Changes in Athletic Identity Following Team Selection: Self-Protection versus Self-Enhancement

Self-protection and self-enhancement were investigated in a field study of female athletes who were vying for selection in state all-star teams. Participants completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS; Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993 Brewer, B. W., Van Raalte, J. L. and Linder, D. E. 1993. Athletic identity: Hercules' muscles or achilles heel?. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24: 237–254. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) on three occasions, and changes over time were compared for players who made the team and players who did not make the team. Findings revealed similar AIMS scores in the two groups prior to selection, no change over time for selected players, and a significant decrease over time for the players who were not selected. These findings are consistent with predictions derived from self-categorization theory, and they suggest that self-protection processes may be related to short-term changes in domain-specific self-concept measures such as athletic identity.