Two Ways Related to Performance in Elite Sport: The Path of Self-Confidence and Competitive Anxiety and the Path of Group Cohesion and Group Goal-Clarity
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online June, 2002
Two Ways Related to Performance in Elite Sport: The Path of Self-Confidence and Competitive Anxiety and the Path of Group Cohesion and Group Goal-Clarity
A model tested among 136 Norwegian Olympic-level athletes yielded two paths related to performance. The first path indicated that self-confidence, modeled as an antecedent of competitive anxiety, is negatively correlated with anxiety. Competitive anxiety in turn is negatively correlated with performance. The second path indicated that group cohesion is positively correlated with group goal-clarity, which in turn is positively correlated with performance. Competitive anxiety mediates the relation between self-confidence and performance, whereas group goal-clarity mediates the relation between group cohesion and performance. Results from multiple regression analyses supported the model in the total sample and among individual sport athletes organized in training groups (n = 100). Among team sport athletes (n 36), personality and group measures are more strongly intercorrelated than among individual sport athletes, and the relation with performance is more complex for the former group. The interaction of self-confidence and competitive anxiety is related to performance among team sport athletes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BanduraA. (1977) Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.
2.
BarlowD. H. (1988) Anxiety and itr disorders: the narture and treatment of anxiety and panic. New York: Guilfotd.
3.
BarlowD. H. (1991) Disorders of emotion. Psychological Inquiry, 2, 58–71.
4.
BeckA. T.EmeryG. (1985) Anxiety disorders and phobias: a cognitive perspective. New YorkBasic Books.
5.
BollenK. (1989) Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
6.
BrawleyL. R.CarronA. V.WidmeyerW. N. (1987) Assessing the cohesion of teams: validity of the Group Environment Questionnaire. Journal of sport Psychology, 9, 275–294.
7.
CarrollS. J. (1986) Management by objectives: three decades of research and experience. In RynesS. L.MilkovichG. T. (Eds.), Current issues in human resource management. Plano, TX: Business Publications. Pp. 295–312.
8.
CarronA. V. (1982) Cohesiveness in sport groups: interpretations and considerations. Journal of sport Psychology, 4, 123–128.
9.
CarronA. V.BallJ. R. (1977) Cause-effect characteristics of cohesiveness and participation motivation in intercollegiate hockey. International Review ofsport Sociology, 12, 49–60.
10.
CarronA. V.WidmeyerW. N.BrawleyL. R. (1985) The development of an instrument to assess cohesion in sport teams: the Group Environment Questionnaire. Journal of Sport Psychology, 7, 244–266.
11.
CartwrightD. (1968) The nature of group cohesiveness. In CartwrightD.ZanderA. (Eds.), Group dynamics: research and theory. New York: Harper & Row. P 91–109.
12.
ChaplinW. F. (1991) The next generation of moderator research in personality psychology. Journal of Personality, 59, 143–178.
13.
ChorpitaB. F.BarlowD. H. (1998) The development of anxiety: the role of control in the early environment. Psychological Bullwtin, 124, 3–21.
14.
CohenJ.CohenP. (1983) Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
15.
EasterbrookJ. A. (1959) The effect of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior. Psychological Review, 66, 183–201.
16.
FenzW. D. (1975) Coping mechanisms and performance under stress. In LandersD. M. (Ed.), Psychology of sport and motor behavior–2. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Univer. Pp. 3–24.
17.
FenzW. D.EpsteinS. (1967) Changes in gradients of skin conductance, heart rate and respiration rate is a function of experiencePsychosomatic Medicine, 29, 33–51.
18.
FenzW. D.JonesC. B. (1972) Individual differences in physiological arousal and performance in sport parachutists. Psychosomatic Medicine, 34, 1–8.
19.
FestingerL.SchachterS.BackK. (1950) Social pressures in informal groups: a study of a housing project. New York: Harper.
20.
FiedlerF. E. (1967) A theory of leadership effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.
21.
FittsW. H. (1965) Tennessee Self-concept Scale. Nashville, TN: Counselor Recordings and Tests.
22.
GrayJ. A. (1982) The neuropsychology of anxiety. New York: Oxford Univer. Press.
23.
GrayJ. A.McCnaughtonN. (1996) The neuropsychology of anxiety: a reprise. In HopeD. A. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: perspectives on anxiety, panic, and fear. Vol. 43. Lincoln, NE: Univer. of Nebraska Press, Pp. 61–134.
24.
HagstromW. O.SelvinH. C. (1965) The dimensions of cohesiveness in small groups. Sociometry, 28, 30–43.
25.
HalvarhiH. (1997) Moderator effects of age on the relation between achievement motives and performance. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 303–318.
26.
HalvariH.GjesmeT. (1995) Trait and state anxiety before and after competitive performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81, 1059–1074.
27.
HalvariH.KjørmoO. (1999) A structural model of achievement motives, performance approach and avoidance goals, and performance among Norwegian Olympic athletes. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 89, 997–1022.
28.
HemphillJ. K. (1967) Group dimensions: a manual for their measurement. Columbus, OH: Bureau of Business Research.
29.
HighlenP. S.BennettB. B. (1983) Elite divers and wrestlers: a comparison between open- and closed-skill athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology, 5, 390–409.
KjørmoO. (1970) Fotballaget som sosialr system [The soccer-team as a social system. Unpublished dissertation at the Univer. of Oslo.
32.
KjørmoO. (1997a) Måling av gruppedimensjoner [Measurement of group dimensions: theoretical assumptions and methodological considerations]Oslo: The Norwegian Univer. of Sport and Physical Education.
33.
KjørmoO. (1997b) Norske toppidrettsutovere og rammebetingelser i den norske modellen for toppidrett [Norwegian top level athletes and their training conditions in the Norwegian model for elite sport]. Oslo: The Norwegian Univer. of Sport and Physical Activity.
34.
KleinM.ChristlansenC. (1969) Group composition, group structure and group effectiveness in basketball teams. In LoyJ.KenyonG. (Eds.), Sport, culture, and society. London: Macmillan. Pp. 397–408.
35.
KobasaS. C. (1979) Stressful life events, personality and health: an inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1–11.
36.
KondrasukJ. N. (1981) Studies in MBO effectiveness. Academy of Management Review, 6, 419–430.
37.
LanL.GillD. L. (1984) The relationships among self-efficacy, stress responses, and a cognitive feedback manipulation. Journal of Sport Psychology, 6, 227–238.
38.
LandersD. M.WilkinsonM. O.HatfieldB. D.BarberH. (1982) Causality and the cohesion-performance relationship. Journal of Sport Psychology, 4, 170–183.
39.
LazarusR. S. (1966) Behaviour reversal vs. non-directive therapy vs. advice in effective behaviour change. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 4, 209–212.
40.
LazarusR. S.AverillJ. R.OptionE. M.Jr. (1970) Towards a cognitive theory of emotion. In ArnoldM. (Ed.), Feelings and emotion. New York: Academic Press. Pp. 207–229.
41.
LenkH. (1969) Top performance despite internal conflict: an antithesis to a functionalistic proposition. In LoyJ.Jr.KenyonG. (Eds.), Sport, culture and society. Toronto: Macmillan. Pp. 393–397.
42.
LockeF. A.LathamG. P. (1990) A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
43.
MandlerG. (1972) Helplessness: theory and research in anxiety. In SpielbergerC. D. (Ed.) Anxiety: current trends in theory and research. Vol. 1. New York: Academic Press. Pp. 359–374.
44.
MartensR.VealeyR. S.BurtonD. (1990) Competitive anxiety in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
45.
McCgrathJ. (1962) The influence of positive interpersonal relations on adjustment and effectiveness in rifle teams. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 65, 365–375.
46.
MuthenB.KaplanD. (1985) A comparison of some methodologies for the factor analysis of non-normal Likert variables. British journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 38, 171–189.
47.
NidefferR. M. (1976) The inner athlete. New York: Crowell.
48.
ReedsG. K. (1985) The relationship of personality and anxiety to performance among elite male and female gymnasts. Canadian Association of Health and Physical Education Record Journal, 51, 5–7.
49.
RotellaR. J.LernerJ. D. (1993) Respondin to competitive pressure. In SingerR. N.MurpheyM.TennantL. K. (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology. New York: Macmillan. Pp. 528–541.
50.
SandersonW. C.RapeeR. M.BarlowD. H. (1989) The influence of an illusion of control on panic attacks induced via the inhalation of 5.5% carbon dioxide enriched air. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46, 157–164.
51.
SilvaJ. M. (1984) Personality and sport performance: controversy and challenge. In SilvaJ. M.WeinbergR. S. (Eds.), Psychological foundations of sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Pp. 59–69.
52.
SmithG. (1968) Analysis of the concept of group cohesion in a simulated athletic setting. Unpublished master's thesis at the Univer. of Western Ontario, London, ON.
53.
StogdillR. M. (1963) Team achievement under high motivation. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Univer. (Research Monograph No. 113)
54.
StogdillR. M. (1972) Group productivity drive, and cohesiveness. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 8, 26–43.
55.
Vanden AuweeleY.De CuyperVan MeleV.RzewnickiR. (1993) Elite performance and personality: from description and prediction to diagnosis and intervention. In SingerR. N.MurpheyM.TennantL. K. (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology. New York: Macmillan. Pp. 257–289.
56.
Vander VeldenL. (1971) Relationships among members, team and situational variables and basketball team success: a social-psychological inquiry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer. of Wisconsin.
57.
WeinbergR. S.GouldD. (1995) Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
58.
WeinbergR. S.YukelsonD.JacksonA. (1980) Effect of public versus private efficacy expectations on competitive performance. Journal of Sport Psychology, 2, 340–349.
59.
WilliamsJ. M.HackerC. M. (1982) Causal relationships among cohesion. satisfaction, and performance in women's intercollegiate field hockey teams. Journal of sport Psychology, 4, 324–337.
60.
ZanderA. (1971) Motives and goals in groups. New York: Academic Press.
61.
ZanderA. (1975) Motivation and performance of sports groups. In LandersD. M. (Ed.), Psychology of sport and motor behavior: II. University Park. PA: Pennsylvania State Univer. Press. Pp. 25–29.
62.
ZanderA. (1979) The psychology of group processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 30, 417–451.
