Contact Sports Participation and Aggressive Behavior - Essay Example

Contact sports participation and aggressive behavior Name Institution affiliation Date Abstract Arguments have existed from the very beginning concerning the role that participation in contact sports has in influencing the aggression levels among its participants. There is overwhelming evidence supporting increased levels of aggression among people who participate in contact sports. The involvement of young people and the public in general in aggressive behavior and conflict is a problem that affects many societies. Many reasons are given for these aggressive and anti-social behaviors. Much research has been done to show the effect of participation in sports in reducing indulgence in delinquency, violence and aggressive behavior. It is often suggested that the social norms that are practiced in sports enhance pro-social behavior in people while reducing aggressiveness between people who take part in sports. While sport participation may be seen to foster pro-social behavior and characters it is often observed that it also increases aggressiveness. This article seeks to show that participation in contact sports in increases the level of aggressiveness in young men and people who participate in the said sports. It seeks to define aggression, categorize it and show the relationship that exists between contact sports and aggression levels. As far back as sports have existed, aggression has been a big part of the sport domain. Russel actually said that the only other place other than during war time when aggression is applauded by many people in the society is in sports. Aggression may be defined as the infliction of averse stimulus upon a person by another person. Aggression can be projected either verbally, physically or through gestures. [Rus86] Introduction Violence and aggressive behavior both in the field and outside the field has come to be recognized as a social problem needing appropriate attention. Some countries have even had to put commissions in place look into the matter of violence in the athletic setting. Some of these countries include UK, Canada and Australia. Many other countries have had their courts deal with court cases involving sport-related incidences and victims. Psychology defines aggression as various behaviors that can cause harm to an individual, other people or objects in the surroundings either psychologically or physically. Aggression is a behavior and not an attitude. It is seen well in acts carried out with the intention of causing injury. This definition comprises wide-ranging acts that occur during sports such as physically hitting people or engaging in verbal abuse. Aggressive behavior can be exhibited by all participants during a port event ranging from sport officials, coaches, athletes, sportsmen and spectators. Aggressive behavior Aggression can take a number of forms. These may include physical forms, verbal abuse, mental forms or even emotional forms. Most people think that aggression is only expressed physically such as hitting and individual or pushing them and causing harm. However there is also a psychological side to aggression that can cause almost or more damage that physical aggression. Examples of psychological aggression may be verbally berating an individual or intimating and humiliating them. Aggressive behavior is often seen more in contact sports than in non-contact sports. Contact sports are the sports that require physical and body contact among competing players. Sports involving fighting using the fists such as boxing, pugilism and fisticuffs are good examples of contact sports. Others include sports involving hand-to-hand struggle between contestants who are not armed who aim at throwing each other down such as wrestling and grappling. Hockey and football and athletics are also good examples of contact games taking place in the world today.[Kos15] Reasons for aggression. There are many reasons that motivate people to act in an aggressive way. People tend to become aggressive when they want to express anger or hostility towards a party or a coach. In sports when teams lose, coaches and spectators and the players themselves tend to be come angry and annoyed, they may turn to aggression as a way of expressing their feelings. Aggression is also motivated by the need to assert dominance, intimidate or threaten an individual. Aggression may at times be used by individuals to motivate them achieve their goals. Many researches have shown the effect of aggression on the overall performance of some sportsmen. Competition is also kwon to fuel aggression especially in sports. Some individual turn to aggression when they feel fear or pain as a way of covering the feelings they consider as weaknesses. These people believe that being aggressive shows that they are neither afraid nor in pain. The parameters for classifying aggressive behavior is the main reinforcement that is sought after by the act of aggression. Hostile aggression occurs when a person’s main aim and intention is to inflict harm or injury on another just for the sake. Instrumental aggression takes place when behavior and acts of aggression are done with the aim of achieving some set goals. This type of aggression that is also referred to a predatory aggression is usually well-planned and it takes place as a way of achieving a given objective. This may take place when a player hits another player who is better than them with the aim of removing them from the equation in order to have an advantage in the game or sport. There is also impulsive aggression or affective aggression that is not usually planned but occur at the heat of the moment and is mostly motivated by strong emotions. Aggressive behavior may have negative or positive effects on the general performance of participants. Many people view aggression as a negative thing but some sport psychologists argue that aggression can actually help boost the performance of players. When players use aggression to achieve a goal or winning objective this is Instrumental aggression. When players do not plan on injuring their opponents and they just use the right means of achieving their goals they are said to be assertive and not aggressive. The source of difference between the two terms is the intention of the player. Many acts such as the hip and shoulder done in Australian Football or tackling in rugby are assertive acts when they follow the rules of the game and when the intention to cause harm or injury is not present. If the intention to cause injury is present in the mind and actions of the participants these actions are aggressive behaviors.[Ree15] Theories of aggressive behavior There is a huge debate on what causes aggression in general and more specifically in contact sports. The frustration aggression theory proposes that frustration is what causes aggression. Frustration arises when the goals of individuals are blocked. This theory suggests that when players become frustrated about anything they tend to react by becoming aggressive. The sports environment tends to be full of frustration causing situation such as losing an important match. These frustrating conditions may cause aggression. This theory however has the weakness of not taking into account other factors such as intrinsic and extrinsic conditions that influence a person’s reaction to frustration. The general aggression model states that it is the situational and personal factors that cause aggressive behavior. This suggests that the personality of players determines whether they become aggressive or not. This model also recognizes the role played by social factors and social norms in perpetuating aggressive behavior. Aggression is a learned behavior that a person learns from the social environment her or she interacts with. In some sports, the rewards for aggressive behavior are high. Some participants such as spectators, coachers or team mates praise players for some aggressive behavior. This encourages players to engage in more of such acts and behaviors.[Mic15] Sport professionals and players work in high-pressured environments and have to deal with stress causing conditions. These stressors may include personal factors, worry, fear, anxiety or game related issues. Stress negatively affects performance and raises the risk of injury. Players are often have pressure to perform well and have to meet expectations that are at times very high for them. This pressure is known to fuel aggressive behavior in the field and sometimes even outside the sport in the personal lives of players and coaches. Participation in sports and aggressive behavior Research has shown that the judgement of athletes on the legitimacy of aggressive behavior is influenced by their degree of moral thinking. The problem with this is most of the athletes reasoning is shaped by the athletic setting which promotes aggression. It is common to observe people, such as sport heroes, coaches, role models and sports professionals, who have previously been involved in aggressive actions being rewarded. This promotes the idea that their actions were not really problematic and that the benefits outdo the punishments hence encouraging players to engage in aggressive behaviors. The degree of moral thinking exhibited by athletes in sports is normally lower than what is exhibited in other contexts. A study carried out by Goldstein and Arms in 1971 showed that people tend to be more aggressive after watching aggression in the sports arena. They interviewed spectators before and after a contact sport, Army-Navy American football game, and a non-contact sport, Army-Temple Collegiate gymnastics meet, that took place during the same month. They observed that the football spectators had a noteworthy increase in hostility and aggression regardless of the victory or loss of their teams. The spectators of the gymnastic meet did not show an increase. [Gol71]Many other researched have repeated the same experiment on a hockey, professional swimming and boxing. The results of these studies have been consistent with what was observed by Goldstein and Arms suggesting that observing contact sports increases aggressiveness. [Arm79] Studies have shown that the media has also played a role in encouraging aggression in sports. Sports fans enjoy aggression and a certain level of violence in the sports they love. The media has taken advantage of this by ensuring that scenes with violent or aggressive acts are well noted and broadly advertised. Scenes with aggressive behavior tend to be exaggerated and replayed repeatedly on television. Many magazines also display articles that glorify aggression hence making it seem right in the eyes of the players and the spectators and all parties that participate in contact sports. Winning at all costs has become a common ideology in the sports world today. Being victorious in every game has become an important part of almost all the sports. In the past, people had ideas of having fun and playing fair. These ideologies of the past have decreased in popularity and application. A study carried out by Duda and his colleagues show that athletes are more likely to adopt cheating when a lot of emphasis is placed on beating competition. This will make them recognize causing intentional injuries on rivals as more acceptable and hence promote aggressive behavior. Although aggression may aid boost performance, this aggression may be carried to other sectors of life and cause damage to the lives and careers of players. [Dud91] Aggression behaviors are also common among spectators during contact sports. Factors such as heat, loud noises and presence large crowds tend to promote aggression among spectators. These factors when combined with other conditions existing in the sports environment increase the propensity for aggressive actions. Actions that cause harm and injury on people are not acceptable in sports as they are not in any way related to the competitive goals held in sports. It is very clear that participation in contact sports either by actually playing the sport, coaching or even observing the sport cause increase in the level of aggression. The research conducted by various researchers over the year is prove of these. Observing contact sport events today will further prove this argument. It is important for measures to reduce aggressive behavior within the sports environment. The solution to the problem of aggressive behavior in sports is not simple but with the determination of all the involved parties it can be achieved. Some people have suggested that sports do not cause increased levels of aggression. These people argue that sports provide a way for teenagers and other people who participate in sports to relieve any tension and stress they may be experiencing. Teenagers often have feelings bottled up and sports provide a way to release these feelings. Life can be stressing in many ways. Many people testify of finding relief through taking a walk or jogging down the stress. Involvement in sports is healthy for the body and the mind as well as it provides an opportunity for psychological growth. There are many rules that have been put forward over the years to discourage involvement in aggressive behavior by sport personalities. Many people engaged in sports love doing what they do and this encourages them to be calm and peaceful as they fear disqualification. There are also many programs in the sports arena that are aimed at helping team members’ deal with aggression. These programs have come a long way in helping reduce the aggression of sports people by a large margin. People who argue that sports actually reduce occurrence of aggressive actions and behaviors point out to the proper mentoring and coaching that takes place in most teams and sports. With proper coaching, sports actually help people with aggression issue to deal with their issues and eventually reduce their level of aggression. It also creates a right moral reasoning among the participants that deems aggressive behavior unacceptable. Conclusion This paper has showed the role played by participation in contact sports in increasing aggressive behavior. The categories of aggression, sources of aggression and the theories of aggressive behavior have been explained. It is clear that participation in sports by all parties ranging from athletes, coaches, managers, officials and spectators increases aggressive behavior. There are however ways that are available that can help reduce aggressive behavior arising due to participation in contact sports. There are many arguments surrounding the issue of aggression and involvement in sports. Arguments that propose that involvement in contact sports increases levels of aggression among participants and those from people who oppose both have some considerable evidence and sound arguments. None of the arguments can be ignored or assumed. I however hold the opinion that involvement in contact sports increases levels of aggression. The undeniable evidence and arguments presented in the initial parts of this essay and most of its body clearly point out this fact. Aggression levels are generally observed to be higher among people who participate in contact sports compared to other people who do not. References Rus86: , (Russel, 1986), Kos15: , (Kosiewicz, 2015), Ree15: , (Rees, 2015), Mic15: , (Micai, 2015), Gol71: , (Goldstein, 1971), Arm79: , (Arms, 1979), Dud91: , (Duda, 1991), Read More

These may include physical forms, verbal abuse, mental forms or even emotional forms. Most people think that aggression is only expressed physically such as hitting and individual or pushing them and causing harm. However there is also a psychological side to aggression that can cause almost or more damage that physical aggression. Examples of psychological aggression may be verbally berating an individual or intimating and humiliating them. Aggressive behavior is often seen more in contact sports than in non-contact sports.

Contact sports are the sports that require physical and body contact among competing players. Sports involving fighting using the fists such as boxing, pugilism and fisticuffs are good examples of contact sports. Others include sports involving hand-to-hand struggle between contestants who are not armed who aim at throwing each other down such as wrestling and grappling. Hockey and football and athletics are also good examples of contact games taking place in the world today.[Kos15] Reasons for aggression.

There are many reasons that motivate people to act in an aggressive way. People tend to become aggressive when they want to express anger or hostility towards a party or a coach. In sports when teams lose, coaches and spectators and the players themselves tend to be come angry and annoyed, they may turn to aggression as a way of expressing their feelings. Aggression is also motivated by the need to assert dominance, intimidate or threaten an individual. Aggression may at times be used by individuals to motivate them achieve their goals.

Many researches have shown the effect of aggression on the overall performance of some sportsmen. Competition is also kwon to fuel aggression especially in sports. Some individual turn to aggression when they feel fear or pain as a way of covering the feelings they consider as weaknesses. These people believe that being aggressive shows that they are neither afraid nor in pain. The parameters for classifying aggressive behavior is the main reinforcement that is sought after by the act of aggression.

Hostile aggression occurs when a person’s main aim and intention is to inflict harm or injury on another just for the sake. Instrumental aggression takes place when behavior and acts of aggression are done with the aim of achieving some set goals. This type of aggression that is also referred to a predatory aggression is usually well-planned and it takes place as a way of achieving a given objective. This may take place when a player hits another player who is better than them with the aim of removing them from the equation in order to have an advantage in the game or sport.

There is also impulsive aggression or affective aggression that is not usually planned but occur at the heat of the moment and is mostly motivated by strong emotions. Aggressive behavior may have negative or positive effects on the general performance of participants. Many people view aggression as a negative thing but some sport psychologists argue that aggression can actually help boost the performance of players. When players use aggression to achieve a goal or winning objective this is Instrumental aggression.

When players do not plan on injuring their opponents and they just use the right means of achieving their goals they are said to be assertive and not aggressive. The source of difference between the two terms is the intention of the player. Many acts such as the hip and shoulder done in Australian Football or tackling in rugby are assertive acts when they follow the rules of the game and when the intention to cause harm or injury is not present. If the intention to cause injury is present in the mind and actions of the participants these actions are aggressive behaviors.

[Ree15] Theories of aggressive behavior There is a huge debate on what causes aggression in general and more specifically in contact sports. The frustration aggression theory proposes that frustration is what causes aggression.

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