A Study of Sports Competitive Anxiety Among Athletes and Non-Athletes in Individual and Team Sport

Physical Education

A behavioral analysis of the psychology of sport is thus concerned, in general terms, with the broad psychological, social, and emotional aspects of the individual in a context of physical activity and athletics. This is an emphasis directed toward dealing with the needs, interest, attitudes, dispositions and motivations of the young participant rather than just focusing on an analysis is to understand why an individual behaves the way the way he does in sports situations. Motor and athletic performances are viewed only in terms of how they are influenced by the behavior of the individual. A recent trend in the motor performance area serves to delineate this difference, Human performance theory, as outlined by Fitts and Posner and sometimes known as "information theory", generally discusses the limits of man's ability to perform skilled tasks, though quite important for students and scholars of physical activity and sport, differs dramatically from the broader analysis of behavior. Psychological variables interact to produce a specific behaviour. Motivation, anxiety, aggression and cohesion are few important topics of study in the field of sports psychology. The study of psychological phenomenon is intricately complex since a number of factors within the individual and outside him influence his behaviour in a variety of situations. However, a systematic approach to study the factor which is antecedents of behaviour and consequently lead to achievement in a particular field certainly help us in determining and predicting our success in the chosen field. These circumstances are discussed in regard to research indicating higher levels of social anxiety and trait anxiety in individual athlete compared to team-sport athletes. Following this argumentation, while individual- and team-sport athletes both experience perfectionistic expectations these might be more intensified for individual sports. However, differences between perfectionism and sport disciplines have not been examined, neither its possible mediating role toward depressive symptoms in contrast between team and individual-sport athletes.

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