Passion and performance attainment in sport

ObjectivesTo test a performance-attainment model derived from the Dualistic Model of Passion [Vallerand et al. (2003). Les passions de l’âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 756–767] that posits that both harmonious and obsessive passions are positive predictors of deliberate practice that, in turn, is a positive predictor of performance.DesignA prospective design was used in the present study.Methods and resultsThe basic model was tested in two studies using structural equation modeling. Results from Study 1 with 184 high school basketball players indicated that both harmonious and obsessive passions were positive predictors of deliberate practice, which, in turn, was a positive predictor of objective performance. The results of Study 2, conducted with 67 synchronized swimming and water-polo athletes conceptually replicated those from Study 1. Furthermore, results differentially linked the two passions to achievement goals and subjective well-being (SWB). Specifically, harmonious passion was a positive predictor of mastery goal pursuit and SWB, whereas obsessive passion was a positive predictor of mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal pursuit and was unrelated to SWB. Mastery goals were positive predictors of deliberate practice, which was a direct positive predictor of performance, whereas performance-avoidance goals were direct negative predictors of performance.ConclusionsIt appears that there are two paths to high-level performance attainment in sport, depending if harmonious or obsessive passion underlies sport engagement. While the path from harmonious passion is conducive to high levels of performance and living a happy life, that from obsessive passion is less reliably related to performance attainment and is unrelated to happiness.     

Manual laterality and hitting performance in major league baseball.

Asymmetrical hand function was examined in the context of expert sports performance: hitting in professional baseball. An archival study was conducted to examine the batting performance of all Major League Baseball players from 1871 to 1992, focusing on those who batted left (n = 1,059) to neutralize the game asymmetry. Among them, left-handers (n = 421) were more likely to hit with power and to strike out than right-handers (n = 638). One possible account, based on the idea of hand dominance and an analogy to tennis, is that batting left involves a double-handed forehand for left-handers and a weaker and more reliable double-handed backhand for right-handers. The results are also interpretable in the light of Y. Guiard's (1987) kinematic chain model of a between-hands asymmetrical division of labor, which provides a detailed account of why left batting is optimal for left-handers.     

Gay and lesbian coaches' teams: differences in liking by male and female former sport participants

Previous literature suggests that men, more than women, both adhere to traditional gender beliefs and evaluate violators more harshly. Thus, within the heteronormative sport environment it was hypothesized that men's liking of a team coached by a gay or lesbian may be influenced more than women's liking. Respondents were college-age men (n=130) and women (n=98), former sport participants. Multivariate analysis of covariance (controlling for the presence of gay and lesbian friends and acquaintances) supported the hypothesis. Findings are discussed in terms of sports' heterosexual environment, adherence to gender-role norms, and motivational sexual prejudice.     

Entry and exit as embodied career choice in professional sport

The concept of an embodied career draws attention to the individual, corporally, socially, culturally and institutionally located in relationship with work. Career theories have tended to focus on psychological and social variables and measurements that narrow understanding of contexts and agency. It is thus timely to consider a more holistic approach to understanding contemporary careers as embodied processes. The paper works on three levels; first as an empirical illustration of professional sports careers as short-term careers, second as an application of Bourdieu's habitus to understand the relationship between social fields and accounts of career choice and, third in order to draw parallels with the embodied nature of work in a more general sense. Utilising empirical material from a study of elite UK professional rugby players, it is argued that understanding an embodied-career resonates with present concerns regarding career patterns of short-term contracts, which require the individual to be committed, flexible and adaptable, be prepared for exit, and yet remain immersed and dedicated to the current sphere of employment. It is proposed that this kind of immersion requires alternatives to be, temporarily at least, silenced and in this context renders the accrual of bodily capital as fit, but only temporarily fit for purpose.     

Profiles and professional perspectives: Ten leading former soviet union sport psychologists

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to identify 10 leading former Soviet Union sport psychologists and describe their major contributions. The investigators also desired to determine the status and future directions of sport psychology in Russia and the other new countries that formerly comprised the Soviet Union. Balloting for the leading sport psychologists occurred at the newly formed meeting of the Interstates Association of Sport Psychologists (IASP) and 10 persons were identified: Anatoli V. Alekseev, Marina V. Ennolaeva, Leonid D. Gissen. Gennadij D. Gorbunov, Nickolai A. Hudadov. Piotr A. Jorov. Juri A. Kolomeitzev, Albert V. Rodionov, Vladimir R. Sopov, and Bronislav A. Viatkin. These individuals were subsequently interviewed and the results indicated that although many cutbacks have occurred during the previous decade (1980–1990). sport psychologists continue their work. They are developing new and innovative ways to help athletes improve their individual and collective performance. Their work in psychodiagnostics is exemplary. Nevertheless, the future of sport psychology remains uncertain in the Former Soviet Union.     

Team-Track: A tool for investigating tracking performance in teams

Team performance and coordination have gained considerable interest in disparate fields (e.g., aviation, process control, medicine, and wartime operations). Team-Track, a C program that allows controlled experimental manipulation of team conditions, was developed to meet the research needs resulting from this interest. Using Team-Track, one can manipulate task interdependence, team staffing, relative contributions of team members, communications, and informational displays in a low-cost environment. The dependent measure of performance generated by the program is the absolute tracking error along each dimension. The program is ideal for investigating team interactions as it allows for orthogonal manipulation of team variables, therefore accommodating a multitude of research paradigms.     

A perspective on education and professional development in applied sport psychology

Objectives and methodAs the field of applied sport psychology (ASP) is witnessing a growth in interest in professional practice, it is also faced with the challenge of developing its professional status. Taking into account the lack of research on the career development of ASP practitioners, this article reviews research and information relevant to two major career phases: a) education in preparing for ASP practice, and b) initiation and development of professional ASP practice. The paper also provides an initial collation of information and research regarding ASP education, professional development, and service provision in Europe.Results and conclusionsResults revealed that the field of ASP still faces the challenge of formulating an encompassing and uniformly used definition of ASP; of gaining a better understanding of the career development of ASP professionals, with particular attention for female ASP practitioners; of gaining insight into, analysing and providing quality management in the educational pathways preparing for ASP practice; and of optimising the vocational development of the ASP professional by way of ensuring the quality of ASP service delivery and the development of competencies in ASP practitioners. In conclusion, recommendations are formulated for furthering the development of ASP in Europe, and on the possible role of the European Federation for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (FEPSAC).     

Self-starvation and the performance narrative in competitive sport

ObjectivesTo provide an alternative to medical understanding of disordered eating in sport through an emphasis on personal perspectives.DesignThis study draws on narrative theory to interpretively analyse the life of Holly, a female athlete who engages in severe self-starvation.MethodsMore than 7 hours of life history data was gathered over a period of 8 months through unstructured interviews. Holly's story was analyzed through principles of narrative analysis, with attention afforded to both narrative content and structure.ResultsHolly's life is characterized by a struggle to align her life experiences with a culturally specified “performance narrative” that lauds normative success. When neither her academic nor sporting endeavors are perceived to fulfil the achievement narrative, Holly is thrust into emotional turmoil and begins to conceive of self-starvation as a means to achieve.ConclusionsThe performance narrative spans both academic and sporting cultural domains and it can play a role in athlete disordered eating.     

Goal setting in teams: The impact of learning and performance goals on process and performance

This study examined the impact of three alternative types of goals (specific learning, general “do your best” learning, and specific performance) on team performance. Eighty-four-person teams engaged in an interdependent command and control simulation in which the team goal and task complexity were manipulated. Contrary to research at the individual level, teams with specific learning goals performed worse than did teams with general “do your best” learning goals or specific performance goals. The negative effects of specific learning goals relative to general “do your best” learning goals and specific performance goals were amplified under conditions of increased task complexity and were explained by the amount of coordination in the teams.     

Motivated memory: Dissociation between performance data and subjective reports

Summary Three experiments are reported to test a claim by previous subjects that lack of motivation for performing well in memory experiments yielded less than optimal performance. In each experiment the subjects of one group were informed of monetary incentives prior to study; in a second group they were informed of these incentives after study but prior to the test; no mention of incentives was made to the subjects of a third group. Recall and recognition procedures were used to assess memory performance. The data of all three experiments demonstrated no differences between the three groups with respect to performance. The claim that subjects in regular memory experiments would typically perform less than optimally is thus rejected. Subjective reports, however, revealed that incentives had affected the amount of effort put into the memory tasks. This dissociation between performance data and subjective reports is discussed in relation to the concept of motivation.     

A sense of presence and self-reported performance in international teams

Research over the last two decades has explored the relationship between a variety of states of consciousness, performance, and motivation. These have included flow and a sense of presence in face-to-face, online, and virtual environments. This study examined the relationship between presence and flow experienced by 75 male and female participants from several Pacific Rim nations on 4 international teams and their self-reported performance, enjoyment, and motivation associated with team-related tasks. The results indicate that in these task situations, which are relatively novel because of their cultural diversity, self-reported performance correlated more highly with presence (r=.34, df=72, p<.01) than flow (r=.26, df=71, p<.05). Enjoyment and motivation, however, correlated more highly with flow (r =.60, df=71, p<.01 and r=.40, df=71, p<.01, respectively) than presence (r=.26, p<.05 and r=.25, p<.05). These findings suggest the need to explore further the relationship between activity- or task-related states of consciousness, the characteristics of the tasks involved, particularly in terms of their novelty, and the effect on performance and motivation.     

Relation between social cohesion and team performance in soccer teams

Investigations of the influence on team performance of team composition, in terms of task-related attributes, e.g., personality traits, cognitive abilities, often assumes this relation to be mediated by the strength (intensity) of the interpersonal relations (social cohesion) among team members. However, there has been little empirical examination of how much social cohesion actually affects team outcomes. This preliminary study sought to examine this issue using soccer teams, which have been held to resemble workplace teams. Perceptions of team cohesion were collected from 198 Israeli soccer players (comprising 36 national league teams) during the week preceding their weekly games. A significant correlation was found between the perceptions of social cohesion and the results of the soccer matches, indicating a link between team social cohesion and team performance. Implications of the results, as well as the study's limitations, are discussed, and avenues for research are suggested.     

Emotions in sport: Perceived effects on attention,concentration, and performance

This study explored attentional patterns associated with positive and negative emotions during sport competition, and athletes' perceptions of the consequences of these attentional changes for concentration and performance. Sixty‐nine athletes completed the Sport Emotion Questionnaire following a national softball competition. They also retrospectively reported their perceptions of how emotions influenced their attention, concentration, and sport performance. Excitement and happiness were more closely associated with concentration than anxiety, dejection, and anger. Although excitement demanded more attention than the negative emotions, the positive emotions were perceived as more likely to lead to a performance‐relevant focus and automatic physical movements, both of which were beneficial for concentration and performance. Emotional intensity increased these effects.     

Games teams play: A method for investigating team coordination and performance

Teams are playing an increasingly important role in the workplace. However, reviews of the team performance literature have suggested that there are serious deficiencies in our understanding of team processes and performance (e.g., Dyer, 1984). These difficulties may be attributable, in part, to the lack of laboratory methodologies to investigate team performance. This paper describes the use of low-fidelity simulations as a potentially useful paradigm for researching team coordination and performance. This paradigm is advantageous in that it offers relatively high levels of experimental control and task representation at a low cost.     

Left-handedness in professional basketball: prevalence, performance, and survival

Performance and handedness data were examined for 3,647 professional basketball players who participated in at least five games during the period between 1946 and 2009. Left-handed players comprised 5.1% of all professional basketball players compared to the 11% prevalence in the general population. Left-handers had better performance averages, in terms of the number of points, rebounds, and blocks over their careers, as well as other measures, and had significantly longer careers than right-handed players. Handedness was not significantly related to mean or median life expectancy.     

A multidimensional approach to skilled perception and performance in sport

Three experiments examined the relative importance of attributes determined largely by the efficiency of the visual/central nervous system versus cognitive domain‐specific skills, in the determination of expertise in soccer. In Experiment 1, expert and intermediate soccer players were assessed on various non‐specific abilities including: processing (simple reaction time, peripheral reaction time, visual correction time), optometric (static, dynamic and mesopic acuity), and perimetric parameters (horizontal and vertical peripheral range). In Experiment 2, domain‐specific variables were assessed including complex decision speed and accuracy, number of visual fixations, fixation duration, and fixation location in solving game problems. Stimuli were initially presented by slides (Experiment 2) and later by 16 mm film (Experiment 3). Eye movements were recorded and analysed. A stepwise discriminant analysis of both non‐specific abilities and soccer‐specific skills revealed an average squared canonical correlation=0.84, with the significant step variables all being domain‐specific skills. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting performance and performance satisfaction: mindfulness and beliefs about the ability to deal with social barriers in sport

This research investigates the role of beliefs about the ability to deal with specific social barriers and its relationships to mindfulness, football performance, and satisfaction with one's own and team performance. Study 1 aimed at eliciting these social barriers. Study 2 tested (i) whether self-efficacy referring to social barriers would predict performance over and above task-related self-efficacy and collective efficacy and (ii) the mediating role of self-efficacy to overcome social barriers in the relationship between mindfulness and performance. Participants were football (soccer) players aged 16–21 years (Study 1: N = 30; Study 2: N = 101, longitudinal sample: n = 88). Study 1 resulted in eliciting 82 social barriers referring to team, peer leadership, and coaches. Study 2 showed that task-related self-efficacy and collective efficacy explained performance satisfaction at seven-month follow-up, whereas self-efficacy referring to social barriers explained shooting performance at seven-month follow-up. Indirect associations between mindfulness and performance were found with three types of self-efficacy referring to social barriers, operating as parallel mediators. Results provide evidence for the role of beliefs about the ability to cope with social barriers and show a complex interplay between different types of self-efficacy and collective efficacy in predicting team sport performance.     

Peer-based control in self-managing teams: linking rational and normative influence with individual and group performance

The authors use a multilevel framework to introduce peer-based control as a motivational state that emerges in self-managing teams. The authors specifically describe how peer-based rational control, which is defined as team members perceiving the distribution of economic rewards as dependent on input from teammates, extends and interacts with the more commonly studied normative control force of group cohesion to explain both individual and collective performance in teams. On the basis of data from 587 factory workers in 45 self-managing teams at 3 organizations, peer-based rational control corresponded with higher performance for both individuals and collective teams. Results further demonstrated that the rational and normative mechanism of peer-based control interacted to explain performance at both the individual and team levels. Increased peer-based rational control corresponded with higher individual and collective performance in teams with low cohesion, but the positive effects on performance were attenuated in cohesive teams.     

Motivation and engagement in music and sport: testing a multidimensional framework in diverse performance settings

The present study assessed the application of a multidimensional model of motivation and engagement (the Motivation and Engagement Wheel) and its accompanying instrumentation (the Motivation and Engagement Scale) to the music and sport domains. Participants were 463 young classical musicians (N=224) and sportspeople (N=239). In both music and sport samples, the data confirmed the good fit of the four hypothesized higher-order dimensions and their 11 first-order dimensions: adaptive cognitions (self-efficacy, valuing, mastery orientation), adaptive behaviors (planning, task management, persistence), impeding/maladaptive cognitions (uncertain control, anxiety, failure avoidance), and maladaptive behaviors (self-handicapping, disengagement). Multigroup tests of factor invariance showed that in terms of underlying motivational constructs and the composition of and relationships among these constructs, key subsamples are not substantially different. Moreover-and of particular relevance to issues around the generalizability of the framework-the factor structure for music and sport samples was predominantly invariant.     

A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams

A multilevel model of leadership, empowerment, and performance was tested using a sample of 62 teams, 445 individual members, 62 team leaders, and 31 external managers from 31 stores of a Fortune 500 company. Leader-member exchange and leadership climate related differently to individual and team empowerment and interacted to influence individual empowerment. Also, several relationships were supported in more but not in less interdependent teams. Specifically, leader-member exchange related to individual performance partially through individual empowerment; leadership climate related to team performance partially through team empowerment; team empowerment moderated the relationship between individual empowerment and performance; and individual performance was positively related to team performance. Contributions to team leadership theory, research, and practices are discussed.