Aggression in sport Flashcards
1
Q
Definition of aggression
A
- it is an intentional behaviour that involves intent to harm or cause injury to another individual, often outside the rules of the game
- uncontrolled
2
Q
Definition of assertion
A
- it is forceful or committed play (not aggressive) within the rules or laws of the game
- it involves legitimate force, although this is often accompanied with unusual amounts of energy or effort
- if an opponent gets injured then this is unfortunate as it was not the aim of the athlete
- controlled
- non-violent goal
3
Q
Grey area of ambiguity
A
- aggression or assertion?
- an area of doubt
4
Q
What other behaviours that are neither assertive nor aggressive not tolerated?
A
- bad language
- equipment abuse
5
Q
Assertion examples
A
- hockey player making a hard but fair challenge whilst tackling an opponent
- a rugby player making a strong tackle or ‘big hit’ or a football being committed and not holding back in a ‘50-50’ tackle
6
Q
Aggression example
A
- a footballer deliberately elbowing an opponent off the ball
7
Q
Types of aggression
A
- Hostile aggression
- Channelled aggression
- Reactive aggression
- Instrumental aggression
8
Q
Hostile aggression
A
- premeditated actions to deliberately harm
- often accompanied with anger and is usually viewed badly by fellow performers and the press
9
Q
Hostile aggression examples
A
- a player punches an opponent after a perceived foul
- mike Tyson bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield ear during a bout in 1997
10
Q
Instrumental aggression
A
- aggression used to achieve an aim/tactic foul play
- encouraged by teammates or coaches
11
Q
Instrumental aggression examples
A
- a defender fouls an attacker to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity
- players in contact sports are told to hit their opponents hard or take them out in the first 10 mins of a match to let them know your there
12
Q
Channelled aggression
A
- grey area where an overlap exists between ‘agression’ (deliberate attempt to harm/injure) and/ with ‘assertion’ (exert unusual force)
13
Q
Channelled aggression example
A
- rugby player will attempt to tackle an opponent legally but also as physically as possible
14
Q
Reactive aggression
A
- in response to external/ internal trigger
- an immediate response to a perceived threat or provocation
E.g. pain, foul play - reacting to it rather than controlling it
15
Q
Reactive aggression examples
A
- a player retaliates after being taunted by an opponent
- Complaining, finger pointing, showing anger
16
Q
Causes of aggression
A
- over-arousal
- under developed moral reasoning
- bracket morality
- application to specific sporting situations
- environmental factors
17
Q
Over-arousal
A
- where anger towards another person causes an increase in arousal
- can be because sports person is highly motivated
- excessive physiological arousal can impair judgement, leading to aggressive acts
18
Q
Under developed moral reasoning
A
- where players with low levels of moral reasoning are more likely to be aggressive
- inability to distinguish right from wrong behaviour in competitive contexts
19
Q
Bracketed morality
A
- in which there is a double standard of condoning aggressive behaviour in sport but not life in general
- belief that aggressive behaviour is acceptable in sports, even if its not in everyday life
20
Q
Environmental factors
A
- hostile crowds, high-stakes games, or poor officiating can increase aggression
21
Q
Causes of aggression (individual factors)
A
- displaced aggression is when there is an influence from outside of sport e.g. an argument with a spouse
- frustration e.g. over poor personal performance or having a goal blocked
- personality. Some players are innately or naturally aggressive
- to intimidate and dominate opponent
- stress and anxiety from pressure to win at all costs
22
Q
Causes of aggression (environmental factors)
A
- hostile crowd e.g. football crowds often through coins at players
- perceived unfairness e.g. officials poor decisions
- other players aggression leads to retaliation e.g. a bad tackle provokes aggressive retaliation
- pain or being injured
- see others being aggressive and copy role models
23
Q
Causes of aggression (social factors)
A
- game determinants e.g. aggression is a norm in ice hockey
- to be accepted by a group/ peer pressure
- cultural determinants/ it is expected
- rivalry often seen in local derbys
- high expectations on the performers/ pressure to win
24
Q
What do we mean by the term aggression in sport psychology? Give an example from a sport or game which would illustrate your answer? (2 marks)
A
- aggression is the intention or expectation to harm someone else outside the rules of the competition
E.g. foul tackling where the intention is to injure the opponent rather than to prevent a goal
25
Using examples from sport, briefly describe the differences between aggression and assertion?
- aggression is the intentional behaviour that involves intent to harm or cause injury to another individual, often outside the rules of the game
- e.g. foul tackling where the intention is to injure the opponent
- assertion is forceful or committed play (not aggressive) within the rules or laws of the game. Involves legitimate force although this is often accompanied with unusual amounts of energy or effort. If an opponent gets injured then this is unfortunate as it was not the aim of the athlete
E.g. hockey player making a hard but fair challenge whilst tackling an opponent
26
Strategies to reduce aggression
1. Education and awareness: teaching players about the consequences of aggression and promoting sportsmanship
2. Positive role models: encouraging coaches and senior players to demonstrate appropriate behaviour
3. Rule enforcement: strict penalties for aggressive acts to deter such behaviour
4. Stress management techniques: implementing relaxation and cognitive behavioural strategies to manage arousal levels
27
Instinct theory (Lorenz)
A01
- Freud (1950) viewed aggression as an innate drive, a natural instinctual behaviour that we are all born with
- this theory states that humans are biologically determined to act aggressively to dominate those around them, a survival instinct
- it is how one may react when feeling threatened
- instinct theory suggests that emotions cause aggressive feelings and energy build up inside us.
- this energy is released by aggressive acts that release this pent-up hostility, which enables us to be comfortable and stable
A02
- Activities like kick boxing/ cage fighting are supposed to provide an ideal opportunity for the release of this aggressive energy or cathartic release, enabling them to be non-aggressive in other situations
A03
+ Being suggested that some people are born with aggressive characteristics that result in them being more aggressive than others, in sport and also in life in general
- human aggression is often not spontaneous
- aggression is often learnt and linked to culture
- cultural norms can influence the levels of acceptable aggression displayed by individuals
- levels of aggression tend to increase during sporting participation rather than decrease
- performers in sports of an aggressive nature do not tend to display similar characteristics away from the sporting environment
- no biological innate characteristics have been identified
28
Instinct theory (Lorenz) -summary
Concept: aggression is an innate drive, essential for survival
Application: in sport, this theory suggests that athletes may have a natural tendency toward aggression, which can be triggered during competition
29
What type of aggression is liked to the instinct theory?
Hostile aggression
30
Social learning theory
A01
- it is based on the view that our behaviour is related to our experiences
- it proposes that aggressive behaviour is learnt through observation of others and copying their actions
- if reinforced, the copied actions are repeated in similar situations
(Known as vicarious experience)
A02
Ice hockey- smashing stick into opponents head (incident replicated by younger person)
A03
+ due to the extensive media coverage of sport, many players see their role models or significant others displaying acts of aggression
+ there are many examples of when behaviour is not punished and consequently others copy their actions believing it is acceptable to act in this manner
+ the player may receive many forms of reinforcement which encourage such behaviour, from spectators, coaches, teammates and parents
+ while there are negative aspects to this proposal, it should also be viewed that players can be taught unacceptable behaviour, they can also be taught acceptable behaviour. If this is the case, it possible to control arousal levels and modify behaviour if the correct reinforcement is provided
- while it is clear that many aggressive actions are copied from significant others and are more likely to be repeated if reinforced, the social learning theory. Does have some critics
31
What type of aggression is linked to the social learning theory?
Instrumental aggression
32
Social learning theory (Bandura)- summary
Concept: aggression is learnt through observation and imitation of others especially role models
Application: if a coach or senior player displays aggressive behaviour, younger players might imitate this, believing it’s acceptable
33
Frustration-aggression hypothesis (dollard)
A01
- It’s suggested that sports performers have a drive to achieve a goal when taking part in competitions
- most of the time the goal is outcome related. However, the goal could be a process or performance goal
- the frustration-aggression implies that a performer will get frustrated if their goal is blocked and when frustration builds up this leads to a player being aggressive
- this suggested behaviour acts as a catharsis for the built-up frustration; thus, making the player to feel better, enabling them to focus on the task at hand, reducing the likelihood of being aggressive
- however, if the player is punished for aggression this often leads to further frustration
A02
Drive to goal- need to win: outcome related goal: win a game
Process or performance goal: such as a wide receiver in America footballer trying to find space to receive a pass or making a set number of completed passes in a game
Obstacle to a goal- an opponent tries to prevent the wide receiver from making the catches, being an obstruction that gets in the way of the receiver achieving their goal
Frustration- maybe punching or elbowing the defender during a play
The frustration-agression implies that a performer will get frustrated if their goal is blocked and when frustration builds up
This aggressive behaviour acts as a catharsis for built up frustration, thus making the player to feel better, an ambling them to focus on the task at hand, reducing the likelihood of being aggressive
A03
- not all frustration leads to aggression
- not all aggression is caused by frustration- it can be learned
- it does not account for situational factors or individual differences
34
What type of aggression is linked to the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
- channelled aggression
35
Frustration aggression hypothesis (dollard)- summary
Concept: aggression is the result of frustration from blocked goals
Application: a player who is consistently fouled without referee intervention may become frustrated and retaliate aggressively
36
Aggressive-cue hypothesis (berkowitz)
A01
- Due to the criticisms of the previous theories Berkowitz (1969) developed the aggressive cue theory of aggression
- He proposed that frustration led to increased arousal and this in turn increased the likelihood of aggression
- However, assertion only occurred if ‘socially learned cues’ were present. For example, the wide receiver may be being continually hit hard in tackles and this would increase arousal. The layer may lash out against the opponent but only if his coach has previously tolerated this behaviour. However, if the player has learned that they will be punished by his coaches for acting aggressively the likelihood of aggression is reduced
A02
- Certain football fixtures seem to be associated with aggressive acts more than others. Local derbies in football result in red and yellow cards on the pitch and spectator violence off it. Frustration and arousal combined with fans encouraging players to ‘get stuck in’ means that aggressive acts are more frequently witnessed
Other aggressive cues can include:
- playing against players who have a reputation for being unfair or dirty
- playing against opponents where there had been a history of unsavoury incidences (e.g. they were aggressive or had celebrated a previous win excessively)
A03
+ if theory is correct, it may explain why some players are able to maintain their composure and control their arousal levels and not act aggressively
+ the theory is a more valuable explanation of aggression than earlier theories. Rather than simply being an innate response to an external stimulus, aggression is linked to learning and will occur only when suitable environment cues are present
37
What type of aggression is linked to the aggressive-cue hypothesis?
Reactive aggression
38
Aggressive-cue hypothesis (berkowitz)- summary
Concept: aggression occurs when certain cues in the environment trigger aggressive responses
Application: the presence of aggressive cues, like a heated crowd or aggressive components, can increase the likelihood of aggressive behaviour.
