Transcript Attitudes in sport Live Show

Psychology of Sport
Attitudes
Berbatov has recently been accused of
having a poor attitude
Attitude
A mode of behaviour that is often thought to be a typical reaction of an
individual is termed an attitude.
Attitude is linked with personality and is frequently used to explain a
pattern of behaviour or a response in a given situation.
Reading FC have gained a reputation for having a good attitude even when losing.
Attitudes are an enduring emotional and behavioural response, and
although it can be established firmly, an attitude is unstable and can be
controlled.
Attitudes are directed towards ‘attitude objects’
Attitude Objects
This is usually a place, situation or behaviour of other people. For
example.
Someone may have a poor attitude towards training
Someone else may dislike playing at a particular
stadium
Other people may dislike players who dive
These influence the way individuals perceive and behave in sports situations.
For example.
If you are playing at a stadium that you have a negative attitude towards
against a team you dislike your performance may well be affected.
Formation of Attitudes
Attitudes are formed mainly through experience.
- A pleasant experience will usually lead to a positive attitude.
- An unpleasant experience like failure, criticism or injury would
bring about a negative attitude.
Think of some examples of sporting situations where you have acquired a
positive or negative attitude due to past experiences.
Until last season Tottenham
had not beaten Chelsea in the
league for 16 years.
This can partly be accounted to
players having a negative
attitude to playing Chelsea
based on past experience.
Other things shape our attitudes.
• Parents in early childhood
• Peer groups
• Role models
The whole process of interaction between
individuals and groups of people is called
‘socialisation’
Attitudes can bring about false perceptions which influence
our judgement and bring about behaviour that is
inconsistent and predjudiced
For example ……
After this incident, many people gained a prejudiced attitude that
Cantona was a violent player who was unable to control his temper.
However, this attitude was formed without any consideration of what
was said to Cantona and what his attitudes were towards this
situation, venue and the behaviour of people around him.
The Components of Attitude
the triadic model of attitudes
An attitude comprises of 3 components:
1. The cognitive component
Also known as the information component and reflects beliefs and knowledge.
For example, you believe that fitness training 3 times a week enhances the
quality of life and you have the knowledge to support this opinion.
2. The affective component
Also know as the emotional component. It consists of feelings of an emotional
response towards an attitude or object. For example, training is enjoyable and
I feel good when participating.
2. The behavioural component
This concerns how a person intends to behave towards an attitude object. For
example, joining a fitness club to follow an organised fitness programme.
Changing Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)
Festinger said that if a person holds two ideas that conflict with
each other an element of discomfort or dissonance occurs.
For example:
• A player wishes to perform to a high standard, but does not want
to dedicate more time to sport.
• The coach wishes to pursue a youth policy, but is worried that in
doing so the team could lose many games in the short term
(Tottenham is a perfect example of this)
Martin
Jol.
RIP
To reduce dissonance, one of the conflicting ideas muss be lessened. For
example:
• The player rejects the opportunity to perform at a higher standard and
therefore does not need to increase dedication.
• The coach accepts that losses will be incurred if a youth policy is
pursued.
Persuasive Communication Theory
1. The persuader
This person needs to be one who
is perceived to be significant
and to have high status. For
example the climbing
instructor
3.The recipients
The attitude is more easily
changed if the recipient really
wishes to be changed. For
example, the student understands
the task.
2. The message
This needs to be presented in a
way that makes the recipient
want to change an attitude. For
example, this rock face can be
climbed and the instructor will
hold the rope.
4. The situation
Attitudes are easier to change if there
are other persuaders present. For
example, other students have already
climbed the rock face and are actively
encouraging the reluctant student.
Attitudes in general are poor predictors of behaviour.
A person may have a positive outlook on something like training.
However, this does not guarantee they will attend training
sessions regularly.
But……………..
According to Fishbein, if someone has a positive attitude towards
a particular type of training (for example fitness training) they
are more likely to attend fitness training sessions and behaviour is
easier to predict.