chapter 9 sports psych

Impact on Youth: The Impact of Gender Differences in Sport Photos

-A review of photos in Sports Illustrated for Kids from 1996 to 1999 showed that men appeared in more than twice as many photos as women. Men were also shown in more active poses, as 97% of the photos of someone in a leadership position were male.

Sexual Orientation

-A study by Anderson (2002) found that most openly gay athletes were individual sport athletes, and were typically the very best athletes on their team. -Both athletes and coaches worry about potential repercussion of being out, including violence, discrimination, bullying, and harassment. -Hekma (1998) and Oswalt & Vargas (2013) found that people generally feel more comfortable with same-sex orientation among women than men. -Female athletes often feel comfortable about disclosing their sexual identity to their teammates (Stoelting, 2011). -There has been increasing support for homosexual athletes over the past decade, along with fewer uses of gay slurs, lower levels of experienced homophobia, and more willingness to openly discuss sexuality. Homosexual athletes are also more likely to play team sports than they were a decade ago. -Magrath, Anderson, & Roberts (2013) found that male soccer players' attitudes towards gay teammates were supportive, with lower levels of concern over sharing rooms with gay players, changing with them in the locker room, and relating to them on a personal level. -There have been many "firsts" in the past several years, including the first openly gay Division I men's basketball player, first openly gay Division I football player, and first openly gay player on an MLB-affiliated team.

Cognitive Bias

-A type of error in thinking about people and situations. -Perceptual confirmation: interpreting things in line with one's beliefs. -Thomas, Good, & Gross (2015) found that coaches saw a recruit they believed was black as higher in quality than the exact same recruit when they believed he was white. -Contrast effect: people perceive stimuli that are different from expectations as being even more different than they really are. -Male soccer players engage in more acts of instrumental aggression, but women received more penalties for such behavior (Coulomb-Cabagno, Rascle, & Souchon, 2005). -The 2012 NBA performance of Jeremy Lin led to an intense global following known as "Linsanity", and the strong performance was seen as particularly remarkable given that Lin is Asian-American and attended Harvard.

Pursuit of Common Goals

-At a summer camp for boys, researchers attempted to reduce tension between two groups of boys by creating a series of problems that could only be solved by all members of both groups working together (i.e., pulling a truck that had "broken down"). After pursuing common goals, divisions between the groups largely disappeared

Negative Self-Evaluations

-Girls and women who see sexualized images of female athletes in the media feel more negatively about themselves (Daniels, 2009, 2012). Men also appear to form different impression of female athletes based on the type of media images presented (Daniels & Wartena, 2011).

Race/Ethnicity

-Numerous studies indicate that Black athletes are both seen as and treated differently than White athletes across a number of dimensions (Sailes, 1993, 1996; Wiggins, 1997). -Compared to White athletes, Black athletes are seen as having better speed, quickness, and natural athleticism. White athletes are seen as more reliable and intelligent. -Sports with relatively more Blacks than Asians are seen as more masculine (Galinsky, Hall, & Cuddy, 2013). -Exposure to a Native American mascot has particularly negative consequences for Native Americans , including a negative impact on feelings of both personal and community worth, as well as lower expectations about their own personal achievement (Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, & Stone, 2008).

Sanction by Authority

-One of the most effective strategies for reducing prejudice is for people in positions of formal or informal authority on team and in athletic organization to clearly and unequivocally demonstrate that they are opposed to all forms of prejudice and discrimination. -Athletes who believe that their coach holds high expectation regarding their academic ability were less concerned about others holding the dumb jock stereotype

Social Identity Theory

-Our social identity is based on our group memberships (teams, schools, city/town in which one lives). -We are motivated to affiliate with successful groups as a way of increasing our own feelings of self-worth. -"Basking in reflected glory" -In-group favoritism: discriminating in favor of people in one's in-group versus one's out-group. -Derogating out-group members can also increase feelings of self-worth. -Price and Wolfers (2010) found that NBA players have 4% fewer fouls called against them and score up to 2 ½% more points on nights in which their race matches the race of the refereeing crews.

Social Learning Theory

-People learn attitudes and behaviors from watching others behave in a given behavior and seeing-either through personal experience or observation-that particular behaviors are reinforced. -Attitudes may be reinforced by teammates (such as laughing at a racial, homophobic, or sexist slur). -Authority figures, such as parents and coaches, can also influence attitudes. -The media plays a major role in creative and maintaining stereotypes about athletes. 62% of the television coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics focused on male athletes (Angelini, MacArthur, & Billings, 2012).

Explaining the Stereotype Threat Effect

-Some researchers believe that fear of confirming a negative stereotype creates negative expectations, which in turn increases arousal and distraction and reduced working memory (Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008). -Fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group can lead people to withdraw effort, which in turn leads to underperformance. -Stone (2002) showed that participants in a golf putting task who were told that the task measured "natural athletic ability" practiced less than those told that the task measured "general sports performance", thus self-handicapping and providing an excuse for poor performance.

Presence of Role Models

-The presence of stereotype-defying athletes can go a long way towards helping change stereotypes and reduce prejudice and discrimination, in part by correcting all too prevalent misperceptions. -Examples of counter-stereotypes, or people who defy prevailing stereotypes, also help broaden people's views about how particular traits may go together.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

-The tendency to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies our own beliefs. -Morrongiello & Dawber (2000) found that mothers of daughters intervened more quickly than mothers of sons when they perceived their child to be at risk of injury during outdoor activity. This could lead to a belief that girls are at greater risk of injury than boys.

Gender

-Women are often overlooked and unrecognized when people think about athletics. -A common stereotype of female athletes is that they are not particularly feminine. -More than half of American college and university teams use names, logos, or mascots that reference women's teams differently than men's teams (i.e., use of "Lady").

A review of television coverage of NCAA Final Four basketball games reveals that

57% of comments about male athletes focuses on their physicality and athleticism, whereas only 18% of comments about female athletes focused on such attributes

Stone, Harrison, & Mottley (2012) gave a verbal reasoning test to both Black and White student-athletes

Both Black and White participants in the neutral identity condition performed equally well on difficult test questions (40% for Blacks, 44% for Whites), but when reminded of their athlete identity prior to taking the test, Black participants scored 22% correct, compared to 42% for White participants.

Equal Status Contact

Getting to spend time with and get to know someone on an individual basis reduces people's tendency to rely on stereotypes about that person. -People who have contact with those from different backgrounds tend to show lower levels of prejudice. -Athletic trainers who have a lesbian, gay, or bisexual friend hold more positive attitudes toward LGB athletes, as do those who are aware of LGB athletes on the teams they work with (Ensign, Yiamouyiannis, White, & Ridpath, 2011). -Equal status contact may help people understand and empathize with what another person is going through. People who can put themselves in someone else's shoes, and understand what it would feel like to be the victim of discrimination, are better able to overcome prejudice.

Stereotype Threat and the "Dumb Jock" Stereotype -Dee (2014) asked both student-athletes and non-student-athletes to complete a standardized GRE-type test

Half of the students were primed about their athlete identity, whereas the other half were asked questions about dormitory conditions. Student-athletes who were reminded of their athlete identity scored about 12% lower on the test compared to non-athletes

Research in Action: Does Race Impact Referees' Calls?

NFL players were rated as more arrogant if they celebrated after scoring a touchdown, regardless of race. However, White players were seen as equally deserving of a bonus regardless of whether they had celebrated the touchdown, whereas Black players were seen as much more deserving of a bound of they had not celebrated then if they had.

Consequences of Athlete Stereotypes

Negative Self-Evaluations, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Stereotype Threat

Stereotype Threat

People can experience an apprehension that they may behave in a manner that confirms existing cultural stereotypes, and this apprehension interferes with their ability to perform well. -Stone, Lynch, Sjomeling, & Darley (1999) studied stereotype threat by asking both Black and White male athletes to participate in a golf putting task. Both races performed well in a control condition, but when told that the task was a test of "sports intelligence", Blacks performed more poorly than Whites. When told that the task was a test of "natural athletic ability", Whites performed more poorly than Blacks. -Simply reminding female athletes that women are lower in athletic speed and power leads to worse performance at a soccer dribbling task (Heidrich & Chiviacowsky, 2015). -Women perform worse on athletic tasks when they are described as testing gender differences, even if the nature of such differences isn't specified (Hively & El-Alayli, 2014). -Gender-related stereotypes can also effect men. Males golfers who complete a putting task after being told that research show women tend to do better at putting than men perform worse than those who are simply told this task measure individual differences in golf putting performance.

Strategies for Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination in Sport Settings

Presence of Role Models, Equal Status Contact, Pursuit of Common Goals, Sanction by Authority

Factors Contributing to Stereotypes and Prejudice

Social Learning Theory, Social Identity Theory, Cognitive Bias

The media reinforces racial stereotypes and well as gender stereotypes

Television coverage of the Olympics tends to show sports in which Whites excel during prime-time hours, whereas sports in which Asians excel (e.g., badminton, table tennis) are not aired during prime-time, reinforcing the view that Asians are not very athletic compared to Whites

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The tendency to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies our own beliefs. -Morrongiello & Dawber (2000) found that mothers of daughters intervened more quickly than mothers of sons when they perceived their child to be at risk of injury during outdoor activity. This could lead to a belief that girls are at greater risk of injury than boys.

Discrimination

behavior directed against persons solely because of their membership in a particular group.

Rada & Wulfemeyer (2005) found that

coverage of college football and basketball games tends to portray Black athletes as "physical specimens" who are relying on their natural ability to perform well, whereas Whites tend to be described as smart and hard working.

Prejudice

hostile or negative feelings about people based on their membership in a certain group.

Stereotypes

incomplete and overgeneralized beliefs a person holds towards members of a particular group.

-Jones & Greer (2012) found that during television coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics snowboarding competitions

males were more likely to be shown from a lower angle (making them appear strong and powerful) and females from a higher angle (making a person appear vulnerable and powerless). Females were also twice as likely to have the camera focus on their face, and four times more likely to be shown interacting with someone, such as a coach or significant other.

discrimination can be based on

race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation

Eagleman (2015) found that coverage of the 2012 summer Olympics used

technical language when describing the men's gymnastics team events, but almost child-like simplifications when describing the women's events, despite the fact that the U.S. women's team won the gold medal in the team event as well as a gold medal in the individual all-around, whereas the men's team didn't medal and an American won a bronze in the individual all-around.