Last night on Off the Ball, Joe Molloy spoke to Prof. Steve Peters of Sheffield University, also known as the man who developed ‘The Chimp Paradox Model’ of psychology.
While his model is applicable to all human beings, Prof. Peters has specifically applied his expertise to the sporting realm, having worked with the likes of the British cycling team, U.K. Athletics, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Liverpool F.C. and the England soccer team.
“Realistically, what we’ve got is the equivalent of an ‘inner chimp’ and the key is that it’s actively thinking and interpreting the world for us without our permission and often it gates what we actually believe and want. It has its own set of values.” Peters explained.
But how do we manage our ‘chimp’?
“If we’re not careful, we end up trying to form a recipe. In other words, we have an answer for all occasions and that isn’t the way it works. Everybody’s chimp is quite different. The chimp genes we’ve been given vary; it’s on a spectrum” he said.
You can listen to the entire interview by clicking on the player below.
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