Michel Nicolas * and Ahmed Jebrane **
(*) Laboratory of Socio Psychology and Management of Sport, SPMS (EA 3985), Sport Sciences Faculty of Dijon
(**) Institute of Mathematics of Burgundy, IMB (UMR 5584, CNRS)
A longitudinal study of 26 athletes was conducted to examine the consistency of coping strategies (CS) and defense mechanisms (DM) during competitions and the training sessions preceding races throughout a season. Furthermore, the effects of both disposition and situation on CS and DM were investigated. The findings indicated a relative lack of coping consistency for the majority of CS. Two situational CS (problem-solving and seeking social support) changed significantly over time and between situations (training/competition). In contrast, all DM showed strong stability across situations and periods of time. Two DM were related to personality factors. Mature DM correlated with extraversion and openness. Immature DMcorrelated with Neurosis. As hypothesised, CS were not consistent either across situations or time. In contrast, all the DM showed evidence of relative stability in all situations and time periods. Furthermore, personality was related to DMbut not to CS. These results suggest that perhaps CS are more a function of the situation, whereas DM are more dependent on the individual’s personality. Despite some limitations, the results suggest that canoeists show evidence of different process adjustment patterns depending on the situation (competition and training session) and the period of season. The consequences for practitioners and trainers in terms of methodology for evaluation and preparation are examined in the discussion.
Keywords: Consistency, Coping, Defense, Personality, Sport
Nicolas Gillet, Sophie Berjot and Elisabeth Rosnet
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
The purpose of this investigation was to test the relationships between perceptions of competence, autonomy and relatedness, and intrinsic motivation according to the nature of sport activities (i.e., individual versus team sports), sport structures (i.e., competitive versus recreational activities) and level of competition (i.e., district, regional, and national). These relationships were examined in two studies. In Study 1, we examined the links between the three perceptions and intrinsic motivation with regard to the nature of sport activities and sport structures while, in Study 2, we examined these relationships according to the level of competition. In Study 1, results from moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceptions of autonomy were not a significant predictor of intrinsic motivation. In addition, the present results showed that there were no significant differences in the relationships between basic need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation as a function of the nature of sport activities and sport structures. Results from Study 2 confirmed that perceived autonomy was not the most significant determinant of intrinsic motivation and also showed that the influence of perceived competence and relatedness on intrinsic motivation varied as a function of the level of competition. Results are discussed in light of self-determination theory.
Keywords: Self-Determination Theory, Basic Need Satisfaction, Motivation, Sport
Daniel Memmert *, Marissa Blanco ** and Veronique Merkle *
(*) University of Heidelberg, Germany
(**) Yale University, USA
Recent studies have suggested that conscious perception is influenced by effort and performance. The participation in sport activities seems to play a major role in perceiving the objects involved in motor activities. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to replicate the previously noted connection between effort and size perception of the ball in golf. Our results showed that active golfers estimated the size of the golf ball to be bigger than golfers who did not engage in the game of golf. These findings were independent of the level of expertise. Experiment 2 demonstrated that perception of the size of the golf hole could not be modulated by performance efficacy. The results of both experiments are discussed in relation to recent perception models with suggestions for future investigations.
Keywords: Affordances, Golf ball, Golf hole, Physical activity, Visual perception
Philippe Romand, Nathalie Pantaléon and Fabienne D’Arripe-Longueville
University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of age, competitive level and perceived moral atmosphere on the moral functioning (i.e., moral judgment, moral reasons and moral intention) of soccer players. A total of 219 male players, from 8 to 25 years old, participated in the study. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed significant differences in the three variables of interest as a function of age, and significant differences in moral judgment and intention as functions of competitive level and perceived moral atmosphere. These results are discussed in relation to the “theory of game reasoning” (Shields & Bredemeier, 1995) and the current moral development literature. The nature of moral indicators and the precautions that need to be taken in studies of moral functioning are also highlighted. Finally, the limitations of the study and recommendations for future directions are presented.
Keywords: Moral development, Moral reasons, Moral judgment, Moral intention, Transgressive behavior
Christophe Bertrand and Francine Thullier
Université de Caen, France
This study investigated the relationship between visual search strategy, player position and task complexity in 1-on-1 defensive soccer situations. Complexity here refers to the difficulty in connecting cues from the opponent’s body. Experienced defenders and attackers and their less experienced counterparts were required to predict the direction of a dribble displayed on a video screen. An eye-tracking system was used to collect visual search data. Our results showed that experienced defenders had better accuracy in prediction. Further differences were observed in visual search exploration between the groups with experienced defenders employing more ocular fixations than the other groups especially on the trunk and the nonleading leg areas. The situation complexity was characterized by an increase in the number of fixations in all groups. Our findings highlighted the fact that the player position in team game is an important factor in perceptual tasks and that visual exploration is related to the processing of complexity.
Keywords: Ocular fixation, Player position, Task complexity, Visual behavior
Stéphanie Scoffier *, Christophe Maiano ** and Fabienne D’Arripe-Longueville *
(*) University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France
(**) UMR 6233 «Institute Movement Sciences», Université Aix-Marseille II Marseille, France
The main aim of the present series of studies was to test the factor validity and reliability of the Sport Friendship Quality Scale (SFQS; Weiss & Smith, 1999) in a French adolescent sample. Four studies, involving a total sample of 589 participants, were performed in order to translate items from the SFQS into French (SFQS-FR) and evaluate their clarity (Study 1) and to assess (a) the concurrent validity (Study 2), (b) the factor validity and reliability (Study 3), and (c) the temporal stability (Study 4) of the SFQS-FR. Study 1 provided support for the item content of the preliminary version of the SFQS-FR for adolescents. Study 2 supported the convergent validity of both the SFQS and SFQS-FR. Finally, Studies 3 and 4 provided (a) support for the factorial structure and reliability (i.e., internal consistency and temporal stability) of a seven-factor model of the SFQS-FR, (b) partial support for the factorial invariance for the aforementioned model across gender and age, and (c) support and partial support for the latent mean invariance of the sevenfactor model across age and gender, respectively. The present results thus provide preliminary evidence for the appropriateness of the SFQS-FR for adolescents. Nevertheless, further evaluation of this instrument is warranted to establish the robustness of the present findings.
Keywords: Adolescence, Friendship quality, Invariance, Peer relationships, Validation
Petra Jansen *, Corinna Titze ** and Martin Heil **
(*) Institute of Sport Science, University of Regensburg, Germany
(**) Experimental Psychology, Duesseldorf, Germany
This study investigated the influence of juggling training on mental rotation performance. Two groups of 23 participants each solved a chronometrical mental rotation task with three-dimensional block figures. After this, participants of the training group learned to juggle over a period of three months, whereas participants of the non-training group did not. At the end of the three-month period all participants solved the mental rotation task again. The difference between the reaction time (RT) in the first and second mental rotation test was measured. Results showed that the RT gain was higher for the participants of the training group compared to the non-training group when mental rotation had to be performed (i.e., when angular disparity was non-zero). This study provides evidence for the direct relation between motor training and spatial ability.
Keywords: Juggling, Mental rotation, Motor behavior, Spatial performance