ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT JOURNAL, 1985, 2, 180-186

Sport and Self-Concept

The SIRLS Database
University of Waterloo
The following annotated bibliography covers the subject area of sport and self-concept.
The key word terms used to retrieve these citations were sport and (self or self-concept
or self-actualization or self-esteem or self-confidence or identity). The bibliography
is a selection of references published after 1977 and does not represent the total holdings
of the SIRLS database in this subject area.

Calhoun, Dan
1981 Spom. Culture and Personality. West Point, NY: Leisure Press. 319 pp.
Considers sport as a major social institution and examines how sport influences the culture
and the peopJe in society. Begins with an examination of the athletic revolution which
developed in the mid-60s and radically changed sport. Reviews the history of sport and its
cross-cuituraJ variations and explores its role in social organizations and social psychology.
Included are discussions on sport and counterculture, puritanism, the anthropology of games,
social mobility, socialization, enculturation, violence, sell-actualization, and spectators.

Feltz, Deborah L.
1984 Self-Efficacy as a Cognitive Mediator of Athletic Performance. (35 refs.) In Straub, WUliam
F., and Williams, Jean M. (eds.). Cognitive Spon Psychology. Lansing, NY; Spun Science
Associates, pp. 191-198-
Reviews Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory which asserts that actual performance will
be predicted by the athlete's belief in personal competence when proper incentives and the
necessary skills are present. Discusses the four sources of information which infiuence self-
efficacy; performance actompli^unents, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emo-
tional arousal. Critically assesses Bandura's theory. SIRLS Document AF418

Fuchs, C. Zvi, and Zaichkowsky, Leonard D,

1983 Psychological Characteristics of Male and Female Bodybuilders: The Iceberg Profile.
(11 refs.) Journal of Sport Behavior 6{3):136-145.
Investigates the psychological characteristics of male and female bodybuilders. Uses ques-
tionnaire data (N = 31) and reports that championship caliber bodybuilders demonstrate
a positive mental profile that resembles champion runners, wrestlers, and oarsmen. Sug-
gests that they also have similar trait characteristics to the general population and that males
and females have similar personality characteristics, SIRLS Document AE674

Hall, M. Ann
1980 Sport, Sex Roles and Sex Identity, (86 refs.) North American Society for the Sociology of
Sport, First Annual Meeting, Denver, (October 16-19, 1980) Unpublished. 35 pp.
Examines the conflia between femininity and sport from a sex role and sex identity perspective.
Traces the origin of the feminine inuige in sport. Defines sex roles and sex identity and

1S0
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 181

reviews sex conflict and attitudes toward the female sex role. Reviews sex-identity research
examining links between feminine and masculine characteristics and the female athlete role,
discusses the viability of sex role research, specifically the problems of terminology and
reification. Argues that research efforts focused on the interrelationships between sex roles
and sex identity are in danger of perpetuating rather than correcting the stereotypes associated
with female athleticism, SIRLS Document AB705
Hendry, L,B-
1978 Social Psychology of Physical Activity: The Body, Social Interaction and Meaning—A
Possible Conceptual Framework. In Landry, Femand, and Orban, William A.R, (eds,).
Physical Activity and Human Wetl-Being. Papers Presented at the International Congress
of Physical Activity Sciences. Quebec City, (July II-I6, 1976) Miami, FL: Symposia
Specialists, pp. 583-604,
Explores the changing face of social psychology which is concerning itself with a closer
focus on situationa! considerations, contextual perceptions, and constraints. Discusses social
psychology as an important linking area between the micro- and macro-kveis in studying
physical activity and sports, drawing on some of the author's personal research to offer concrete
illustrations. Suggests a focus of attention toward the body, social identity and symbolic
meaning as a way of enriching and widening general academic interest in the study of physical
activity, SIRLS Document HO494
Ho. Linda, and Walker, Jon E.
1982 Female AthJetes and Nonathletes: Similarities and Differences in Self Perception. (28 refs,)
Journal of Sport Behavior 5(t):12-27,
Analyzes three broad issues related to the participation of women and girls in athletic ac-
tivities; (a) the self-perceptions of femininity and body image among female athletes and
nonathletes, (b) the personality trait differences between female athletes and nonaihletes,
and (c) the personality differences between female individual and team sport participants.
A sample of 40 athletes and 40 nonathleies is used, and differences between female athletes
and nonathletes were found on four of six personality variables: self-confidence, achieve-
ment, dominance, and aggression. SIRLS Document AD277
Hopper, Chris A.
1984 Socialization of Wheelchair Athletes, (9 tefs.) Olympic Scientific Congress. Eugene, OR,
(July 19-26, 1984) Unpublished. 13 pp.
Uses an analysis of selected demographic variables and estimates of socialization into sport
to explain four variables representing socialization via sport. Includes measures of sport
role socialization, financial outlay, and personal commitment (independent variables) as wel!
as measures of self-acceptance, educational aspiration, athletic aspiration, and occupational
aspirations (dependent variables). The relationship between the independent variables and
each dependent variable provides information on the life experiences of wheelchair athletes.
For athletic aspiration and educational aspiration, age explains the greatest amount of variance.
There exists an inverse relationship between self-esieem and personal commitment, SIRLS
Document AF451
Howe, Bruce L., and Dufficy, Anthony J.
1978 Interscholastic Competition, Self-Concept and Fitness of Grade 7 Boys, (27 refs,) Common-
wealth Conference on Sport, Physical Education and Recreation. Sixth. Proceedings. Ed-
monton; University of Alberta, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. (July 3!-August
2, 1978) 9 pp.
Examines the effects of interscholastic track and field competition on the physical fitness
and se)f-concept of grade 7 boys. Tested 30 boys from three schools iti British Columbia,
using strength and endurance tests and Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Analysis
of covariance showed significant differences between the control group and the sample for
both fitness and self-concept. SIRLS Document AA726
182 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Joesting, Joan
1981 Comparison of Students Who Exercise With Those Who Do Not. (2 refs.) Perceptual and
Motor Skills 53(2):426.
Examines community college students who participate in five or more hours of physical
activity per week with students who do noi participate in any regular physical activity. Students
(n = 66) completed the body cathexis and self-cathexis questionnaires. Results indicated
that people who participate in regular physical activity have a better view of their bodies
as well as a higher self-concept. SIRLS Document AD091

Kleiber, Douglas A.
1980 The Meaning of Power in Sport, (16 refs.) International Journal of Sport Psychology
11(!):34^1.
Attempts to extend the perspectives on power provided by existential psychologist Rollo
May to the conceptualization of motivation and social interaction in sport. Discusses varia-
tions of power objectives which are either constructive or destructive to human growth. SIRLS
Document ABI85

Kretchmar, R. Scott
1982 Distancing: An Essay on Abstract Thinking in Sport Performances. (9 refs.). Journal of
the Philosophy of Sport 9:6-18.
Discusses the notion that athletes commonly achieve a uniquely human distance from their
sports environments by reason of the abstract thinking engaged in by these performers dur-
ing play. Shows that such distancing is dependent neither on acts of reflection nor upon
verbal manipulations. Describes the consciousness of abstraction as it is lived during per-
formance. SIRLS Document AE320

Loy, John W.
1981 An Emerging Theory of Sport Spectatorship: Imphcations for the Olympic Games. (55 refs.)
In Segrave, Jeffrey, and Chu, Donald (eds.). Olympism. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics,
pp. 262-294.
Develops a conceptual framework for the theoretical consideration of sport spectatorship
and fan enthusiasm for sport. Examines spon as a model of social order, the ritual power
of sport, self-construction in mass society, and a conflict-enculturation model of game in-
volvement. Applies the model to the Olympic games and demonstrates how sport spectator-
ship is related to the collective search for identity. Concludes that perhaps the only form
of recourse for individuals to maintain self-esteem is to continue to celebrate sport heroes
as fellow members of society for their achievements. SIRLS Document AB057

Marsh, Peter
1982 Social Order on the British Soccer Terraces. (12 refs.) International Social Science Journal
34(2):247-256.
Investigates the social orijei that exists among British soccer fans. Argues that Ilie violence
linked with their behavior is largely misconstrued and that the soccer terraces in fact serve
as a convenient arena for the ritualized expression of aggression and frustration and the
establishment of social identity and social value. Suggests that while violence does OCCUT
from time to time, the typical pattern is one of symbolic substitutes for injurious action which
leads to an illusion of violence. SIRLS Document AE465

Mormino, Gary
1982 The Playing Fields of St. Louis: Italian Immigrants and Sports. I925-194I, (77 refs.)
Journal of Sport History 9(2):5-19.
Examines the effect of urbanization on two generations of Italian-Americans between the
1920s and World War II. Contends that sport played a galvanic role in the acculturation
of Italian-American youth, and that athletic votutitary associations became major factors
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 183

in the evolution of the neighborhood in the 1920s and 1930s. Suggests that the neighborhood
athletic federation provided a powerful symbol of ethnic group identity. SIRLS Document
AD6J5
Pascuzzi, Deborah Lou
1981 Young Children's Perceptions of Success and Failure. (12 refs.) PhD thesis. University of
Illinois. Microform Publications Order No. PSY 1047f. 49 pp.
Endeavors to establish whether differences in success-failure perception do exist between
younger children and older children. Hypothesizes that school-age children perceive suc-
cess and failure according to their finishing place among others in a race while preschool
children do not. Subjects were 88 preschool children and 94 school-age children. The children
were tested on their self-concept of running ability, performance expectancy, and sex typ-
ing of running races. Subjects were involved in three running races and then posttest measures
were obtained on affect, self-concept, and running ability, and expectancy and persistence.
Found gender differences in self-concept of running ability and expectancy prior to run-
ning. The results revealed partial suppon for the hypothesis, Ai! of the school-age children
and the preschool boys perceived success and failure according to place in the race but the
preschool girls did not. SIRLS Documeni AEI87
Patrick, George D.
1984 Comparison of Novice and Veteran Wheelchair Athletes' Self-Concept and Acceplance of
Disability, (9 refs.) Rehabilitaiion Counseling Bulletin 27(3):I86-188.
Describes the novice wheelchair athletes' acceptance of disability and self-concept and com-
pares these measures to those of veteran wheelchair athletes. The difference between the
novice and veteran groups on the acceplance of disability score was found to be significant.
The data supported the assertion that those with continued experience in athletics accept
their disability better. The groups differed on only two out of 14 measures of self-concept,
SIRLS Document AF083

Reynolds, Michael J,
1981 The Effects of Sports Retirement on the Joh Satisfaction of the Former Football Player.
(40 refs.) In Greendorfer, Susan L., and Yiannakis, Andrew (eds.). Sociology of Sport:
Diverse Perspectives. Proceedings of the Firsl Annual North American Society for the Sociology
of Sport Conference. Denver. (Oa. 16-19, 1980) West Point, NY. Leisure Press, pp. 127-137.
The case of athletic retirement is seen as being more closely linked to the concept of midlife
career change than to the process of old-age retirement. This concepl focuses attention on
role transfer, the impact of various social systems, and the need for consistency during
resocialization. Surveyed 2,675 former NFL players to predict the former athletes' joh satisfac-
tion as influenced by self-esteem, present occupation, and expectations oi significam oihers.
Found that sports related variables have little effect on the proposed predictive model. SIRl^
Documeni AB70I

Roberts, Glyn C.
1978 Children's Assignment of Responsibility for Winning and Losing. (39 refs,) In Smoll,
Frank L., and Stnith, Ronald E. (eds,) Psychological Perspectives in Youlh Sports.
Washington, DC: Hemisphere Publ. pp. 145-171.
Examines self-serving (to maintain self-esteem) and information-processing strategies (ef-
fecl of prior experience on present outcome) in causal attribution. Uses two separate studies,
the first of which collected data from 202 Little League baseball players. Results support
the notion that players adopt self-serving strategies when causally attributing outcome to
themselves, bui adopt an infonnation-processing approach when attributing outcome to the
team. The second study employed a novel team activity, with controlled previous success
and failure experience. A total of 41 boys participated and the results only weakly support
Ihe information-processing strategy when attributing cause to outcome but suppon the self-
serving position for both team and self-causal attribution. SIRLS Documeni RO397
184 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rohrbaugh, Joanna Bunker

1979 Women and Sports. In Rohrbaugh, Joanna Bunker (ed.). Women: Psychology's Puule.
New York: Basic Books, pp. 369-382.
Examines the personal experiences of women in sports in relation to baw they view themselves,
how they are viewed by others, and the emotional consequences of competitive participa-
tion. Questions the traditional definition of sex roles and suggests that sport participation
can help the goals of the feminist movement. SIRLS Document AA828

Sander, Richard L.
1981 Coaching Style and the Athlete's Self-Concept. The Alhletic Journal 61(9):46, 66.
Investigates how the coach's role and the effect of coaching style on an athlete's self-concept
can ensure the best possible mental attitude for each player, for every game over a long
season. Suggests that to accomplish this goal, each athlete must have a high degree of self-
esteem or self-concept. Means by which the coach can improve the athletes' self-confidence
are discussed. Compares negative and positive reinforcement styles by examining high school
coaches and high school basketball players, using the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Results
showed significant improvement in players' self-concept when they received positive rein-
forcement as opposed to negative reinforcement, SIRLS Document ADIOO

Scanlan, Tara K., and Passer, Michael W.

1981 Determinants of Competitive Performance Expectancies of Young Male Athletes. (44 refs.)
Journa! of Personality 49(l):60-74,
Identifies specific determinants of personal expectancies by examining specific intrapersonal
and situational factors infiuencing players' pregame personal and team performance expec-
tancies. Also investigates the effects of winning and losing a competitive game on players'
postgame team expectancies involving a hypothetical rematch with the identical opponent.
Subjects were 11- 12-year-old boys (n = 205). Pregame findings revealed that the interper-
sonai factors of ability and self-esteem were related to personal performance expectancies
while competitive trait anxiety was not. The situational factors of past win/loss record and
prior game win or loss against the same opponent influence team performance expectan-
cies. SIRLS Document AC293

Shewchuk, Richard Michael

1983 Self Concept and Physical Performance of Preadolescent Children: A Causal Analysis.
(105 refs.) PhD diesis. University of Oregon. Microform Publications Order No. PSY1098f.
125 pp.
Examines the causal influence of preadolescents' evaluative self-perceptions on performance
in a variety of sport skills. Hypothesizes that anxiety, as a corollary of low self-esteem,
exerts a negative infiuence on performance and the subjective evaluation, and that actual
performance affects subjective evaluation. Data were obtained from 9- and 10-year-old boys
and girls who participated in a summer sports program. Results indicate gender-specific
causal mechanisms. Among girls it was shown that the self-concept construct causally im-
pacted both physical performance and subjective evaluation and that anxiety as well as ac-
tual performance outcomes influenced subjective evaluation. For boys anxiety had a causal
influence on performance, and physical performance influenced subjective evaluation. SIRLS
Document AF136

Smith, Ronald E., Zane, Nolan W.S., SmoU, Erank L., and Coppel, David B.
1983 Behavioral AssessmenI in Youth Sports: Coaching Behaviors and Children's Attitudes.
(23 refs.) Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 15(3):2O8-2I4.
Studied coaching behaviors during youth basketball games using naturalistic observation
and coding. Data were obtained on 31 coaches using an adaptation of the Coachitig Behavior
Assessment system. Relative frequencies and rates at which specific eoaching behaviors oc-
ANNOTATED BrBLIOGRAPHY 185

curred were related to children's postseason evaluative responses to the sport, to their coach,
and to their teammates. Found that the rdationship between coaching behaviors and the various
player attitudes were highly specific in nature. Coaching behaviors accounted for about half
of the variance in postseason attitudes toward the coach and the sport, but for significantly
less variance in measures of team solidarity and self-esteem. Technical instruction categories
were the strongest predictors of players' attitudes. SIRLS Document AF240

Sonstroem, Robert J,
1982 Exercise and Self-esteem: Reconimendations for Expository Research. (70 refs,) Quest
33(2);124-139,
Presents specific recommendations for improving research that investigates (he relationship
between exercise and self-esteem. Self-esteem is considered as a multidimensional variable,
which should include more molecular aspects of self-concept. Selected research is reviewed
which supports and illustrates this concept. Self-esteem theory, static relationships, and
dynamic relationships are discussed. The literature indicates that those who receive positive
feedback from a significant other significantly increase their self-esteem on physical items
specific to the physical activity. SIRLS Document AD213

Staniford, David J.
J978 Play cwdPhysical Activiry in Early ChildhoodSocialiiXiHon. (93 refs,) Vanier City, Ontario:
CAHPER Sociology of Sport Monograph Series. 93 p.
Discusses early childhood physical, social, and emotional development. The socialization
process of young children is examined in relation to cooperation, competition, and physical
activity. Theories of children's play are examined with their implications for physical educa-
tion. Identifies and discusses the primarj' agenls of sociaJization for children and includes
a discussion on self-concept. Movement experiences for young children are examined in
relation to exploration, skill acquisition, se(f-discovery, development, and games, SIRLS
Document SIl^

Tucker, Larry A,
1984 Trait Psychology and Performance, A Credulous Viewpoint, (38 refs.) Journal of Human
Movement Studies 10(l):53-62,
Hypothesized that extraverted, stable subjects with favorable self- and body concepts would
display the most strength in a weight training program, Subjecls were 112 male coJIege students
enrolled in a weight training program. Data were collected from completed Tennessee Self-
Concept Scales, Body Cathexis Scales, and Eysenck Personality Inventories. Assessed the
associations between the psychological variables and the initial strength and strength change
scores. Results supported the hypothesis. Concluded that performance in weight training
programs can be explained in pan by measures of extraversioi], neuroticism, body cathexis,
and self-concept. SIRLS Document AF243

Wheeler, Daniel A,
19Si The Self-Concept of Parcicipanls in Kayaking, Skydiving and Hang Gliding. 0\ refs,)
M.A. thesis. Brigham Young University. Microform Publications Order No, PSY 1053f,
64 pp.
Analyzes sejf-concept among people who participate in selected high risk sports—hang gliding,
skydiving, and kayaking. Data were collected from completed Tennessee Self-Concept Scales,
Concludes that participants in high risk sports do have a significantly bener self-concept
in the areas of total positive concept, self-satisfaction, moral ethical concept, feelings of
worth and adequacy, identity, confidence, and personality integration as compared to norms.
Contends that subjects withdrew from normal social functioning and distorted reality. The
three groups were similar in self-concept levels and were significantly different in self-concept
in comparison to the norms on 10 of 29 scales. SIRLS Document AEI92
186 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Young, Mary L., and Cohen, Dorothy A.

1979 Self-Concept and Injuries Among Female College Tournament Basketball Players, (24 refs,)
American Corrective Therapy Journal 33i5):l39-l4-2.
Examines the concept that psychological factors are a major cause of accidents and illness.
Measures the self-concept of 130 female basketball players with the Tennessee Self-Concept
Scale, Finds no significant difference between injured and noninjured players on any self-
concept score. SIRLS Documeni AB125

Young, Mary L.
1981 Comparison of Self-Concepts of Women High School and College Tournament Basketball
Players, (21 refs.) Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 52(2);286-290.
Investigates the self-concept of two specific groups of females (high school and college basket-
ball players) and compares these groups with each other and with the norm group. Data
were collected from 173 athletes using the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Found significant
differences between the high school players and the norm groups in four of the TSCS subscales
and on three subscales for the college players and the norm group. The greatest number
of significant differences occurred between the high school and college players. SIRLS Docu-
ment AFO92

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a standard feature in each issue of the Sociology of Sport

Journal. The bibliography is generated through SIRLS (a computerized information retrieval system
for the social sciences of sport and leisure) and supplied to the SSJ as a special service. The topic
tor each issue is selected by the editor with advice from editorial board members. SIRLS is an on-
line, annotated, bibliographical database of over 13,000 citations which provides access to journal
articles, books, theses, conference proceedings, and unpublished papers in the social sciences of sport
and leisure. Included are the political, economical, historical, and philosophical aspects of sport, physical
activity, play, games, and dance. SIRLS user services are diversified and can be applied to a variety
of individual or university needs. For farther information, contact:

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