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AGGRESSION BOUNDARIES IN SPORT
I. P. Markelov
Chelyabinsk State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
There the topic of aggression in sport is reviewed in this article; the most thoroughly it has been studied in 1970-80s. However in the present aggression in sports activities has become extremely common. In this regard, the question about the acceptability of aggression in sport appeared most acutely. Aggression: athlete's friend or foe?
Keywords: aggression, aggression in sport, the legitimacy of aggression, sport competition, fans aggression.
Psychologists have distinguished two types of aggression in sport (Husman B.F.&Silva J.M.) — instrumental and hostile. This implies that both types of aggression can manifest themselves both under the control of consciousness and without it. Therefore they are associated with emotional experiences, for the most part with anger. In hostile aggression, the main goal is to cause an emotional or physical harm or injury to another, most often this target is athlete's opponent in the competition. Instrumental aggression appears in the embodiment of non-aggressive intention, for example, the very desire to win over an opponent is not some destructive phenomenon and it usually results from athlete's desire to achieve good results in his/her professional activity. Instrumental aggression does not represent a reaction to dissatisfaction and it does not include anger by itself. However, it should not be forgotten that hostile and instrumental aggression always includes a goal to cause harm. Another question is whether aggression is always legitimate in sport?
Legitimate aggression in sports is understood by the degree of aggression and violence to the extent of which it is both necessary and justified in sports activities. According to some coaches and athletes, aggression increases athletic performance, both in team and individual sports. In addition, many experts share a similar point of view. Thus, S. V. Afinogenova notes that aggression in sport is a rational form of opposition to the opponent, athlete's mobilization of functional capabilities to achieve the specific purpose [1]. Take, for example, the tactics of the aggressive actions of weaker athlete against stronger, the task of which is either to make a distraction or to draw him/her into a fight. And yet, not all scientists stick to a similar position on this issue. According to J. Silva, aggression can't improve athletic performance since it causes athlete's increased level of excitement and it switches his/ her attention to the problems which are not connected with sports activity (for example, causing harm to the
opponent) [5]. Russian specialist, E.N. Surkov believes that first of all aggression is a trait of the athletes' personality, which is expressed by offensive tactics in competitions, and, like any other negative acts of human nature, it can and must be excluded from the professional activities of people, especially athletes [3].
There is no doubt that the link between aggression and physical activity is very complex; the history of sport has seen cases in which aggression has led to the desired result without causing serious damage to any kind of opposing side.
As a result, it is quite difficult to distinguish between the concepts of constructive and destructive aggression referring to that there is no clear division between the perception of aggression as an act of animal nature in man and the assertiveness as an act of the strong side of the human character.
The level of the acceptability of aggression in sport activity is also determined by the type of sport itself. Thus, the violation of sports rules and aggressive behavior become legitimate in competitive sport and often there are no long-term consequences for violators. For example, in certain sports situations, striking an opponent is considered quite acceptable (for instance, if a pitcher intentionally hits you in the head), which, however, is considered unacceptable in a school team. But, such contact sport as hockey can serve as the most striking example of intentional aggression. Hockey players' aggression has its origins in the NHL (National Hockey League). Mass media manages to participate; it creates a special fuss around the NHL. Among other things, it focuses the attention of viewers on the number of injuries of hockey players, penalty minutes, aggressive actions, fights. Probably this phenomenon of modern mass culture should be considered separately. Therefore to understand this aspect, psychologists have analyzed the theory of catharsis in order to identify whether fans become more or less aggressive after watching sports competitions.
It turned out that, watching sport tournaments does not lower the aggression level of the audience. Moreover, watching some contact sports even increases the viewer's willingness to become aggressive. But aggression generally does not manifest itself without the presence of other factors related to the contest. For example, a study of 1,500 hockey fans showed that the acts of aggression are typical for young fans in large clusters, and also under the influence of alcohol [4]. All these factors together can lead to undesirable consequences, such as a mass aggression display, whereas fans' collisions are the most common form of it. Administrators of sports facilities should pay attention to the results in order to reduce the chances of any violence (for example, to prohibit the distribution of alcoholic beverages). Players and coaches should also monitor their actions and feelings on the playgrounds so as not to accidentally provoke aggression among fans.
But back to the main topic of the article — namely, the athletes' acts of aggression. As already mentioned earlier, sportsmen tend to instrumental aggression, unlike their viewers. So, as an example same NHL where every team has special players that aim in provoking violent actions, fights between players. It can be concluded that such tactics of aggressive behavior towards opponents extremely help the NHL to be one of the strongest hockey leagues in the world, despite the obvious negative aspects of such a strategy.
Special attention in the study of aggression in sports is paid to the athletes' age peculiarities. Experts raise the question how to change the level of aggression as an athlete grows older and increases his professional skills. In general, scientists note that as athletes grow older, their attitude to sports activities becomes more responsible, the dominant motive is the desire to win. However, each athlete decides for himself how to reach the pinnacle of his/her skills.
Among other things, when studying the issue of aggression, it is also necessary to consider, among mentioned factors, the sport role of an athlete. For example, in hockey, football, the level of aggressive actions will be different for the defender, the forward and the goalkeeper because they face different professional tasks. The forward's main goal is to score a goal, the defender or goalkeeper responsible for the «safety» of their goal, which can be achieved very often by means of a foul or violation of the rules. For the most part, aggressive behavior during the match is observed when athletes take «attacking» positions, as often they are not able to break through opponents' «protection» by their skill alone. In such cases, same
old aggression comes to the rescue. It sharpens their feelings and pushes to the maximum of their physical abilities.
Scientists have also found out that the number of aggressive behavior cases varies depending on the game segment of a sports match. Using the archival method, the researchers found that the number of fines and violations increased in the second period of the game compared to the first, and in the third period compared to the second [6]. First of all, this phenomenon is associated with an increase tension among the players due to the approaching climax of the sporting event.
Thus, based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn: there are two types of aggressive behavior (instrumental and hostile), and significant differences are revealed between two of them, both in purposes and in means. Instrumental aggression is manifested quite often in sports games, it is an effective means of obtaining a strategic advantage in the game, and it is based on the use of technical and tactical actions of the players. While hostile aggression rather refers to the emotional features of the athlete. The type of aggressive behavior also varies depending on the type of sport and the time of a match.
Returning to the subject of aggression's role in sports; we came up with a question: is aggression, even if it is an instrumental one, controlled by the good and true direction of the development of the entire sports industry? We considered several fundamental works on psychology and sports ethics and came to the conclusion that aggression in sports is physical and mental actions that go beyond sports rules and are aimed to divide the mental processes and traits of character of an athlete (athletes). As well, a phenomenon entailing the violation of the internal physiological condition of the athlete and leads to the inadequacy of one's sports activities involved in inflicting both physical and mental damage to their opponents.
The results of the research show quite a disturbing picture: many athletes consider certain acts of aggression unacceptable in general, but acceptable in sports conditions. Thus, V. M. Byzova revealed three main approaches to the problem of aggression in sports activities. The first group of athletes claims that aggression is the main thing in sports, therefore sports and aggression are inseparable. The second group believes that sport and aggression are incompatible concepts. The third group believes that sometimes it is necessary to behave aggressively. Such a threefold interpretation is sometimes a game matter or «sports morality» for some athletes [2].
Aggression boundaries in sport
Unfortunately, the fact that people believe that it is acceptable to act aggressively in sport presents a challenge and makes a negative impact on the public consciousness. Sport can and must teach children how to behave themselves during and outside sports. Encouraging aggressive behaviour in sport carries negative information for future generations of athletes in particular. Thus, since until recently, almost all the leading players of the world played in the NHL, it was legitimate to expect that young players try to imitate and, if possible, to surpass more experienced players. And indeed, as young players grow professionally, they demonstrate an increasing number of aggressive actions adopting from senior colleagues. Hockey players imitate not only aggressive behavior, but also the ways to conceal the violations of rules from arbitrators. As a result, sportsmen must not allow themselves to demonstrate any forms of aggression in sports activities that are unacceptable in other spheres of human activity. They also have to decide on the final matter; what are more important — improving sports results by increasing aggressiveness or how sports affect athletes. In total, the relationship between sport aggression and the result may be of secondary importance. The most important is sportsmen's attitude towards it.
In conclusion, we wish to discuss how to develop a strategy to control aggression in sports and physical education, according to what we have learned about aggression and its acts. So, let's begin. First, it is necessary to identify the situations when aggression is most likely to occur. Certain situations contribute to the acts of aggression. The chance of aggressive actions increases in the event, when athletes are in a state of frustration and therefore excited. Disappointingly, such situations cannot always be controlled, but, coaches can identify it and "remove" athletes from a certain situation at the first sign of aggression. An athlete can
Поступила в редакцию 16 мая 2018 г.
be instilled with qualities that will help control his/her emotions and reactions towards frustration, which is far more effective. Also, an excessive emphasis must not be placed on achieving victory, which in turn contributes to the state of frustration. The desire to achieve victory cannot represent anything bad by itself, but athletes shouldn't push themselves too hard with the need to win, so to prevent any acts of aggression in case of defeat.
In total, sports professionals have a moral responsibility to make a clear distinction between aggression aimed at causing damage and assertive behaviour. Sportsmen need to separate aggression from asser-tiveness (a good aggression) and properly educate athletes. Athletes or students who master feats and stress management skills can allow themselves to overcome the state of frustration, the root cause of aggression.
Список литературы
1. Афиногенова, С. В. Биологический и психологический пол в связи с профессиональными и спортивными интересами в подростковом и юношеском возрасте : автореф. дис. ... канд. психол. наук / С. В. Афиногенова. — СПб., 2007. — 35 с.
2. Бызова, В. М. Отношение спортсменов к проявлению агрессии в спорте / В. М. Бызова. — СПб., 2000. — 45 с.
3. Керр, Д. Х. Переосмысление агрессии и жестокости в спорте / Д. Х. Керр. — Нью-Йорк, 2005. — 78 с.
4. Бэрон, Р. Агрессия / Р. Бэрон, Д. Ричардсон. — СПб. : Питер, 1998. — 330 с.
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Для цитирования: Markelov, I. P. Aggression boundaries in sport / I. P. Markelov // Физическая культура. Спорт. Туризм. Двигательная рекреация. — 2018. — Т. 3, № 2. — С. 33-36.
Сведение об авторе
Маркелов Иван Петрович — преподаватель кафедры физического воспитания и спорта, Челябинский государственный университет. Челябинск, Россия. vanomark1989@mail.ru
References
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