Sport 1
Subdivisions of Sport Science
1. Biophysical 2. Psychosocial 3. Sociocultrual
Reasons why people learn about sport
1. Personal Development 2. Scholarly Study 3. Professional Practice
Work
A purposeful activity that may include physical or mental effort to perform a task, overcome an obstacle, or achieve a desired outcome. It is at the top of the pyramid because sport can take on work at the professional level. OFTEN INVOLVES COMPETITION
Sport Pyramid
A way to think and categorize sport; split into 4 sections: 1. play 2.games 3.sport 4.work
Youth Sport Athletes
Ages 4-13, parents encourage and use it as a tool to promote social behavior and fitness, usually participation based
Games
An aspect of play with greater structure and are competitive. Have clear participation goals, governed by rules, and result in prestige. Adding in standardized rules, leagues, regulations make games take on characteristics of sport. Games are braoder than sport. COMPETITION
Pursuit of Excellence
Athletes who are oriented toward producing the best physical performance possible,
Biophysical Domain: Sports medicine
Examines the preventation. care, and rehabilitation of injuries caused by participation in physical activity and sport. Reseach in sports medicine may also affect recommendations for training.
Participation Athletes
Athletes who value participation are motivated by intrinsic rewards such as fun and fitness
Play
Base of the pyramid because it is the physical activity of childhood. Encompasses exploration, self-expression, dreaming. Has no firm rules and can take place anywhere. OUTCOME IS UNIMPORTANT.
Ethnography
Based on observation, involves data collected by researchers who immerse themselves in an environment and keep recorded conversations and notes
Social Envrionment
Can change across the lifespan (Early on: family, neighborhood friends, Teens/College: peers, friends, significant others, Post-college: co-workers, partner, children GAME CHANGER: TECHNOLOGY (allows you to stay connected with people from earlier in your life)
High School Varsity Athletes
Choice to participate is usually made by the athlete and not the parent, some have a desire to pursue college scholarships, more competition
Geography, Age, Gender
Climate based sports are more popular in an area that suits them the best (winter sports, lake sports) As we age, traditional sports become more daunting and dangerous, there comes a point where an older body cannot do these sports While women have broken through in several areas of sport, some sports such as football have not had a large female presence (usually due to tradition, interest, and sometimes body structure)
Qualitative data
Collected through interviews and observations of individuals or groups or through analysis of societal characteristcs and trends.
Professional Athletes
Compete in sport for the extrinsic financial rewards offered to them such as salaries, prize money, or product endorsement, more pressure to perform, limited duration
Amateur Sports Act of the United States (1978)
Congress established the US Olympic Committee (USOC). The act outlined 12 purposes of the USOC. Half of the list addresses the issue of amateur sport participation.
Functionalist Theory Research Questions
Does sport participation have a positive impact on academic or career success? Does sport contribute to personal health and wellness? How does sport influence personal development?
Functionalist Theory
Emphasizes maintenance of the status quo and equilibrium, very useful in the past but does not help in identifying existing social issues or provide any hope of solutions Society is an organized system with interrelated parts, Helps maintain the status quo by teaching values, can look to how sport can/does contribute to society SPORT: Sports is a valuable social institution that helps build character and instill values.
Sociocultural Domain: Philosophy of sport
Examines the definition, value, and meaning of sport. Helps create coaching style.
Social Influences on Sport Participation
Family influence, internal moviation, sibling influence, environmental influences (facilities, climate, tradition), friends/peer participation, heroes/role models/professional athletes, EXPECTATIONS
Master Athletes
Focused on highest level of performance within their prescribed age group, competition is still intense
Hegemony theory
Focuses on dominance, which is the power that one individual or group has over others.
Sociocultural Domain
Focuses on physical activity from the perspectives of the sciences of history, philosophy, and sociology
Psychosocial Domain
Focuses on physical activity from the standpoint of the sciene of psychology
Biophysical Domain
Focuses on the physical activity from the viewpoint of the sciences of biomechanics, physiology, and medicine.
Sport as a reflection of society
Functionalist Theory and Conflict Theory
Critical THinking
Gather evidence and asses information
Figurational theories
Have been especially helpful in Europe in the long-term analyses of sporting subcultures and in understanding global expansion of sport (historical, Emphasizes the connections between people and their interdependence. Views change over time SPORT: Developments in sport are seen in the context of global processes
Critical Theories
Have been the most helpful in clarifying the challenges of making sport more accessible to people from all backgrounds and abilities Sport is MORE than simply a reflection of society and it takes an objective approach (challenges the status quo) Challenges the Conventional wisdom: "sport promotes a better life for everyone" SPORT: Sports must change to be fair to everyone, more democratic, and sensitive to diversity. Sport can help our outlook towards social problems
Interactionist Theory Research Questions
How do people derive meaning from sport experiences? What are the factors involved in the transition of athletes to retirement? What are the social mechanisms through which people become involved in niche sports?
Conflict Theory Research Questions
How do wealthy and/or powerful people use sport to expand their interests? How has a focus on profits changed sport? What is the relationship between sport and socioeconomic inequality in society?
Conflict Theories
Impressed upon us the influence of social class and the power structure within sport. These theories have pointed out conflict within sport and have often led to dramatic proposals for change. Society is a system of structure and relationships, Shaped by economic interests, sport promotes economic exploitation and capitalist expansion, (POWER STATUS MONEY) SPORT: Sport benefits the individuals and orgs in power to the detriment of the participants and working class
Sport
Institutionalized competitive activity that involves physical skill and specialized facilities or equipment and is conducted according to an accepted set of rules to determine a winner. INSTITUTIONALIZATION
College Varsity Athletes
Intense competition for spots on teams, scholarships, high level of competition
Psychosocial Domain: Pedagogy
Is the study of the art and sciene of teaching. Focuses on the teacher or coach who creates the learning environment and assists the leaning of sport skills
Historical Research
Looking at trends in sports over time, often used to compare trends in sport and trends in society
Intrinsic Motivation
Love of the game, self fulfillment, competitive drive, fitness
Extrinsic Motivation
Money, expectations of other, make friends (socialize)
feminist theory
NOT just a theory about women Understanding of gender and gender relations informs knowledge about social life Sports are inherently gendered activities Major constructs physicality, sexuality, the body SPORT: Females lack equal opportunities in sport, conflict between typical masculine and feminine traits
Critical Theory Weaknesses
No clear framework for defining resistance or transformation This approach is ALWAYS opposing the norm
Early Sport
Often used sport to prepare physically for war
Functionalist Theory Weaknesses
Overemphasized positive impact/outcomes of sport (burnout, injury, self confidence) Basic Assumption: all groups gain equal benefits from sport
Recreation through sport
Participating for recreation is the ultimate goal regardless of the level of skill or achievement, diversion from work, while high-performance sport athletes aim to defeat one another, participation athletes typically root for each other and help out whenever they can
High-Performance Athletes
People at any age who aspire to become professional athletes. Hopefully making a living doing so.
Sociocultural Domain: Sport History
The study of tradition and practices of physical activity and sport over time and within different countries. cultures. and civilizations
Social Class influence on sport
People who have high income/high status participate in sports such as golf, tennis, sailing and skiing, as they can travel and afford equipment Middle income groups focus on publicly accessible sport Low income groups tend to have little time for sport or recreation, due to their laborious demands at work.
Amatures
People who play a sport because they love the game rather than play it professionally. Participation is more important than the outcome, usually.
Quantifiable data
Producing facts and figures that can be counted and analyzed statistically
Trends in sport spectators
Professional and college football are the top sports in America for spectators, then baseball and basketball. Women like figure skating the most then football Over the last 5 years, viewership has plateaued and is beginning to decline due to economic circumstances
Sport Participation
Requires that we look closely at the characteristics of sport participants, their motivation, and the outside factors that influence their decisions
Culture
Set of beliefs, customs, values, characteristic of a group/society How is it learned? Formal (Historical/factual accounts), Informal (Observation of family members), Incidental (Become fan of your college trams), Technical ( Played sport as kid...became fan of the game)
Reasons why people spectate sport
Social aspect Performance Excitement Esteem/enjoyment Diversion
Interactionist theories
Social interaction/relationships are central Identity a sense of who you are and how connected to society Focus on how sport is experience by people SPORT: Sport organizations should be open and democratic, people chose to participate in various ways, quality of the experience is important
Why do people consume sport
Sociological factors (Geography, Culture, Social Environment) Fundamental Assumption: "Sport consumers are "rational beings"
Feminist Theory Weaknesses
Solely focused on gender as a catalyst for change/differences
Sport Consumption
Sport is Universal (Demographics, Pyschographics, Behavior) Not everyone consumes sports...but every type of person does 2 major classifications (participants and spectators)
Televised sport
Started in the 40s, limited broadcasts, booming growth as more people got tv sets, sport viewership continues to thrive,
Sociology
The study of a society, its institutions, and its relationships.
Psychosocial Domain: Sport psychology
The study of human behavior in sport, including enhancing performance and treating disorders that affect optimal performance.
Biophysical Domain: Exercise Physiology
The study of human systems to enhance strength, speed, and edurance in performance toward the Olympic ideal of higher, faster, and stronger.
Psychosocial Domain: Motor learning and behavior
The study of relatively permanent changes in motor behavior that result from pactice or experience. It focuses on how people learn to perform motor skills and patters effieciently and retain that ability even under pressure
Sociocultural Domain: Sport sociology
The study of sport and physical activity within the context of the social conditions and culture in which people live. Studying it helps you identify the role of sport in your society and world
Biophysical Domain: Biomechanics
The study of the structure and function of biological systems through application of principles of physicas to human motion to understand how the body uses gravity, inertia, blance, force, or motion to produce speed, power, or distance
Sport Spectators
There are more sport spectators because people have more time to leisure and more money to spend.
Why do people stop participating in sport
They no longer like it, no longer have the time, no desire/interest lazy
Interactionist Theory Weaknesse
Too heavily focused on relationships Ignores influence of power and social structures No clear vision of how sport and.or society should be organized( Some combine critical, feminist & interactionist theories)
Conflict Theory Weaknesses
Too-focused on economics Ignores critical social factors (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity_
High-Performance athletes
Train intensively, compete aggressively, and aspire to a professional career that brings extrinsic rewards such as money and fame.
Biophysical Domain: Nutrition
Understand how food and drink affect performance
Interviews
Use more in-depth questioning and can elicit unexpected answers from open-ended questions
Social theories
Used to compare the trends in sport with an overall social theory and thus allow conclusions about whether sport reflects the larger existing culture or acts as a change agent,
Societal analysis
Using social theories to examine life from a social point of view
Feminist Research Questions
What are the difference in the ways that male and female athletes are represented in the media In what ways have girls/women been excluded from sport participation How are sports involved in the production.extension of ideas about masculinity/feminity
Critical Theory Research Question
What are the priorities in awarding certain locations to host of global sporting events
Geography
Where we live....determines a lot (Nation, Region, State, City/Town)
Alumni
White-collar workers spend money on their college teams, follow their teams, and buy season tickets People who do not attend college have little affinity for college sports and focus instead on professional sports
Survey Research
With this method large quantities of data can be collected, analyzed for trends, and then generalized to the entire population if random sampling is used
Kinesiology
scientific study of human or non-human body movement