Find out how exercising affects your emotional state and how you react to other people. The content of the article:
What is the reasons
Aggressiveness in sports today manifests itself very often and its manifestation can be seen if you look at the sports ground or stands. However, it should be recognized that sport is a kind of mechanism that can effectively curb the spread of aggression. For example, in the United States, many gangs disappear from the streets during basketball matches, and so they were played at a later time. In turn, according to psychologists, boxing, wrestling and partly football are socially acceptable ways of manifesting aggression. As you probably already understood, today we will look at all the pros and cons of aggression in sports.
What is aggression in sports?
To achieve the set sports goals, as a rule, very little time is allotted. It is quite understandable that the rivalry for the result has its own emotional color. Anger is often the main cause of the emotions that arise in the moment of competition. When anger is combined with disgust and contempt, hostility arises, which as a result provokes aggression.
Psychologists believe that visual contact, as well as close proximity of the opponent, play a huge role in interpersonal aggression. According to the generally accepted definition, aggression is a certain behavior or action aimed at causing harm or insult to another living creature. Considering the pros and cons of aggression in sports, four types of this behavior should be noted:
- Intentional aggression.
- Aggression as a type of behavior.
- Aggression directed at all living things.
- Aggression involving bodily or mental harm.
You must understand that aggression in any of its manifestations is an action. In relation to sports, this concept should be understood as the assertive behavior of athletes, but without the desire to cause physical harm to the opponent. Psychologists today distinguish between instrumental and hostile aggressiveness.
The second concept implies the pursuit of non-aggressive goals, but with the intention of causing harm. In turn, hostile aggressiveness presupposes the infliction of physical or moral injury. Based on these definitions, it is possible to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior of athletes.
According to social learning theory, aggressiveness should be viewed as behavior that arises from imitating other people. There is also a combined theory that suggests the manifestation of aggressive behavior through frustration, which contributes to an increase in the level of anger and excitement, which leads to the emergence of aggressive actions.
At the moment, scientists cannot accurately answer questions related to the strengthening of the aggressive tendency in sports. The main question in this case is the following - how do athletes' aggressive inclinations change as a result of the competitive process?
An example of the manifestation of instrumental aggression in sports should be considered, for example, a blow by a boxer to the head of an opponent, which often becomes the cause of injury and is quite serious. However, this action of the athlete is expected, because his main task is to win the fight, which can only be achieved with the help of aggressive actions.
Considering the pros and cons of aggression in sports, another example, again related to boxing, should be cited. In a situation where the opponent is pinned to the ropes in the corner of the ring, and the boxer deliberately hits him on the body and in the head, not wanting to stop the fight, then this behavior should be classified as hostile aggressiveness.
It should be recognized that athletes are more likely to show instrumental aggression. Let's say a wrestler deliberately squeezes an opponent's ribs to cause him discomfort and thereby win. Or here's an example from a game sport, namely basketball. When the opposing team is required to shoot free throws, the coach takes a “time-out” in an attempt to create heightened sense of anxiety in the shooting basketball player to miss.
Causes of aggression
Since today we are talking about all the pros and cons of aggression in sports, it is necessary to consider the reasons for this behavior of athletes. However, in this case, new questions arise, for example, why athletes can lose control over themselves, and is their aggressive behavior caused by the environment or is it innate? We have already mentioned in passing the theories of the manifestation of aggressiveness that currently exist in psychology. Now we will look at them in more detail, and this will help us determine the pros and cons of aggression in sports.
Instinct theory
This theory was born in 1986 and claims that it is common for humans to have innate instinctive aggression. This instinct will grow until it manifests itself in the actions of people. The manifestation of instinctive aggression is possible through a direct attack on another living creature or through catharsis. In the second situation, aggressive behavior manifests itself in the form of socially acceptable means, which should include sports.
According to this theory, it can be argued that sports, as well as physical education, are of great importance for our society, because they make it possible to show their aggressive instinct using socially acceptable methods. However, it is almost impossible to find evidence to support the truth of this theory. We will not find not only an innate aggressive instinct, but also confirmation of the concept of catharsis.
Disappointment theory
The theory of frustration (drive, frustration) tells us that aggressiveness is a way of manifesting frustration. Most often, it takes place in those cases when the task was not solved. For example, if a player is sure that his opponent has fouled on him, but the referee's whistle has not sounded, then the player may show aggression towards his “offender”, as he is disappointed.
It should be noted that now this theory has few supporters, since according to its postulates, disappointment always leads to the manifestation of aggression. In the course of numerous experiments, it has been proven that people are often able to overcome the state of frustration without showing aggression. However, admirers of the theory do not give up and are sure that aggression may not be pronounced. For example, combat sports can be an excellent means of displaying aggression due to frustration. Note that, by analogy with the previous theory, it is generally accepted that catharsis plays the main role in this case.
But we repeat that there is currently no evidence that there is catharsis in sports. There is no evidence to suggest that in contact sports, aggressive athletes have a decrease in their level of aggression due to sports.
Social learning theory
This theory explains the manifestation of aggression as a result of observing the behavior patterns of other people. The founder of the theory, Albert Bandura, provides an example as proof that children, who often observe the aggressive behavior of their parents, often repeat them.
Sports psychologists often turn to hockey in this situation. This sport is quite saturated with aggressive actions. So in 1988 psychologist Smith drew attention to the fact that young hockey players often repeat the actions of their idols. Thus, the theory of learning, which assumes that aggressive behavior occurs as a result of observation of other people, has a lot of scientifically substantiated evidence.
Note that the manifestation of aggression is possible in any sport, even where it is simply impossible at first glance. An example is figure skating, when an athlete, in an attempt to disturb the emotional state of a rival, can say something to her. It should be recognized that this theory can be considered scientifically grounded and clearly shows what influence authoritative people can produce on the manifestation and control of aggression.
Combined theory
This theory consists of the elements of the previous two and assumes that the state of frustration does not necessarily lead to the manifestation of aggression, but at the same time increases its likelihood, since the level of anger and arousal increases. But at the same time, aggressive behavior will manifest itself, it can only in those situations when social models of behavior give a signal about the expediency of this. Otherwise, aggressiveness will not find expression in practice.
For example, after an unsuccessful performance, an athlete is in a state of frustration and his level of arousal increases dramatically. The causes of this phenomenon are most often anger and resentment. However, aggressive actions can only be performed if the athlete knows that in this case they are appropriate. This theory has absorbed the most effective concepts and elements of the two theories.
It is worth recognizing that the conversation about all the pros and cons of aggression in sports can be very lengthy, because today we have considered only a small part of the available information. Aggressive behavior can manifest itself not only on the part of athletes, but also on the part of fans. All football fans are aware of the inappropriate behavior of British football fans. There are many such examples and they all require careful study.
MMA fighter Alexey Kunchenko on aggression in sports:
