The dual nature of perfectionism in sports: relationships with emotion,motivation, and performance

Perfectionism is a prevalent characteristic in athletes. Yet some researchers have argued that perfectionism in sports is maladaptive because it undermines athletes’ performance and stifles athletic development. This argument, however, neglects that perfectionism is a multidimensional characteristic and that only some dimensions of perfectionism are clearly maladaptive, whereas others are not. This review argues that perfectionism is comprised of two main dimensions – perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns (Stoeber & Otto, 2006) – that show different and unique patterns of relationships with athletes’ emotions, motivation, and performance. In support of this argument the review will present findings indicating that only perfectionistic concerns show unique positive relationships with competitive anxiety, fear of failure, and avoidance goal orientations. In contrast, perfectionistic strivings show unique positive relationships with self-confidence, hope of success, approach goal orientations, and performance in training and competitions. The findings suggest that only perfectionistic concerns are clearly maladaptive, whereas perfectionistic strivings may form part of a healthy striving for excellence. Implications for applied sport psychology are discussed as are open questions for future research.     

Development of perceived competence,tactical skills,motivation, technical skills,and speed and agility in young soccer players

ABSTRACT

The objective of this 1-year, longitudinal study was to examine the development of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics of young Finnish soccer players. We also examined associations between latent growth models of perceived competence and other recorded variables. Participants were 288 competitive male soccer players ranging from 12 to 14 years (12.7 ± 0.6) from 16 soccer clubs. Players completed the self-assessments of perceived competence, tactical skills, and motivation, and participated in technical, and speed and agility tests. Results of this study showed that players’ levels of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics remained relatively high and stable across the period of 1 year. Positive relationships were found between these levels and changes in perceived competence and motivation, and levels of perceived competence and speed and agility characteristics. Together these results illustrate the multi-dimensional nature of talent development processes in soccer. Moreover, it seems crucial in coaching to support the development of perceived competence and motivation in young soccer players and that it might be even more important in later maturing players.     

成就动机、凝聚力与比赛成绩关系的研究

本研究的主要目的在于探讨我国优秀少年篮球运动员成就动机、球队凝聚力与比赛成绩的关系。参加2011年全国少年篮球比赛的22个运动队,其中男子132名,女子108名接受了成就动机量表和群体环境问卷的测试。运用Baron和Kenny(1986)线性回归分析方法对成就动机的中介作用给予检验。结果表明,运动员所知觉到的凝聚力对球队比赛成绩的影响显著,该影响由于成就动机的加入而变小。说明成就动机对凝聚力和球队比赛成绩具有中介作用。     

运动认知、情绪与竞技水平的关系性研究

为了明确运动认知、情绪及竞技水平的关系,通过问卷调查、文献资料和数理统计等方法,对79名国家现役优秀跆拳道运动员进行了调查研究。结果表明:运动认知和情绪对运动员的竞技水平存在显著的直接效应,且具有典型的预测效应,其中,运动认知对竞技水平还存在显著的间接性影响(0.241),情绪成为一个重要的调节变量。同时,在对运动认知和情绪对竞技水平的各路径分析中,仅社会期待焦虑未呈现显著性,其他各维度均表现出显著性的作用。为此,建议重视竞技运动中运动认知和情绪的作用及其两者之间的关系,将认知和情绪作为运动员竞技水平的重要预测和控制变量。     

The role of the referee in physical education lessons: student experience and motivation

Introduction: Social roles in physical education (PE) classes have been much studied, especially mentoring and coaching roles. The studies have shown that mentoring and coaching are beneficial not only for motor learning, but also for methodological and social learning. To our knowledge, the role of the student referee in PE lessons has never been specifically studied. Yet refereeing is essential in many sports, including team sports, and provides an experience of responsibility that many teachers want to offer their students. Encouraging students to take on this role can nevertheless be difficult.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to gain access to students’ lived experiences as referees in order to determine their strategies for being effective. We particularly wanted to determine which concerns organized their activity so that we could identify a refereeing typology that would be useful for PE teaching. Our study is original in that we did not rely exclusively on experiential data to understand student refereeing activity. We also collected data on the students’ motivation in order to better understand their experiences. For this purpose, the study was conducted within the methodological framework of course-of-action theory and self-determination theory.

Method: Seventy-four students from three classes in the third year of middle school (about 13 years old) participated in the study. Among them, four (two girls and two boys and not experts in the sports in which they were going to referee) had volunteered to be filmed and to participate in self-confrontation interviews. The other students completed two questionnaires to provide information on their motivation for refereeing. The situations studied were basketball and handball matches held at the end of the lessons.

Two categories of data were collected: qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative data were based on audiovisual recordings of the students as they refereed matches and verbalization data from self-confrontation interviews; these data were used to document the students’ courses of experience during the activity period under study. The quantitative data were collected using two questionnaires, one to assess the determinants of motivation and the other to assess self-determined motivation.

Results and discussion: The qualitative analysis highlighted three typical student involvements: fulfilling the role of referee, getting help, and occasionally dropping out of the role. The quantitative analysis revealed that the students in the social role of referee mainly expressed amotivation, external regulation, and intrinsic motivation toward knowledge and accomplishment.

The results are discussed around two major points: (1) the students’ strategies of alternation from which their refereeing activity emerged and (2) proposals for PE teacher interventions.     

The relationship between critical power and running performance

Critical power is a theoretical concept that presumes there is a certain work‐rate which may be maintained without exhaustion. The extent to which critical power predicts running performance over varying distances has not been determined, and so the aim of this study was to correlate measurements of critical power in the laboratory to running performances in the field at 40 m and 1, 10 and 21.1 km in a group of 17 male longdistance runners (mean ± s.d. age = 31.7 ± 7.3 years). Each subject ran to exhaustion on the treadmill in the laboratory at six different speeds, ranging from 17 to 25 km h^‐1. Least squares analyses were used to fit an exponential decay to the relationship between the running speed (y) versus time to exhaustion (x). Critical power was calculated as the running speed (y) coinciding with the asymptote or C parameter of the y = A‐e^(‐Bx) + C relationship. The VO₂ max was also measured in all subjects. For the data in the field, each subject was timed over 40 m and 1 km and participated in 10‐ and 21.1‐km races. The mean critical power of die subjects in this study was 18.5 ± 1.6 km h^‐1. The test‐retest correlation coefficient for the determination of critical power was r = 0.99. The mean VO₂ max, measured in a progressive exercise protocol starting at 13 km h^‐1 and increasing by 1 km h^‐1 every minute, was 59.2 ± 4.6 ml O₂ kg^‐1 min^‐1. The 40‐m times ranged from 5.57 to 6.95 s, the 1‐km times from 2:46 to 3:55 min:s, the 10‐km times from 30:43 to 42:02 min:s and the 21‐km times from 67:00 to 95:45 min:s. Critical power predicted running times over 1 km (r = ‐0.75, P< 0.001), 10 km (r = ‐ 0.85, P< 0.00001) and 21.1 km (r = ‐ 0.79, P< 0.001) in this heterogeneous group of runners. The correlation coefficients for VO₂ max and running performances were similar to the above at all distances. Even in the best relationship between critical power and the time taken to run 10 km, only 72% of the variation in the 10‐km running time could be accounted for by differences in critical power. While the test of critical power may be repeatable and correlate significantly with VO₂ max (r = 0.77, P< 0.001), the measurement lacks the degree of specificity required to predict running performance in trained subjects of varying ability.     

Exploring the interplay between the motivational climate and goal orientation in predicting maximal oxygen uptake

Drawing upon achievement goal theory, this study explored the interplay between the perceived motivational climate, achievement goals and objective measurements of maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max). The results of a study of 123 individuals from three Norwegian military academies revealed that under the condition of a high-performance orientation there is a stronger positive relationship between performance climate and VO_2max for individuals reporting a low (rather than high)-mastery orientation. Furthermore, we found that for individuals with a high-mastery orientation there is a stronger positive relationship between mastery climate and VO_2max for individuals reporting a low (rather than high)-performance orientation. These findings contribute to achievement goal theory by providing support for an interactionist person–environment fit perspective. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

The relationship between discus throwing performance and combinations of selected technical parameters

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between discus throwing performance and the following technical parameters: hip–shoulder and shoulder–arm separation, trunk forward–backward tilt, throwing-arm elevation angles, and the absolute and relative throwing procedure phase times. Videographic data of 51 male and 53 female discus throwers' competitive performances were captured during major meets. The three-dimensional coordinates of 21 body landmarks and the discus were obtained for each thrower's best trial using direct linear transformation. The technical parameters were reduced from the three-dimensional data at six critical instants during the throwing procedure. Hierarchical stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the relative influence of linear combinations of the technical parameters on discus throwing performance. Specific techniques associated with linear combinations of certain technical parameters were identified using canonical correlations. Males and females were analysed separately. Suggestions for controlling the height of release and the vertical component of the speed of release using an effective technique are made.     

Relation between multidimensional performance characteristics and level of performance in talented youth field hockey players

To determine the relationship between multidimensional performance characteristics and level of performance in talented youth field hockey players, elite youth players (n = 38, mean age 13.2 years, s = 1.26) were compared with sub-elite youth players (n = 88, mean age 14.2 years, s = 1.26) on anthropometric, physiological, technical, tactical and psychological characteristics. Multivariate analyses with performance level and gender as factors, and age as the covariate, showed that the elite youth players scored better than the sub-elite youth players on technical (dribble performance in a peak and repeated shuttle run), tactical (general tactics; tactics for possession and non-possession of the ball) and psychological variables (motivation) (P <?0.05). The most discriminating variables were tactics for possession of the ball, motivation and performance in a slalom dribble. Age discriminated between the two groups, indicating that the elite youth players were younger than the sub-elite players. In the guidance of young talented players to the top as well as in the detection of talented players, more attention has to be paid to tactical qualities, motivation and specific technical skills.     

辽宁省大学生体育态度、兴趣和动机现状的调查与研究

在辽宁省普通高等院校中，抽取9所高校中的1035名在校大学生为研究对象，运用综合的研究方法对大学生体育锻炼的现状进行研究。结果表明：辽宁省大学生对体育课和体育活动的态度总体来说是积极向上的，但男生的态度明显比女生更积极；辽宁省大学生对体育劳务消费的态度总体上是积极的，但女生的态度明显比男生更积极；来自城市的大学生的态度比来自农村的大学生更积极。大学生的兴趣爱好非常广泛。其中篮球、羽毛球、足球、游泳、乒乓球、跑步是大学生最喜欢的体育活动内容。锻炼身体、增强体质仍是大学生参加课外体育活动最主要的目的。     

Relationships between physiological,anthropometric, and skill qualities and playing performance in professional rugby league players

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the relationship between physiological, anthropometric, and skill qualities and playing performance in professional rugby league players. Fifty-eight high-performance rugby league players underwent measurements for anthropometry (height, body mass, sum of seven skinfolds), physiological (speed, change of direction speed, lower body muscular power, repeated-sprint ability, prolonged high-intensity intermittent running ability, and estimated maximal aerobic power), technical skill (tackling proficiency, draw and pass proficiency), and perceptual skill (reactive agility, pattern recall, pattern prediction) qualities. National Rugby League matches were coded for attacking (e.g. line breaks, try assists, etc.) and defensive (e.g. missed tackles, tackling efficiency, etc.) statistics commonly used to assess rugby league playing performance. The number of line break assists was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with greater playing experience (r = 0.36), dual-task draw and pass proficiency (r = 0.54), reactive agility (r = 0.29), and pattern recall (r = 0.32) and prediction (r = 0.28) ability, while faster speed over 40 m (r = ?0.42) was associated (P < 0.05) with a higher number of tries scored. Greater age and playing experience, better lower body muscular power, and faster 10 m and 40 m speed were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the number of tackle attempts (positive), tackles completed (positive), and proportion of missed tackles (negative). These findings demonstrate that well-developed physical and skill qualities are associated with effective playing performance in National Rugby League players.     

中外男子十项全能运动员成绩特征的比较

为了探讨男子十项全能运动的发展规律，找出我国全能项目与世界水平的差距，收集了200l年世界和全国男子十项全能运动员的成绩指标，并进行相关的比较分析。研究结果表明：(1)我国男子十项全能与世界水平相比，整体还比较落后，其中较薄弱的项目是撑竿跳高、400m跑和跳高；(2)中外运动员各单项得分率大体相同，反映了十项全能单项组合的一般规律，这也说明了我国运动员与世界水平的差距是体现在各个单项水平上的整体差距；(3)中外运动员类项得分比率的大小顺序均为短跨、跳、投、耐力，第1d的积分高于第1d。     

Visiting Fortaleza: motivation,satisfaction and revisit intentions of spectators at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup provides opportunities to attract visitors to host cities and for local residents to enjoy event-related celebrations. This paper directs attention to Fortaleza, in the north-east of Brazil, where a survey was conducted of 285 spectators to identify the relative importance of enjoyment and competitive outcomes as motives to attend games at the 2014 World Cup. The study also examined the relationship between motivation, event setting and event satisfaction and whether any differences in these relationships existed between local and visiting spectators. In the case of visitors to Fortaleza, factors that influence intentions to revisit the city were also examined. Although satisfaction did not have an impact on visitation intentions, visitors were strongly influenced by competitive motives associated with the team they support. In comparison, local residents were more motivated by event excitement. The need to recognize the propensities of different types of spectators and the complexity of the relationship between spectators and the event setting are discussed.     

Identifying profiles of actual and perceived motor competence among adolescents: associations with motivation,physical activity,and sports participation

The present study identified adolescents’ motor competence (MC)-based profiles (e.g., high actual and low perceived MC), and accordingly investigated differences in motivation for physical education (PE), physical activity (PA) levels, and sports participation between profiles by using regression analyses. Actual MC was measured with the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder. Adolescents (n = 215; 66.0% boys; mean age = 13.64 ± .58 years) completed validated questionnaires to assess perceived MC, motivation for PE, PA-levels, and sports participation. Actual and perceived MC were only moderately correlated and cluster analyses identified four groups. Two groups of overestimators (low – overestimation, average – overestimation) were identified (51%), who particularly displayed better motivation for PE when compared to their peers who accurately estimated themselves (low – accurate, average – accurate). Moreover, adolescents with low actual MC, but high perceived MC were significantly more active than adolescents with low actual MC who accurately estimated themselves. Results pointed in the same direction for organised sports participation. Underestimators were not found in the current sample, which is positive as underestimation might negatively influence adolescents’ motivation to achieve and persist in PA and sports. In conclusion, results emphasise that developing perceived MC, especially among adolescents with low levels of actual MC, seems crucial to stimulate motivation for PE, and engagement in PA and sports.     

国民体质研究的过去、现在与未来

从体质研究的视角,简要地综述了民族体质的过去、青少年体质研究的历程、国民体质研究的现状与发展,并站在新时期的高度对体质研究的未来进行展望。随着经济发展和社会进步,人民群众对体质与健康产生了更新、更高的认知,这对进一步开展国民体质研究提出新的工作目标。因此,体质研究也要顺应历史变革,不断地拓展学科研究的新领域。     

Stressors,social support,and effects upon performance in golf

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of eccentric exercise on position sense and reaction angle of the elbow and knee flexors. Twelve males underwent two eccentric exercise sessions involving a randomized crossover design. In the first session participants used their elbow flexors and in the other session their knee flexors. Muscle damage indices, position sense, and joint reaction angle to release of the elbow and knee flexors were measured before, immediately after, and up to 7 days after exercise. Exercise induced greater muscle damage in the elbow flexors than knee flexors. Exercise disturbed position sense of the elbow and knee joint. For both limbs, the participants adopted a more extended position than the reference angle. The elbow and knee joint reaction angles to release increased after exercise for both the elbow and knee flexors. The disturbances in position sense and reaction angle after exercise were greater in the elbow flexors than knee flexors. The elbow flexors remained more accurate and faster than the knee flexors at all time points. These results may be explained by the higher density of muscle spindles and the lower innervation ratio of the elbow flexors compared with the knee flexors, as well as the fact that the arms are more accustomed than the legs to perform fast and accurate movements.     

运动与元素钙、铁、锌、镁、铜的研究

钙、铁、锌、镁、铜元素在机体代谢和运动能力提高中起着非常重要的作用。建议在运动训练中要定期的监测和评定运动员体内这些元素含量,并适当补充。     

Repeated-sprint performance and plasma responses following beetroot juice supplementation do not differ between recreational,competitive and elite sprint athletes

Purpose: There is an ongoing debate whether highly trained athletes are less responsive to the ergogenic properties of nitrate. We assessed the effects of nitrate supplementation on plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and repeated-sprint performance in recreational, competitive and elite sprint athletes. Methods: In a randomized double-blinded cross-over design, recreational cyclists (n?=?20), national talent speed-skaters (n?=?22) and Olympic-level track cyclists (n?=?10) underwent two 6-day supplementation periods; 140?mL/d nitrate-rich (BR; ～800?mg/d) and nitrate-depleted (PLA; ～0.5?mg/d) beetroot juice. Blood samples were collected and three 30-s Wingate tests were performed. Results: Plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations were higher following BR vs PLA (P?P?>?.10). Peak power over the three Wingates was not different between BR and PLA (1338?±?30 vs 1333?±?30 W; P?=?.62), and there was no interaction between treatment (BR-PLA) and Wingate number (1-2-3; P?=?.48). Likewise, mean power did not differ between BR and PLA (P?=?.86). In contrast, time to peak power improved by ～2.8% following BR vs PLA (P?=?.007). This improvement in BR vs PLA was not different between Wingate 1, 2 and 3. Moreover, the effects of BR vs PLA did not differ between sport levels for any Wingate parameter (all P?>?.30). Conclusion: The plasma and repeated-sprint performance responses to beetroot juice supplementation do not differ between recreational, competitive and elite sprint athletes. Beetroot juice supplementation reduces time to reach peak power, which may improve the capacity to accelerate during high-intensity and sprint tasks in recreational as well as elite athletes.     

中国残疾人事业与残疾人体育的互动发展——透视残疾人观的嬗变

新中国成立后,特别是改革开放以来,我国的残疾人事业得到了飞速发展。随着我国经济的发展,作为残疾人事业的一个重要组成部分的残疾人体育得到了空前、迅速的发展,并逐渐走向了规模化、制度化的快速发展阶段。了解残疾人体育与残疾人事业的互动对于促进社会的和谐、稳定与进步以及推动残疾人体育的发展具有积极的意义。采用文献资料调研,回顾了我国残疾人事业与残疾人体育发展的历史,从社会学角度出发,以批判理论作为指导,引入残疾人观这一文化观念来分析残疾人事业与残疾人体育的相互作用机制以及残疾人观对促进残疾人事业与残疾人体育发展的重要作用。