User:Cdkading/sandbox

One problem with article: More headings could be added for organization and a picture of him as well

References: (Waiting to receive interlibrary loan for these two articles):

Kornspan, A. S. (2013). Alfred W. Hubbard and the Sport Psychology Laboratory at the University of Illinois, 1950-1970. Sports Psychologist, 27(3), 244-257.

Gould, D. and Pick, S. (1995). Sport Psychology: The Griffith Era, 1920-1940. Sports Psychologist, 9(4), 391-405.

Questions/Comments: 1)Any suggestions/recommendations on how to improve this wikipedia article on Coleman Griffith in particular? 2) Struggled to find sources and articles on Coleman Griffith, any suggestions for help as continue? Brecca.W (talk) 20:24, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

Problem: The main problem with the article is a lack of structure. It doesn't have terrible information but headings need to be added. It also needs a biographical box with a picture so people can access important information faster. Some information in the article can also be expanded.

References: Green, C.D. (2012). 'America's first sports psychologist'. Monitor on Psychology, 43(4), 22.

Kroll, W. & Lewis, G. (1970). America's first sports psychologist. Quest, 13(1), 1-4.

Questions: 1) Looking at the article history, it seems like quite a few people have contributed to this article. Will we need to collaborate with them at all? 2) How much of the content and structure from the original article should we keep? Cdkading (talk) 01:30, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Hi everyone, Looking at the current wikipedia page for Coleman Griffith I think one of the main things we need to change is to add some more headings and sub-headings such as add subheadings to the biography as well as add in some sections on his work and theories. I found some sources that seem like they'll be useful for this, especially in adding more information on his work and ideas in sports psychology. 1) Miller, K. G. (1927). Review of The Psychology of Coaching. Psychological Bulletin, 24(10), 608-609 2) Gould, D., & Pick, S. (1995). Sport psychology: The Griffith era, 1920–1940. The Sport Psychologist, 9(4), 391-405 Two questions: 1) Would it be best to make a general introduction heading for him, or should we just keep it as it is with the biography being the main opening section? 2) Is it worth adding information on early or personal life, or should we just start with his contributions to psychology? Erin.teschuk (talk) 17:04, 5 October 2015 (UTC)Erin TeschukErin.teschuk (talk) 17:04, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

To-Do List:
Brecca.W (talk) 19:36, 11 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Write a Lead section
 * Add a "quick" facts box with Coleman's picture
 * Divide Biography into sections with headings
 * Add more detail and findings to the article and sections
 * Determine information that should be kept from current article
 * Find more information on early lifeCdkading (talk) 17:04, 13 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Add information on his main works; books/essays. Erin.teschuk (talk) 17:53, 13 October 2015 (UTC)Erin TeschukErin.teschuk (talk) 17:53, 13 October 2015 (UTC)

I. Lead Section
Coleman Roberts Griffith (22 May 1893-February 1966) was an American pioneering sports psychologist. Born in Iowa, he is considered the founder of American sports psychology. Griffith studied at Greenville College until 1915, and then studied psychology at the University of Illinois. While at the University of Illinois, Griffith established what he claimed to be the first sports psychology laboratory in the United States. At this time Griffith worked closely with the University of Illinois football team, studying how factors such as psychomotor skills and personality variables related to performance and learning of athletic skills. Due to financial reasons, the Research in Athletics Laboratory eventually was closed, which led to Griffith becoming a sport psychologist with the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Throughout his time with the Chicago Cubs, Griffith examined the players and completed a series of reports for Philip K. Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs team, with the results eventually summarized in a large report. His ideas were met with resistance, but he helped the Cubs to be successful while there. Griffith ended his career in the department of education at the University of Illinois until his retirement in 1961. Some of Griffith’s main contributions to the field of sports psychology came from his publications The Psychology of Coaching (1926) and The Psychology of Athletics (1928) . These publications were written during Griffith’s time at the University of Illinois and covered topics such as how a coach must have knowledge in athletics, physiology, and psychology to be successful. Much of Griffith’s research and publications have become the foundation for the widely growing field of sports psychology and many of his ideas are still used today.

II. Early life and Education (Brecca)
Born in 1893, in Guthrie Center, Iowa, Coleman Griffith was the first of four children. He completed his undergraduate degree at Greenville College in Illinois in 1915, where he met his future wife, Mary Louise Coleman. While at Greenville College, Coleman was very involved in athletics and various extracurricular activities. This consisted of being freshman class president, a member of male quartet, a member of the baseball and basketball teams, as well as organizing various gymnastics events. With his clear passion for leading and being involved in athletics, it is not surprising that Coleman would go on to expand his education and use his knowledge in the athletic realm. Coleman continued expanding his education, as he received his PhD in psychology in 1920 at the University of Illinois under the supervision of Madison Bentley. His dissertation focused on the vestibular system of the white rat.

III. Career (Brecca)
In 1922, he was then appointed to assistant professor, and made acting head of the University of Illinois psychology department during Bentley's sabbatical. He offered an introduction to psychology course with a focus on the interests of an athlete. This led him to offering a course titled "Psychology and Athletics" for the first time in 1923, eventually leading to his first published textbook of General Introduction to Psychology. In 1927, after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship, Coleman studied at the University of Berlin. Coleman was later named head of the Bureau of Institutional Research. This was an office that collated internal data for the University President, such as student-teacher ratios. He held this position until 1944 and was then named provost of the University of Illinois. He ended his position of provost in 1953, and in 1956 he was named head of the National Education Association's Office of Statistical Information. He retired from the department of education at Illinois in 1962 and worked for the Oregon State System of Higher Education thereafter.

IV. Research
==== A. University of Illinois ====

1. Athletic Research Laboratory (Chris)
In 1918 Griffith began informally investigating psychological factors related to basketball and football by observing the teams at the University of Illinois. He tested football players’ reaction times with a San-born reaction-timer in 1920. After seeing these studies, the Director of Athletics at the University, George Huff, helped convince the University to open an Athletic Research Laboratory. In 1925 Griffith was appointed director of the newly opened Athletic Research Laboratory. The lab had two rooms, one psychological lab and one physiological lab. It also had a workshop and a rat colony. In the lab Griffith investigated psychomotor skills, learning, personality, and how rotation affected equilibrium. To study these things, he developed tests to measure reaction time, muscular tension and relaxation, coordination, learning, and mental alertness. He also interviewed athletes and designed precise interview questions to learn more about these athletes' experiences during competition. The Athletic Research Laboratory was closed in 1932 due to a lack of financial support.

1. Chicago Cubs (Chris)
In 1937 the owner of the Chicago Cubs, Philip K. Wrigley, offered Griffith a position with the team. This offer included a budget for equipment, and a laboratory in Chicago. Wrigley believed that Griffith could help the team by giving them a psychological advantage. Initially, Griffith was met with resistance from manager Charlie Grimm, who did not believe in psychologists and told the players not to listen to Griffith. Following spring training in 1938, Griffith made various suggestions such as making practice more like games, and having players approach practice with the same mentality with which they would approach a game. These suggestions were not implemented. Grimm was fired during the 1938 season and replaced by the catcher, Gabby Hartnett.

Hartnett led the Cubs to the World Series, but was not any more open to Griffith’s ideas than Grimm had been. Griffith wrote a 183-page report for Wrigley concerning the 1938 season, in which he mentioned how he viewed Hartnett as incompetent. Hartnett was not fired.

Griffith worked part time during 1939, but only wrote four short reports and continued dealing with distrust from management. Only one report was written for the team in 1940 before Griffith’s work with the team was stopped.

1. Psychology of Coaching (1926)
Some of Griffith’s main contributions to the field of sports psychology came from his publications The Psychology of Coaching (1926) and The Psychology of Athletics (1928). His first book, The Psychology of Coaching was written with the main theme being that a coach must have the qualities of an athlete, physiologist, and psychologist. All chapters were written to be directly relevant to coaches. In this publication Griffith focuses on topics such as the importance of habit formation, and "Morale", which is what he described as an ideal psychological environment where athletes can adopt and grow personal and intellectual traits in relation to athletics. According to Griffith, Morale is the ultimate aim of athletic competition and results in successful "personality and willpower" Griffith built on his writings in the field of sports psychology through the Psychology of Athletics (1928).

2. Psychology of Athletics (1928) & The Athletic Journal
Griffith built on his writings in the field of sports psychology through the Psychology of Athletics (1928) as well as many contributions to a journal called The Athletic Journal. Griffith wrote about the basic problems and psychological components of athletic performance such as skills, learning, habit, attention, vision, emotion, and reaction time. The Athletics Journal, was a periodical founded by John Griffith (no relation), was aimed towards writing psychology for coaches. Griffith's contribution to this journal was the foundation of the Psychology of Athletics. Griffith's Psychology of Coaching, Psychology of Athletics, and contributions to The Athletic Journal were written during his time researching at the University of Illinois.

V. Later life (I can do this part as well User talk:Erin.teschuk)
Griffith's professional work in athletics came to an end after the Cub's season in 1940. Four years later, he became the provost of the University of Illinois, however, this position ended over a conflict with Illinois' professor of physiology, Andrew Ivy. The disagreement stemmed from Ivy's claim to have discovered a cure for cancer called "krebiozen". This conflict caused Griffith to resign by force, although he continued to work in the Department of Education until 1961. After retiring from this position Griffith moved and took a new position in the Oregon State System of Higher Education until he passed away in 1966.

References:
Brecca.W (talk) 19:36, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

(*will use the 4 Sources already on Coleman Griffith wiki page)

Additional sources:

Cdkading (talk) 16:39, 13 October 2015 (UTC) Cdkading (talk) 16:28, 13 October 2015 (UTC)

Erin.teschuk (talk) 01:32, 14 October 2015 (UTC)Erin.teschukErin.teschuk (talk) 01:32, 14 October 2015 (UTC)

Lead Section-Brecca Wahlund
Coleman Roberts Griffith (22 May 1893-February 1966) was an American pioneering sports psychologist. He is often known as America’s first sports psychologist. He began his studies at Greenville College until 1915 and then continued on at the University of Illinois. Eventually earning his PhD in psychology, which led to research and teaching on the psychology of athletics.

Griffith is claimed to have established the first sport psychology laboratory in the U.S. This led to many research contributions from Griffith in the realm of sports psychology. He was then named director of the University of Illinois Research in Athletics Laboratory in 1925. The majority of his research conducted with his students consisted of the areas of learning athletic skills, psychomotor skills, and personality variables.

Due to financial reasons, the Research in Athletics Laboratory eventually was closed, which led to Griffith becoming a sport psychologist with the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Throughout his time with the Chicago Cubs, Griffith examined the players and completed a series of reports for Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs team, with the results eventually summarized in a large report. He assisted the Cubs to have a successful season while there.

Griffith ended his career in the department of education at the University of Illinois until his retirement in 1961. Griffith had a prominent influence on the start of sports psychology. His two major texts and publications consisted of Psychology of Coaching (1926) and Psychology of Athletics (1928). Many of his ideas are still applied to sports psychology today.

I think the lead looks great! You do a great job summarizing all the parts of the outline without getting too detailed. You could add examples of what ideas he had that are still used today. Cdkading (talk) 17:11, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

Lead Section-Chris Kading
Coleman Roberts Griffith (22 May 1893-February 1966) was a pioneering American sports psychologist. He is considered to be the first American sports psychologist. Born in Iowa, Griffith studied at Greenville College until 1915, and then studied psychology at the University of Illinois.

While at the University of Illinois, Griffith established what he claimed to be the first sports psychology laboratory in the United States. He worked with Illinois’ football coach Robert Zuppke and several other coaches in 1924 on how to handle psychological aspects of the game with their players. In 1925 he was named director of the University of Illinois Research in Athletics Laboratory. Most of his research was about learning athletic skills, psychomotor skills, and personality variables.

In 1932 the laboratory was closed for financial reasons. Griffith then became a sports psychologist with the Chicago Cubs in 1937, where he completed reports on the players for managers until 1940.

Griffith was made provost of the University of Illinois in 1944 but resigned in 1950. He worked in the department of education at the University of Illinois until he retired in 1961. He died in 1966. Two of his major publications include Psychology of Coaching (1926) and Psychology of Athletics (1928).

-Good job on lead sections guys. I think you did a really good job of keeping in brief and not too wordy. The only thing I think you could add a little more information to is just outlining his primary ideas- what concepts he researched and wrote about. Erin.teschuk (talk) 17:03, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Lead Section-Erin Teschuk
Coleman Griffith (22 May 1893-February 1966) was a pioneer in the field of sports psychology. Born in Iowa, he is considered the founder of American sports psychology. He studied at Greenville College until 1915 and then continued his studies at the University of Illinois It was at the University of Illinois that Griffith first began his research. Here, in 1925, Griffith became the director of the University of Illinois Research in Athletics Laboratory. This laboratory was the first American laboratory of sports  psychology. At this time Griffith worked closely with the University of Illinois football team, studying how factors such as psychomotor skills and personality variables related to performance and learning of athletics skills. After Griffith’s lab at University of Illinois closed for financial reasons in 1932, he began working with the Chicago Cubs, baseball team. Here he developed a series of psychological reports on the players and played a role in assisting the team to many successful seasons.

Some of Griffith’s main contributions to the field of sports psychology came from his publications The Psychology of Coaching (1926) and The Psychology of Athletics (1928). These publications were written during Griffith’s time at the University of Illinois and covered topics such how a coach must have knowledge in athletics, physiology and psychology to be successful. Griffith also made many contributions to The Athletics Journal, a periodical founded by John Griffith (no relation), which was aimed towards writing psychology for coaches. Much of Griffith’s research and publications have become the foundation for the widely growing field of sports psychology and many of his ideas are still used today.

Erin.teschuk (talk) 17:03, 28 October 2015 (UTC)