What? I recently attended an assessment/interview day at the University of Portsmouth for their Sport & Exercise Psychology professional doctorate. The day consisted of a half hour interview, and a 2-hour team task. The task involved 7 candidates discussing a case study while staff members observed. Having spoken with someone currently on the course, I knew it was important in this task to show your knowledge, but also your interpersonal skills.

So What? We were given a CBT-style case formulation form (Beck, 1979) to go through, which we did in a slightly sporadic manner. In hindsight, it would have been better to try and create some structure to the discussion. At the same time, I found it difficult (especially at the beginning) to gauge how to approach the task as we were given very little instruction, and I knew that while we were expected to act as a team, that there was pressure to ‘perform’ well and a competitive element as not everyone would have a place on the course.

I knew there was a fine balance between speaking enough to get noticed, but not hogging the conversation. I made an effort to use language that kept the discussion going, involving others, but at the same time allowed me to draw attention to something that had not yet been discussed (“did anybody else notice that…”; ”do you agree that…”) when making my points. Where I think I did well, was being the first to take initiative and talk about psychological theories to interpret the case, which (I hope) demonstrated a deeper understanding of the scenario.

We didn’t get much feedback after the discussion, so it’s difficult to have a definitive answer on what went well and what did not. However, I felt like this was a good experience and a form of self-development. It had been a number of years since my last interview, but possibly the presentations and feedback sessions over the MSc programme have allowed me to develop confidence in similar situations (Raja, 2017), therefore reducing anxiety and allowing me to perform better. It’s also possible that the excitement of the prospect of being accepted protected me from the negative impact of anxiety (Mellalieu et al., 2006), or allowed me to view anxiety as excitement (Brooks, 2014).

Now What? My newfound improved confidence in interview/assessment situations highlights the importance of pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone in order to develop skills (Nadler, 1995), whether in sport or academics, and I plan on continuing to explore with an open and curious mind the new opportunities the doctorate will bring.

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Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.

Brooks, A. W. (2014). Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(3), 1144. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035325

Mellalieu, S. D., Neil, R., & Hanton, S. (2006). An investigation of the mediating effects of self-confidence between anxiety intensity and direction. Research Quarterly for Sport and Exercise, 77, 263–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2006.10599359

Nadler, R. S. (1995). Edgework: Stretching boundaries and generalizing experiences. Journal of experiential education, 18(1), 52-55.

Raja, F. (2017). Anxiety level in students of public speaking: Causes and remedies. Journal of education and educational development, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v4i1.1001