[tips] Psychological consequences of losing by sports teams?
Hi I wonder if anyone in Boston might be planning a study of the relationship between home teams losing and depression or other psychological consequences? Does it hurt more when it is on home ice/field/diamond? Or when the losing team was expected to win? Or when the winning team was from another country? Or when there is a long-standing rivalry between teams? Lots of interesting psychological questions. Perhaps something investigating the ideas of Reid (2004) about resilience? Loss is a theme that runs through the life stories of most elite athletes--we could go so far as to say that in many cases it is the thread that holds the story together. When we think of champions we like to think of those who have overcome adversity, who have come back from monumental defeat. But it is also true that the experience of loss can be the weak link that relegates potential champions to mediocrity. What is it then that determines whether an athlete's experience of loss will be formative or destructive? Why do some exceptional juniors become paralyzed by fear of failure and fail to make the transition to elite status? Why is injury-related 'depression' an increasingly common referral for psychologists working with elite athletes. This paper will examine the 'loss experience' of the elite athlete based on clinical observations from the author's work with elite athletes and their coaches. The second part of this chapter will reflect on a model for intervention forged during seven years of working with the Australian Women's Hockey Team as they reconciled to a disappointing Olympic campaign in Barcelona in 1992 to move toward two consecutive gold-medal Olympiads. Specifically, it will consider the challenge of how to develop a team 'culture' that recognizes, values and utilizes the experience of loss in the pursuit of excellence. Such a culture understands intense emotional experiences as the bedrock of both compelling personal motivation and paralyzing inertia. It recognizes that these states of being are never far removed from one another and that emotional regulation is one of the core skills required of elite athletes. In its most encompassing clinical sense, emotional regulation is knowing when, where and how to use emotion--and even more fundamentally, what sense to make of it. Well managed emotional processing of loss can manifest in a growing armory of personal coping resources as well as significant personal growth more broadly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) Or research on losing and consumption of unhealthy foods by fans, a la Cornil Chandon (2013)? Using archival and experimental data, we showed that vicarious defeats experienced by fans when their favorite football team loses lead them to consume less healthy food. On the Mondays following a Sunday National Football League (NFL) game, saturated-fat and food-calorie intake increase significantly in cities with losing teams, decrease in cities with winning teams, and remain at their usual levels in comparable cities without an NFL team or with an NFL team that did not play. These effects are greater in cities with the most committed fans, when the opponents are more evenly matched, and when the defeats are narrow. We found similar results when measuring the actual or intended food consumption of French soccer fans who had previously been asked to write about or watch highlights from victories or defeats of soccer teams. However, these unhealthy consequences of vicarious defeats disappear when supporters spontaneously self-affirm or are given the opportunity to do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) If intervention is deemed necessary, I understand that clinical psychologists in Montreal are available to assist given the expected elevation of mood in that city. Take care Jim Jim Clark Professor Chair of Psychology 204-786-9757 4L41A --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=36688 or send a blank email to leave-36688-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Psychological consequences of losing by sports teams?
Actually, I was wondering if a sports team winning - home field vs. away, same country vs. different country, etc - causes one to get a little cheeky? I'm not much of a sports fan, but I suspect Montreal vs. Boston games have the same psychological punch as say, Red Sox vs. Yankees or Patriots vs. Broncos. What matters later in the playoffs doesn't matter. Interesting that I rattled off all the Boston teams. Truthfully, it is a great sports city for those into such things. I have always been interested in a related idea, that perhaps people put their energy into sports when countries are at peace (at least, not a war on the level of WWI or WWII). I still cling to a fragment of catharsis theorizing. I know more about movies than sports, and I have noticed that movies right after WWII seemed kinder and gentler than those, say, in the 1970s. I just took a peek at best picture awards and nominees. To do this properly, we would have to judge not just the winners but the thousands of movies made. Perhaps the judges are swayed by the climate of the times - or the mood of the public. Award winning movies in the 1970s from Hollywood at least were more violent than those in the late 40s (check out 1947 for instance) versus the 1970s. Of course one series of movies can have a big influence - look at all the Godfather movies from the 1970s. And of course the Vietnam war was happening in the early 70s, so to do this properly we would have to have solid measures of these variables. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture#1940s == John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 == - Original Message - From: Jim Clark j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:09:48 AM Subject: [tips] Psychological consequences of losing by sports teams? Hi I wonder if anyone in Boston might be planning a study of the relationship between home teams losing and depression or other psychological consequences? Does it hurt more when it is on home ice/field/diamond? Or when the losing team was expected to win? Or when the winning team was from another country? Or when there is a long-standing rivalry between teams? Lots of interesting psychological questions. Perhaps something investigating the ideas of Reid (2004) about resilience? Loss is a theme that runs through the life stories of most elite athletes--we could go so far as to say that in many cases it is the thread that holds the story together. When we think of champions we like to think of those who have overcome adversity, who have come back from monumental defeat. But it is also true that the experience of loss can be the weak link that relegates potential champions to mediocrity. What is it then that determines whether an athlete's experience of loss will be formative or destructive? Why do some exceptional juniors become paralyzed by fear of failure and fail to make the transition to elite status? Why is injury-related ' depression ' an increasingly common referral for psychologists working with elite athletes. This paper will examine the 'loss experience' of the elite athlete based on clinical observations from the author's work with elite athletes and their coaches. The second part of this chapter will reflect on a model for intervention forged during seven years of working with the Australian Women's Hockey Team as they reconciled to a disappointing Olympic campaign in Barcelona in 1992 to move toward two consecutive gold-medal Olympiads. Specifically, it will consider the challenge of how to develop a team 'culture' that recognizes, values and utilizes the experience of loss in the pursuit of excellence. Such a culture understands intense emotional experiences as the bedrock of both compelling personal motivation and paralyzing inertia. It recognizes that these states of being are never far removed from one another and that emotional regulation is one of the core skills required of elite athletes. In its most encompassing clinical sense, emotional regulation is knowing when, where and how to use emotion--and even more fundamentally, what sense to make of it. Well managed emotional processing of loss can manifest in a growing armory of personal coping resources as well as significant personal growth more broadly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) Or research on losing and consumption of unhealthy foods by fans, a la Cornil Chandon (2013)? Using archival and experimental data, we showed that vicarious defeats experienced by fans when their favorite football team loses lead them to consume less healthy food. On the Mondays following a Sunday National Football League (NFL) game, saturated-fat and food-calorie intake
Movies; was: Re: [tips] Psychological consequences of losing by sports teams?
p.s. for those of you into movies, check out 1939 in my last link - some consider it the best year ever for Hollywood films. Also check out 1946 - another banner movie year, these years bracket WWII. Even though there is warfare in the background (Gone with the Wind, Best Years of Our Lives, Its a Wonderful Life) these movies are really about personal relationships, not violence. == John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 == - Original Message - From: John Kulig ku...@mail.plymouth.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:43:38 AM Subject: Re: [tips] Psychological consequences of losing by sports teams? Actually, I was wondering if a sports team winning - home field vs. away, same country vs. different country, etc - causes one to get a little cheeky? I'm not much of a sports fan, but I suspect Montreal vs. Boston games have the same psychological punch as say, Red Sox vs. Yankees or Patriots vs. Broncos. What matters later in the playoffs doesn't matter. Interesting that I rattled off all the Boston teams. Truthfully, it is a great sports city for those into such things. I have always been interested in a related idea, that perhaps people put their energy into sports when countries are at peace (at least, not a war on the level of WWI or WWII). I still cling to a fragment of catharsis theorizing. I know more about movies than sports, and I have noticed that movies right after WWII seemed kinder and gentler than those, say, in the 1970s. I just took a peek at best picture awards and nominees. To do this properly, we would have to judge not just the winners but the thousands of movies made. Perhaps the judges are swayed by the climate of the times - or the mood of the public. Award winning movies in the 1970s from Hollywood at least were more violent than those in the late 40s (check out 1947 for instance) versus the 1970s. Of course one series of movies can have a big influence - look at all the Godfather movies from the 1970s. And of course the Vietnam war was happening in the early 70s, so to do this properly we would have to have solid measures of these variables. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture#1940s == John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 == - Original Message - From: Jim Clark j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:09:48 AM Subject: [tips] Psychological consequences of losing by sports teams? Hi I wonder if anyone in Boston might be planning a study of the relationship between home teams losing and depression or other psychological consequences? Does it hurt more when it is on home ice/field/diamond? Or when the losing team was expected to win? Or when the winning team was from another country? Or when there is a long-standing rivalry between teams? Lots of interesting psychological questions. Perhaps something investigating the ideas of Reid (2004) about resilience? Loss is a theme that runs through the life stories of most elite athletes--we could go so far as to say that in many cases it is the thread that holds the story together. When we think of champions we like to think of those who have overcome adversity, who have come back from monumental defeat. But it is also true that the experience of loss can be the weak link that relegates potential champions to mediocrity. What is it then that determines whether an athlete's experience of loss will be formative or destructive? Why do some exceptional juniors become paralyzed by fear of failure and fail to make the transition to elite status? Why is injury-related ' depression ' an increasingly common referral for psychologists working with elite athletes. This paper will examine the 'loss experience' of the elite athlete based on clinical observations from the author's work with elite athletes and their coaches. The second part of this chapter will reflect on a model for intervention forged during seven years of working with the Australian Women's Hockey Team as they reconciled to a disappointing Olympic campaign in Barcelona in 1992 to move toward two consecutive gold-medal Olympiads. Specifically, it will consider the challenge of how to develop a team 'culture' that recognizes, values and utilizes the experience of loss in the pursuit of excellence. Such a culture understands intense emotional experiences as the bedrock of both compelling personal motivation and paralyzing inertia. It recognizes that these states of being are never far removed from one another
