Psychological Characteristics of Perception of Athletes Specializing in Water Sports

The article suggests the analysis of the main forms of information perception (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) in athletes' specializing in water sports. It also identifies the relationship between the leading psychological characteristics and the main forms of information perception. The purpose of study is to determine the leading sensor system of high qualification athletes specializing in swimming and jumping into the water as the determinant of the process of their perception. Methods and organization of research: analysis of scientific literature, pedagogical observation, methods of psycho diagnostics: G. Aisenk's test for determining the type of temperament, modified V. Ivanchenko's test "Inventory of stress symptoms", O. Fedoseyeva's test for determining the leading representative system, methods of mathematical statistics. 14 members of the National team of Ukraine in swimming and 14 members of the National team of Ukraine in jumping into the water participated in the research. Results and discussion. We compared individual psychological characteristics and peculiarities of perception in swimming and jumping into the water athletes to reveal general patterns in their psychological organization which would help to optimize their psychological training and promote its individualization. The obtained indicators testify that in the group of male swimmers (n=5) the phlegmatic type of temperament is dominant and it is combined with a low level of psychological and physiological stress. They are strong, inert, balanced. In women (n=9) there is a predominance of choleric type of temperament. They are strong, mobile, unbalanced. At the same time, the level of psychological stress in the group of women is 21.9 points, which corresponds to the average level of stress and borders on a high level. According to the correlation analysis, the individual-psychological feature of temperament "neuroticism" has a reliable correlation relationship with the general level of stress in all athletes (r=0.69; p<0.05). Thus, psycho-physiological indicators, like genotypic (temperament) and phenotypic (stress level) have a certain commonality in the context of manifestation of emotional instability of the athletes psyche. It was revealed that the leading sensor system in athletes specializing in water sports is kinesthetic. The conducted research allowed formulating a number of conclusions:- despite the complex nature of sensor system functioning, the predominance of the kinesthetic form of perception is noted in high qualification swimmers and athletes specializing in jumping into the water; the degree of information perception is determined by the sensitivity of the nervous system and the individual threshold reaction of each athlete; kinesthetic sensor system is proved to be more common among athletes with a balanced nervous system, especially in men. The obtained information can be used to optimize the psychological training of athletes through the purposeful use of knowledge about their perception peculiarities in the training process.