Relationship between Physical Self-Perceptions and Sports Activities - Essay Example

What is the relationship between physical self-perceptions and participation in sport? The way that children see themselves is influenced by a variety of factors – biological, social, emotional and environmental. Self-perception, broadly speaking, is developed as “individuals come to know their own attitudes, emotions and internal states by inferring them from observations of their own behavior and circumstances in which they occur. When internal cues are weak, ambiguous or uninterpretable, the individual is in the same position as the outside observer” (Bem, 1972). As children become more and more self-aware, they begin to develop an image of themselves that can have significant effects upon their adult lives. The stronger the internal cues, the greater the impact, whether positive or negative. For children, particularly in their pre-adolescent years (9-11) when they are anticipating and experiencing great physical changes (Craig, 1992) and are just starting to develop the ability to formulate abstract thought (“Piaget”, 2006), most of these internal cues are gained through their perceptions of themselves as they compare physically to their peers. As a result of the physicality of self-perception in this age group, study after study have demonstrated that participation in sports can have a positive impact on children’s self-perception just as negative self-perceptions tend to decrease a child’s willingness to participate in sports. Links between sports participation and self-perception in this age group have been demonstrated to be relatively universal, regardless of culture or nationality. For example, a study conducted on the highest and lowest quarter of students participating in a physical fitness test in comparison with their results from a self-concept scale indicated a strong correlation in attitudes among those who scored high and those who scored low. In the study (Sherrill & Alguin, 1989), children, both boys and girls, who scored high on the physical fitness test also scored high on the self-concept scale while children who scored low on the fitness test also scored low on the self-concept scale. While this study doesn’t necessarily support the concept that physical activity and positive self-concept are positively linked, it does indicate the possibility. Other studies have established this link, however. Marsh and Sonstroem (1995) conducted a study in which participants were asked to report the amount of physical activity they participated in on a weekly basis, reporting at the same time the intensity level of the exercise. At the same time, a physical self-concept profile was used to determine the participants’ physical self-perception and these results were compared with the level and intensity of physical activity engaged in. The study concluded not only that there was a positive correlation between exercise and a positive self-concept, but that exercise also functioned to reduce anxiety and depression while increasing emotional stability and self-esteem. While the study was conducted on adults rather than children, it was determined that the results were generally applicable to all age groups. Other studies that support the positive link between sports and a positive physical self-perception include Ebbeck & Weiss (1998), Sonstroem (1984), Olu (1990) and Joesting (1981). Robert Pangrazi’s (1982) study on sports programmes at school relates these results back to the age group under discussion, demonstrating that students who participated in sports were given unique opportunities that contributed to the development of positive self-concepts and physical competence as the result of personal achievement. Having established that a positive link exists between sports participation and physical self-perception, the literature also suggests that an association exists between non-sports participation and poor self-perception. Children, like adults, have a tendency to participate in those activities in which they feel they can achieve some success or gain some means of feeling good about themselves (Fox, 1990). If a child feels they are incapable of doing something well, such as coordinate their hands with their feet, they are much less likely to participate in a game of basketball. A child who feels they are capable of dribbling, on the other hand, is more likely to participate in the game. This leads into an ever-increasing spiral in which a poor perception leads to ever-decreasing participation which contributes further to the limitations experienced while a confident conception leads to increased willingness to try new things and discover new talents, further bolstering the self-concept (Ulrich, 1987). Thus, the cyclical relationship of physical self-perception and actual sports participation is established. As has been suggested, the concept of competence plays a large role in whether a child feels they should participate in a sport (Harter, 1990). To extend the basketball example from the previous paragraph, a young child’s ability to dribble a ball leads to a feeling of accomplishment and success, especially if the child is able to dribble the ball as well as or better than her peers. This ability leads the child to attempt running while dribbling the ball. If it becomes evident that this, too, is within the child’s skill set, their confidence in their own abilities increases and they begin to feel better about their own physical abilities. By the time the child reaches 9 or 10, she begins to see herself as an athlete and becomes enthusiastic about participating in physical activities in which she has the chance to show off her skills. From this ability, the child begins to feel that they have succeeded at something and that they have a certain inner quality that will enable them to succeed again. With this self-confidence, issues of physical perception begin to take the shape of caring for her body, developing new physical skills and gaining confidence in her ability to accomplish what she sets her mind to accomplish. On the other hand, the child that finds he just cannot get the ball to bounce in the same place twice, constantly having to chase it down and get back in place while his classmates giggle to themselves will quickly find reasons not to participate in sports. From this experience, he will decide that he is not very coordinated and this loss of confidence in his own physical abilities decreases the likelihood that he will succeed in a similar task. As his expectations regarding his physical abilities continue to fall, he begins to drop out of more and more physical activities in favor of those options that require less coordination. Lack of trying ensures that when he does make the attempt again, expecting the worst, he will likely experience the same sort of clumsy failure he experienced earlier. To make matters worse, his friends, who have been busily perfecting their physical skills as a means of continuing the good feeling they had achieved before, are now twice as good at handling the ball than they were when they started while he perceives himself to be well-behind even that starting point. Between Harter’s (1973) theories and research studies, it has been well established that a child’s concept of themselves and their physical abilities plays a large role in the formation of their self-esteem as well as their motivation and participation in future sports programmes (Duda, 1987). This idea that a higher level of competence leads to a higher participation rate in sports activities and a higher perception of physical self is supported by research conducted by Roberts, Kleiber and Duda (1981) and Feltz and Petlichkoff (1983). In the Roberts study, students who participated in sports were seen to score higher on physical and cognitive scales of perceived competence tests as well as demonstrating a higher general self-worth than those students who did not participate in any sports activity. Students who remained involved in sport activities for longer periods were similarly found to have higher perceptions of physical competence than those students who had participated in sports for a short time but dropped out (Feltz & Petlichkoff, 1983). Given this relationship, it should not be surprising that studies into the problem of childhood obesity also bring up the issue of links between physical activity and physical self-perception. A study conducted on 11 year old girls to determine their levels of physical activity in terms of both intensity and duration revealed that obese girls participated in physical activity on a much lower scale than their non-obese counterparts, which was determined to be a contributing factor in their weight gain (Trost, Kerr, Ward & Pate, 2001). While the obese girls, defined in terms of body fat, reported participating in less intense activity as well as less time spent participating in that activity, they were also found to have less participation in volunteer or community organizations and frequently indicated their male role model was equally not physically active. As has been shown, for many of these children, their lack of motivation to participate in sports stems from their lack of confidence in their own competency to perform as well as a self-perception that they are physically incapable of performing well. As they continue to reduce the amount of physical activity they participate in, they begin to take part in more sedentary activities and begin to put on extra weight. This extra weight, in turn, further reduces their ability and their desire to participate in activities that do not help them to feel better about themselves, either physically or psychologically. Through the literature, then, it can be seen that there is a definite link between physical self-perception and participation in sports that can affect a child in either a positive or negative way depending upon their early experiences and their willingness to try again. References Bem, D.J. (1972). “Self-Perception Theory.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. L. Berkowitz (Ed.). Vol. 6. Craig, G. (1992). Human Development. New York: Prentice Hall. Duda, J. L. (1987). “Toward a developmental theory of children’s motivation in sport.” Journal of Sport Psychology. Vol. 9, 130-145. Ebbeck, W. & Weiss, M. R. (1998). “Determinants of children’s self-esteem: An examination of perceived competence and affect in sports.” Pediatric Exercise Science. Vol. 10, 285-298. Feltz, D. L. & Petlichkoff, L. (1983). “Perceived competence among interscholastic sport participants and dropouts.” Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences. Vol. 8, 231-235 Fox, K. R. (1990). The Physical Self-Perception Profile: Manual. Illinois: Northern Illinois University. Harter, S. (1978). “Effectance motivation reconsidered: Toward a developmental model.” Human Development. Vol. 21, 34-64. Harter, S. (1990). “Causes, correlates and functional role of global self-worth: A life span perspective.” Perceptions of competence and incompetence across the life span. J. Kolligan & R. Stenberg (Eds.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Joesting, J. (1981). “Comparison of students who exercise with those who do not.” Perceptual and Motor Skills. Vol. 53, 426. Marsh, H. W. & Sonstroem, R. J. (1995). “Importance ratings and specific components of physical self-concept: Relevance to predicting global components of self- concept and exercise.” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. Vol. 17, N. 1, 84-104. Olu, S. S. (1990). “Comparison of Nigerian high school male athletes and nonathletes on self-concept.” Perceptual and Motor Skills. Vol. 70, 865-866. “Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development.” (2006). Stages of Intellectual Development in Children and Teenagers. Child Development Institute. Available 23 April, 2007 from Roberts, G. C., Kleiber, D. A., & Duda, J. L. (1981). “An analysis of motivation in children’s sport: The role of perceived competence in participation.” Journal of Sport Psychology. Vol. 3, 206-216. Sherrill, C. & Alguin, O. (1989). “Fitness, Attitude Toward Physical Education and Self-Concept of Elementary School Children.” Perceptual and Motor Skills. Vol. 69, 411-414. Sonstroem, R. J. (1984). “Exercise and Self-Esteem.” Exercise and Sport Science Review. G. L. Terguny (Ed.). Lexington, MA: The Collmore Press, 123-155. Trost, S.G.; Kerr, L.M.; Ward, D.S.; & Pate, R.R. (June 2001). “Physical activity and determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children.” International Journal of Obesity. Vol. 25, N. 6, 822-829. Ulrich, B. D. (1987). “Perceptions of physical competence and participation in organized sport: Their relationships in young children.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Vol. 58, 57-67. Read More