EMOTIONAL RESPONDING TO
SIMULATED COMPETITIONS AMONG ELITE ARCHERS: SCORE DIFFERENTIAL AND DEGREE
OF PERCEIVED OPPONENT CHALLENGE
CHUNXIAO HE,1
DANIEL M. LANDERS,1 NIILO KONTTINEN,2 PENNY MCCULLAGH,3
AND CHRIS WESTMAN3
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY,1
UNIVERSITY OF JYVASKILA,2 AND UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO3
The purpose of this study was
to examine U.S. National Team archer's mood state and heart rates while
observing a self-modeling videotape containing 38 simulated competitive
matches in which their opponents varied in degree of perceived challenge
and the opponent's score to beat was either high or low. Six male
and three female archers viewed a videotape which was edited so that their
opponent always performed first, the opponent's score was announced, and
then they could see themselves performing (usually successfully).
For each of the matches, subjects responded to Lang's (1994) Self-Assessment
Manikin which contains scales for emotional valance (positive to negative),
arousal (high to low), and control (dominant to nondominant). MANOVA
showed significant (p <.05) opponent and score effects such that: (a)
higher arousal and less dominance was reported for the challenging opponent,
and (b) lower valance/dominance and higher arousal was reported for higher
opponent scores . Subjects HRs were significantly higher for the
most challenging opponent, but no HR differences were observed for score
differential. In conclusion, for the perceived degree of opponent
challenge, the results showed that self-report and HR measures converged
in a meaningful way. Future research needs to examine whether emotional
response from vicariously observing self-modeling videotapes produces similar
emotional responese in actual competitions.
An abstract of this presentation
appears in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 19,
(June 1997 Supplement), S64.