The Psychological Benefits of Superstitious Rituals in Top Sport: A Study Among Top Sportspersons (original) (raw)
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The Psychological Benefits of Superstitious Rituals in Top Sport
2005
The current research addresses the psychological benefits of superstitious rituals in top sport, examining the circumstances under which top-class sportspersons are especially committed to enacting rituals prior to a game (ritual commitment). Consistent with the hypotheses, findings revealed that ritual commitment is greater when (a) uncertainty is high rather than low; and (b) importance of the game is high rather than low. Complementary analyses revealed that the state of psychological tension mediated both effect of importance and uncertainty on ritual commitment. Moreover, players with an external locus of control exhibited greater levels of ritual commitment than did players with an internal locus of control. The results are discussed in terms of the tension-regulation function of superstitious rituals in top sport.
The Psychological Benefits of Superstitious Rituals in Top Sport: A Study Among Top Sportspersons 1
The current research addresses the psychological benefits of superstitious rituals in top sport, examining the circumstances under which top-class sportspersons are especially committed to enacting rituals prior to a game (ritual commitment). Consistent with the hypotheses, findings revealed that ritual commitment is greater when (a) uncertainty is high rather than low; and (b) importance of the game is high rather than low. Complementary analyses revealed that the state of psychological tension mediated both effect of importance and uncertainty on ritual commitment. Moreover, players with an external locus of control exhibited greater levels of ritual commitment than did players with an internal locus of control. The results are discussed in terms of the tension-regulation function of superstitious rituals in top sport.
This study examined the effects of personality and situational differences on superstition behaviours in sports at three non-professional competition levels. The participants were 219 athletes (169 males, 50 females). We measured superstition by the number and kind of superstitious rituals (SRs), degree of superstitious feeling, and ritual commitment (RC). We used a within-group design that involved manipulating competition importance and uncertainty using scenarios to examine changes in pre-game psychological tension and RC. We found that sport superstition is positively correlated with athletic identity and pre-game psychological tension. Level of competition affects RC. RC is greater when the uncertainty and importance of the game are greater. Moreover, within-variable mediation analysis revealed that state of psychological tension mediated the effect of both uncertainty and importance on RC. Collectively, the results of the present investigation offer empirical support for Neil’...
Journal of sport behavior, 2011
This study examined the effects of personality and situational differences on superstition behaviours in sports at three non-professional competition levels. The participants were 219 athletes (169 males, 50 females). We measured superstition by the number and kind of superstitious rituals (SRs), degree of superstitious feeling, and ritual commitment (RC). We used a within-group design that involved manipulating competition importance and uncertainty using scenarios to examine changes in pre-game psychological tension and RC. We found that sport superstition is positively correlated with athletic identity and pre-game psychological tension. Level of competition affects RC. RC is greater when the uncertainty and importance of the game are greater. Moreover, within-variable mediation analysis revealed that state of psychological tension mediated the effect of both uncertainty and importance on RC. Collectively, the results of the present investigation offer empirical support for Neil's (1980) hypothesis that sport superstition acts as a "psychologicalplacebo".
Superstitious Ritual Behavior in Sports: A Comparative Study among Various Athletes
Journal of Sports Research
The aim of the study was to assess the superstitious ritual behavior of the University level sports persons and to find out that male or female athlete who believes more in superstitions. Eighty-three (83) University level athletes (Male – 44 and Female – 39) of 18 to 25 years from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, India have been selected through purposive random sampling. The Superstitious Ritual Questionnaire (SRQ) framed by Flanagan (2013) has been used to assess the superstitious ritual behavior and its effectiveness on sports performance enhancement. In overall percentage 25.30% of male athletes and 20.48% of female athletes are of the opinion that sometimes superstitious ritual behavior is effective in sports performance enhancement. Statistical analysis does not reveal any significant relationship between superstitious ritual behavior (Male: Mean 108.48, SD 22.38; Female: Mean 109.03, SD 24.46) and its effectiveness (Male: Mean 3.23, SD 0.74; Female: Mean 2.80, SD 0.73...
On the importance of rituals in sport
Journal of Education, Health and Sport
In this short article, we took a look at the importance of rituals in sports. First we explained the concepts of religion, creed, superstitions, fallacies and rituals. Then we described superstitious thinking and religiosity in psychological terms and on this basis we referred to rituals in sport. We explained the meaning of rituals in sport based on our own professional experiences with athletes. This article is an introduction for conducting a pilot study.
International journal of sport and exercise psychology, 2017
Common unorthodox pre-game rituals (PGR) are prevalent in sports, especially soccer, in Ghana and other Sub-Saharan states, yet research literature on how to draw valuable insights from these superstitious rituals to optimize sport performance are sparse. This conceptualized article highlights the conceptual differences between PGR and preperformance routines based on scientific descriptions, empirical studies, and particular field observations. We then present the determinants and theoretical underpinnings of these behaviours. The manifestations of PGR in different forms during preparatory phases prior to competitive fixtures are also captured. The article concludes by throwing light on how sport psychology consultancy could tap into some of these unique ritualistic cultural practices by incorporating them as part of formalized pre-performance routines. Additionally, suggestions are made regarding possible future research using an intervention approach to empirically test the functions and efficacy of these localized practices.
Superstitious behavior and ritualistic practices among former athletes
2013
Superstitious and ritualistic behaviors in sport have been well documented (Brevers, Dan, Noel, & Nils, 2011a, 2011b; Buhrmann & Zaugg, 1983 Foster, Weigand, & Baines, 2006). Studies have identified several benefits athletes gain from these practices such as: reduction of "sport anxiety" (Jackson, Ashford, & Norsworthy, 2006), and reaching "peak peiformance" (Krane & Williams, 2010). Other research has studied the effects that personality antecedents, such as locus of control (LOC) and Athletic Identity (AI), might have on these practices (Griffith & Johnson, 2002). To date however, there has been little to no research done on whether former athletes would continue ritualistic or superstitious practices once out of organized sport. Accordingly, the present study evaluated the relationship between athletic career ritual/superstition (ACR/S) and post-athletic career ritual/ superstition (PACR/S); in addition to looking for any moderating variables using an adaptati...
Psychological consequences of superstitions in sport
2013
Superstitious thoughts or behaviours have been demonstrated to occur frequently and persistently among students and athletes. One major limitation in the superstition in sports literature is that researchers attempt to measure only negative superstitious beliefs; however, to date, little is known about types of superstitions, how superstitions are developed and maintained, their psychological functions and malfunctions, or their behavioural consequences. Study 1 demonstrates the widespread prevalence of superstitions within the present population of undergraduate student athletes in British and Ghanaian universities, and explores several specific superstitions that appear to be particularly common. There were significant main effects of gender and nationality on both positive and negative superstitious beliefs. British student athletes tended to endorse both
Superstitions Behavior and Decision Making in Collegiate Athletes: An Illogical Phenomenon
This study examined the superstitious behavior and decision making among individual, dual and team sport groups. To obtain required data, the investigators had selected Ninety (N = 90) male intercollege level athletes of 19 to 25 years of age to act as subjects. They were divided into three groups; Thirty (n1 = 30) Individual Sports, Thirty (n2 = 30) Dual Sports and Thirty (n3 = 30) Team Sports athletes of various games and sport. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the subjects. All the subjects, after having been informed about the objective and protocol of the study, gave their consent and volunteered to participate in this study. To measure the level of superstitions behaviors of the subjects, the superstitions beliefs and behaviour scale constructed by Buhramann et al. (2004) was administered and to measure the level of decision making by applying decision making questionnaire prepared by French et al. (1993). One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to find out the intra-group differences. To test the hypothesis, the level of significance was set at .05. The results revealed significant intra-group differences among individual, dual and team sports on the variable superstitious behavior and decision making. It is concluded that the individual sport group has low superstitious belief and better decision making level as compared to their counterpart dual and team sport.