Performance-induced emotions experienced during high-stakes table tennis matches
Institution:
1. University of Rouen, Rouen, France;2. University of Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France;3. University of Nantes, Nantes, France;4. University of Genève, Genève, Suisse, Switzerland;1. University of French West Indies and Guyana, France;2. Southern France Montpellier University, France;3. University of Groningen, The Netherlands;4. Ohio University, USA;1. Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;2. Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University, Graz, Austria;3. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA;4. Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;5. Retina Foundation of the Southwest, Dallas, Texas, USA;6. Center for Ophthalmology, Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany;7. Doheny Eye Institute, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA;8. Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Basel, Switzerland;9. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;10. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA;11. Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK;12. Department of Ophthalmology, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria;1. University of Münster, Germany;2. Federation University Australia, Australia;3. Victoria University, Australia;1. University of Utah, USA;2. Loughborough University, UK
Abstract:
ObjectivesTo characterize the contents of emotions experienced by elite table tennis players during high-stakes matches and the situational elements that contribute to these experiences.DesignA four-case study.MethodThree top-level table tennis players from the French Men's Table Tennis Team volunteered to participate in the study. Four matches were studied. Procedures involved: (a) videotaping high-stakes table tennis matches, (b) conducting self-confrontation interviews with players after matches, (c) transcribing the players’ actions and self-confrontation data, (d) decomposing their activity into elementary units, and (e) identifying typical contents of emotion and typical emotional situations.ResultsThe contents of players’ emotions varied during matches. The pleasant or unpleasant tone of emotional content was linked to the set result and the interpretations of the unfolding situation. However, other elements of the competitive interaction (score configurations, judgments about the strokes performed) had a strong emotional coloration. Certain similar events (e.g., bad sensations during stroke performance) were frequently coupled with similar emotional content (e.g., displeasure).ConclusionsUntil quite recently, the predominant focus in sport psychology has been on pre-performance emotions, with far less attention paid to the subjective emotional experiences that occur during task execution. This exploratory study provides initial empirical support for the notion of bi-directionality in emotion–performance relationships Hanin, Y.L. (Ed.). (2000). Emotions in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; Hanin, Y.L. (2003). Performance related emotional states in sport: A qualitative analysis. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research On-line Journal], 4(1). Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/1-03/1-03hanin-e.htm].
