Mainstream Psychological Theories Of Aggression In Sport
“Sports psychology takes some of the theories and applies them to what human beings do and think when they play sport and take exercise. I do not think there is a theory of sport psychology that is independent of ‘mainstream psychology’. It takes theories of psychology and applies them to sport.” Sport and exercise science an introduction et al Dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray griffin. (2005).
There are many different factors of psychology that affect sport performance. We’re going to talk about aggression. “There has a long been a lively debate about aggression in sport. The arguments seem to focus on whether there is too much or not enough aggression in sport, or whether sport would be much better with or without aggression”. (Ker, …show more content…
1999a & 1999b, 2002; Tenenbaum et al., 1997, 2000).
There are four types of aggression; hostile aggression is used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against you, which makes the performer angry and aroused. An example of this would be Roy keane breaking Håland's leg because of the tackle that he made on Keane in the earlier fixture of the year.
Instrumental aggression; is used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, they can use this to stop an opponent from gaining an advantage and is often used as a tactic in sport. An example of this is in football the last defender take out’s the striker that is clear through on goal, sacrificing himself for the team.
Reactive aggression; is a reaction to the behaviour (verbal or physical) of others (Moyer, 1976). An opponent says or does something you don’t like and you react to it in a way that intends harm. An example of this would be when Cristiano Ronaldo was dangerously fouled by Ashleigh Cole, and Ronaldo kicked out at Cole because he didn’t like the way he was fouled.
Assertiveness; is used during sport with the intent not to harm, but to use a legitimate force within the rules of the game to channel your aggression to gain an advantage over an opponent in a critical situation. An example of this would be when Fernando Torres got elbowed in the face (which resulted in a broken cheek bone) he used his aggression and scored two vital goals for Chelsea in the Europa cup.
There are two fundamental problems with sport that causes aggression; reinforcement and frustration: Aggression is reinforced or rewarded in many ways, such as favourable outcomes such as scoring a goal or winning a match.
Gaining approval by a coach or team member.” The golden rule of the behaviourism is of course, that if the behaviour is rewarded then the likelihood that is will be repeated is increased.” Sport and exercise science introduction et al dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray Griffin (2005). This can lead to concerns of crowd behaviour and how they can influence how the players act by cheering to aggressive behaviour, it can also affect the children growing up watching the sport if aggression is accepted and encouraged within the sport. “It is paradoxical that the more physical the sport is supposed to be the less it seems that aggression spills over into the crowd.” Sport and exercise science introduction et al dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray Griffin …show more content…
(2005).
Frustration leads to aggression. “If goal-orientated behaviour is blocked, especially by intentional, arbitrary, unfair and non-legitimate behaviour it is almost inevitably leads to aggression (et al Zimbardo, 1990). “Many competitive sports are organized so that ability to score points in blocked by the opposing team. So the goal is frustrated by one’s opponent” Sport and exercise science introduction et al dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray Griffin (2005). This is linked to the frustration aggression hypothesis because of the inability to attain a goal. Which can cause instrumental aggression because the goal of this behaviour is to stop your opponent having an advantage over you even if it causes them harm.
There are four mediators of aggression in sport; Arousal and excitement, the more excited and aroused you are the more likely you are to become aggressive. Also the more excited you are the more frustrating blocking become and this of course leads to a greater likelihood of aggression .Fitness; the fitter you are the less likely you are to be aggressive (Zillmann, 1979). Performance, increased aggression equals decreased performance. This is because individuals become more interested in acts of aggression than in the task they are there to perform. (Silva, 1980) and (Ryan, 1970). Types of sport, not all sports feature aggression, for example individual field sports for example golf, tennis. Aren’t associated with aggressive behaviour. This normally due to the nature of the sport and the likelihood of coming into contact with opposing competitors. (Voigt, 1982).
Instinct theory
“Instinct theories support the notion of catharsis; the release of aggressive urges through aggression. This can either be real, the actual act of aggression, or symbolic, the release through watching others be aggressive. Both Freud and Lorenz believed that sport was very important due to its cathartic qualities.” Psychology and sport et al sally Gadsdon (2001). The Instinct theory believes that when you are born, you are born with your aggression. Meaning in certain situation’s you will always act with aggression. The theory believes that it is survival of the fittest in sport and that’s why you have to be aggressive, This can be linked into hostile aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against the perfromer, which makes you angry and aroused. This relates to the catharsis, the build of aggression has occurred due to an earlier incident that has caused the performer to become angry, the performer has used the sport to release their aggression.
Frustration aggression hypothesis
“The main beliefs of these theories is that aggressive acts stem from an aggressive drive (drive is a state of inner tension) that is triggered by external stimuli. The frustration aggression hypothesis. This proposed that the inability to attain a goal leads to frustration. The frustration triggers an aggressive drive that leads to aggression.” Psychology and sport et al sally Gadsdon (2001). Frustration aggression hypothesis is caused by an overwhelming feeling of frustration that has been building up from another situation or argument. This frustration can released when being blocked from an achievement of a goal or being purposely stopped because of your advantage on your opponent. This theory can be linked into the different types of aggression such as instrumental aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, they can use this to stop an opponent from gaining an advantage and is often used as a tactic in sport. This type of aggression is the cause for the frustration, as instrumental aggression is used to purposely block your opponent from achieving their goal or gaining an advantage.
This is also links to hostile aggression; during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against the performer, which makes the performer angry and aroused. This links to frustration because instrumental aggression is the cause of the hostile aggression, the frustration builds from the performer unfairly being halted from achieving their goal, so they seek revenge upon their opponents. “Berkowitz (1989) reformulated the frustration aggression hypothesis and proposed that frustration results from an inability to attain a goal, creating a ‘readiness’ for aggression. The frustration is more likely to lead to aggression if aggressive cues (objects or persons currently or previously associated with aggression) are present”. Psychology and sport et al sally Gadsdon (2001).
Social learning theory
“This theory suggests that individuals learn in sporting situations through two distinct processes; modelling and reinforcement.
Modelling suggests that individuals are more likely to model themselves on people they feel they can relate to, such as individuals in the same sport or of the same gender, and that as they observe their behaviour, they attempt to copy it. Reinforcement is important because if an individual’s behaviour is reinforced or rewarded in some way, it is likely that the behaviour will be repeated.” BTEC national sports and exercise science et al Mark Adams (2007). Bandura believes that the social learning theory can be applied in sport and aggression. This happens when a performer witnesses aggression by his idol and believes it is the correct thing to do in that situation, meaning whenever the performer is in that situation, they act the same as their idol did. This theory can be linked into the different types of aggression such as instrumental aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, they can use this to stop an opponent from gaining an advantage and is often used as a tactic in sport. This links to social learning theory because whilst growing up and watching an idol future performers believe that what their idol does is correct. This means that if there idol often distributes instrumental aggression upon other opponents, then the performer is more likely to copy this act and apply it to their own game, which is bad for
sport because it encourages harmful aggression against fellow competitors/opponents.
This also links to assertiveness; used during sport with the intent not to harm, but to use a legitimate force within the rules of the game to channel your aggression to gain an advantage over an opponent in a critical situation. This links to social learning theory because whilst growing up and watching an idol future performers believe that what their idol does is correct. This means that if there idol often distributes assertiveness upon other opponents, then the performer is more likely to copy this act and apply it to their own game, this is a good sporting trait to have because it allows the performer to channel the aggression and use it to their advantage in their sport.
This also links to hostile aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against the performer which makes you’re angry and aroused. This links to social learning theory because whilst growing up and watching an idol future performers believe that what their idol does is correct. This means that if there idol often distributes hostile aggression upon other opponents, then the performer is more likely to copy this act and apply it to their own game. Which is bad for sport because it encourages harmful aggression against fellow competitors/opponents.
Conclusion
Summarise how each theory relates to sport and say if sport needs aggression?!!!!!!
There are many different factors of psychology that affect sport performance. We’re going to talk about aggression. “There has a long been a lively debate about aggression in sport. The arguments seem to focus on whether there is too much or not enough aggression in sport, or whether sport would be much better with or without aggression”. (Ker, …show more content…
1999a & 1999b, 2002; Tenenbaum et al., 1997, 2000).
There are four types of aggression; hostile aggression is used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against you, which makes the performer angry and aroused. An example of this would be Roy keane breaking Håland's leg because of the tackle that he made on Keane in the earlier fixture of the year.
Instrumental aggression; is used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, they can use this to stop an opponent from gaining an advantage and is often used as a tactic in sport. An example of this is in football the last defender take out’s the striker that is clear through on goal, sacrificing himself for the team.
Reactive aggression; is a reaction to the behaviour (verbal or physical) of others (Moyer, 1976). An opponent says or does something you don’t like and you react to it in a way that intends harm. An example of this would be when Cristiano Ronaldo was dangerously fouled by Ashleigh Cole, and Ronaldo kicked out at Cole because he didn’t like the way he was fouled.
Assertiveness; is used during sport with the intent not to harm, but to use a legitimate force within the rules of the game to channel your aggression to gain an advantage over an opponent in a critical situation. An example of this would be when Fernando Torres got elbowed in the face (which resulted in a broken cheek bone) he used his aggression and scored two vital goals for Chelsea in the Europa cup.
There are two fundamental problems with sport that causes aggression; reinforcement and frustration: Aggression is reinforced or rewarded in many ways, such as favourable outcomes such as scoring a goal or winning a match.
Gaining approval by a coach or team member.” The golden rule of the behaviourism is of course, that if the behaviour is rewarded then the likelihood that is will be repeated is increased.” Sport and exercise science introduction et al dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray Griffin (2005). This can lead to concerns of crowd behaviour and how they can influence how the players act by cheering to aggressive behaviour, it can also affect the children growing up watching the sport if aggression is accepted and encouraged within the sport. “It is paradoxical that the more physical the sport is supposed to be the less it seems that aggression spills over into the crowd.” Sport and exercise science introduction et al dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray Griffin …show more content…
(2005).
Frustration leads to aggression. “If goal-orientated behaviour is blocked, especially by intentional, arbitrary, unfair and non-legitimate behaviour it is almost inevitably leads to aggression (et al Zimbardo, 1990). “Many competitive sports are organized so that ability to score points in blocked by the opposing team. So the goal is frustrated by one’s opponent” Sport and exercise science introduction et al dean Sewell, Phillip Watkins and Murray Griffin (2005). This is linked to the frustration aggression hypothesis because of the inability to attain a goal. Which can cause instrumental aggression because the goal of this behaviour is to stop your opponent having an advantage over you even if it causes them harm.
There are four mediators of aggression in sport; Arousal and excitement, the more excited and aroused you are the more likely you are to become aggressive. Also the more excited you are the more frustrating blocking become and this of course leads to a greater likelihood of aggression .Fitness; the fitter you are the less likely you are to be aggressive (Zillmann, 1979). Performance, increased aggression equals decreased performance. This is because individuals become more interested in acts of aggression than in the task they are there to perform. (Silva, 1980) and (Ryan, 1970). Types of sport, not all sports feature aggression, for example individual field sports for example golf, tennis. Aren’t associated with aggressive behaviour. This normally due to the nature of the sport and the likelihood of coming into contact with opposing competitors. (Voigt, 1982).
Instinct theory
“Instinct theories support the notion of catharsis; the release of aggressive urges through aggression. This can either be real, the actual act of aggression, or symbolic, the release through watching others be aggressive. Both Freud and Lorenz believed that sport was very important due to its cathartic qualities.” Psychology and sport et al sally Gadsdon (2001). The Instinct theory believes that when you are born, you are born with your aggression. Meaning in certain situation’s you will always act with aggression. The theory believes that it is survival of the fittest in sport and that’s why you have to be aggressive, This can be linked into hostile aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against the perfromer, which makes you angry and aroused. This relates to the catharsis, the build of aggression has occurred due to an earlier incident that has caused the performer to become angry, the performer has used the sport to release their aggression.
Frustration aggression hypothesis
“The main beliefs of these theories is that aggressive acts stem from an aggressive drive (drive is a state of inner tension) that is triggered by external stimuli. The frustration aggression hypothesis. This proposed that the inability to attain a goal leads to frustration. The frustration triggers an aggressive drive that leads to aggression.” Psychology and sport et al sally Gadsdon (2001). Frustration aggression hypothesis is caused by an overwhelming feeling of frustration that has been building up from another situation or argument. This frustration can released when being blocked from an achievement of a goal or being purposely stopped because of your advantage on your opponent. This theory can be linked into the different types of aggression such as instrumental aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, they can use this to stop an opponent from gaining an advantage and is often used as a tactic in sport. This type of aggression is the cause for the frustration, as instrumental aggression is used to purposely block your opponent from achieving their goal or gaining an advantage.
This is also links to hostile aggression; during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against the performer, which makes the performer angry and aroused. This links to frustration because instrumental aggression is the cause of the hostile aggression, the frustration builds from the performer unfairly being halted from achieving their goal, so they seek revenge upon their opponents. “Berkowitz (1989) reformulated the frustration aggression hypothesis and proposed that frustration results from an inability to attain a goal, creating a ‘readiness’ for aggression. The frustration is more likely to lead to aggression if aggressive cues (objects or persons currently or previously associated with aggression) are present”. Psychology and sport et al sally Gadsdon (2001).
Social learning theory
“This theory suggests that individuals learn in sporting situations through two distinct processes; modelling and reinforcement.
Modelling suggests that individuals are more likely to model themselves on people they feel they can relate to, such as individuals in the same sport or of the same gender, and that as they observe their behaviour, they attempt to copy it. Reinforcement is important because if an individual’s behaviour is reinforced or rewarded in some way, it is likely that the behaviour will be repeated.” BTEC national sports and exercise science et al Mark Adams (2007). Bandura believes that the social learning theory can be applied in sport and aggression. This happens when a performer witnesses aggression by his idol and believes it is the correct thing to do in that situation, meaning whenever the performer is in that situation, they act the same as their idol did. This theory can be linked into the different types of aggression such as instrumental aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, they can use this to stop an opponent from gaining an advantage and is often used as a tactic in sport. This links to social learning theory because whilst growing up and watching an idol future performers believe that what their idol does is correct. This means that if there idol often distributes instrumental aggression upon other opponents, then the performer is more likely to copy this act and apply it to their own game, which is bad for
sport because it encourages harmful aggression against fellow competitors/opponents.
This also links to assertiveness; used during sport with the intent not to harm, but to use a legitimate force within the rules of the game to channel your aggression to gain an advantage over an opponent in a critical situation. This links to social learning theory because whilst growing up and watching an idol future performers believe that what their idol does is correct. This means that if there idol often distributes assertiveness upon other opponents, then the performer is more likely to copy this act and apply it to their own game, this is a good sporting trait to have because it allows the performer to channel the aggression and use it to their advantage in their sport.
This also links to hostile aggression; used during sport with the intent to harm your opponent, this often occurs as revenge for an earlier incident against the performer which makes you’re angry and aroused. This links to social learning theory because whilst growing up and watching an idol future performers believe that what their idol does is correct. This means that if there idol often distributes hostile aggression upon other opponents, then the performer is more likely to copy this act and apply it to their own game. Which is bad for sport because it encourages harmful aggression against fellow competitors/opponents.
Conclusion
Summarise how each theory relates to sport and say if sport needs aggression?!!!!!!