, who was one of 14 applicants in 2012.
What has shaped the identity of sport psychology over the decades is the continuity of personnel in management as well as periods of upheaval and reorientation in research and teaching. This will happen again in two years' time when Bernd Strauß retires after 28 years. “I will be watching with interest to see in which direction sports psychology continues to develop.”
