The 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) World Cup (WC) would be the first time that a FIFA WC would be hosted on the African continent. This study was aimed at describing the South African City of Tshwane (COT) general volunteers’ experiences of volunteering at the 2010 FIFA WC. The FIFA Volunteer Programme consists of two groups of volunteers: Local Organising Committee (LOC) volunteers and each Host City (HC) volunteers. The COT volunteers are HC volunteers from the Tshwane Metropolitan Area (TMA). Volunteers are active in a variety of different contexts, namely in the community, volunteers at sport clubs or schools and also at mega sport events. Volunteers make it possible to host a mega sport event because they provide their time and effort without expecting remuneration or they receive a stipend amount. The existing literature of volunteers at mega sport events investigated what motivated volunteers to participate as well as how satisfied the volunteers were with the experience. The aim of this study was to describe COT general volunteers’ experiences of preparing (preparation phase) for the 2010 FIFA WC; COT general volunteers’ experiences during (participation phase) the 2010 FIFA WC, as well as the South African COT general volunteers’ experiences on their involvement (reflection phase) at the 2010 FIFA WC was described. The methodology employed in this study was Descriptive Phenomenology and the Duquesne Phenomenological Research Method was used to analyse the material. The differences between Descriptive Phenomenology and Interpretive Phenomenology were described. The material consisted of a written account as well as an interview, which was based on the essences that were portrayed in the written accounts. There were five participants — three spectator services volunteers and two rights protection volunteers. All of the participants were female. The findings of this study were divided into the preparation phase, participation phase and the reflection phase. In the preparation phase the COT general volunteers described two essences namely, the application process and training. In the participation phase the COT general volunteers experienced four essences namely, the working of shifts, interaction with volunteers, interaction with supervisors and lastly interaction with tourists. In the reflection phase the volunteers described two experiences, growth and value. This research project contributes to sport psychology because this study describes the experiences of volunteers at the 2010 FIFA WC. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Climbing has been part of human nature since time immemorial, our ancestors used it to escape predators, to flee from flooding valleys, to gather food and to move to new territories. However it was not until the middle 1700’s that man started to use climbing not as a means to ensure survival, but as a source of pleasure and desire to climb and explore. For almost two centuries climbing has evolved through, what has often been referred to as a trial and error method, into a state of the art, modern day sport with various sub disciplines like sport climbing, trad - climbing, ice climbing, free climbing and bouldering. In its purest form it is one of the most awe inspiring sports to watch and take part in, and for those select few that dedicate their lives to it, it is a means to make a living, and a way to live on into eternity. Over the past 15 years climbing has become a widely practised and one of the fastest growing sports around the world, and is practised by people from all walks of life, from pre-primary school children right through to retired pensioners, from unemployed students to the most successful business men and women. With this growing interest among the population there also came a growing interest in the use of climbing for various other purposes like psycho-therapy, rehabilitation, team building. But more importantly, for this study, it has urged the researcher to ask what are the discursive resources and strategies that are employed by modern day climbers, seeing as the climbing community consists of such a large variety of people. This study was done from a Discursive Psychology perspective, and was strongly influenced by the work of Jonathan Potter and Derek Edwards, as well as the work of the Rhetoric Group from Loughborough University. The Discursive Psychology approach focuses on management and accomplishment of action and interaction through talk. Discourse is viewed as a resource that functions to accomplish action and Discursive Analysis focuses on the manner that discursive resources are being employed to achieve certain actions in interaction. For Discursive Psychology it is important to view both the material context and embodiment as important in the construction of action. So too in Rock Climbing are these two aspects very important and very relevant because of the prominence of physical activity in the sport. The research focused on how climbers talk during climbing and what discursive resources and strategies they employ during rock climbing discourses. The most prominent of these resources and strategies that were found in the analysis were laughter, pauses and delays, intensifiers ( words that are used to emphasize and pinpoint other words), loud uttering of words, change-of-state tokens, disclaimers, discourse markers, extreme case formulations, agreement-implicative acknowledgement tokens, hedge words / devices, speech-overlapping, previous experiences, and footing. This research hopes to offer alternative explanations in sport and psychology, by studying naturally occurring conversations between climbers, instead of the more traditional pre – and – post experience testing that has dominated studies in psychology for so long. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (PhD (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Stress and coping are complex phenomena that are not always fully understood. They are psychological factors that impinge on individuals and people’s responses in dealing with them are described and interpreted in various ways. This study compared the coping strategies used by football players from ethnically diverse backgrounds. The aim was to explore the role that the environment, ethnicity and culture play in players' responses to stressful situations. A sample of 33 players was drawn from a professional club in the Professional Premier Soccer League in the Western Cape, Republic of South Africa. Subjects were representative in terms of race, age, years of experience and playing positions. Eleven black, coloured and white players for each group were selected for individual interviews. Their ages ranged between 15 and 32 years. An interpretive-qualitative research methodology was employed. Semistructured interviews and a biographical questionnaire were used as tools to gather information. The data were analyzed using interpretive analysis or the immersion crystallization method. The results revealed that football players were exposed to stress and there were differences and similarities in the way they conducted themselves. The similarities were recorded on matters related to match situations e.g., pressure to perform, inclusion in a starting line-up, and unruly behavior of supporters. Differences were cited on issues related to language, culture, financial matters, poor playing conditions, negative evaluation of the team by others, losing matches, referees' decisions and being away from home. These differences were found both between and within ethnic groups. Players' perceptions of stress showed that black players were experiencing more stress than the other two ethnic groups and white players were experiencing far less stress than the other two groups. Despite this finding, the majority of players reported to have been in control of stressful situations. The perception of lack of control was reported by black and coloured players only. It appeared that background experience of stressful events was producing greater psychosocial consequences for non-white players than white players. The football players used multiple strategies to cope with their sport challenges and there were both differences and similarities within and between the ethnic groups in the use of these strategies. Subjects used problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, passive coping, and avoidance coping in stressful situations. Problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping were the dominant strategies employed by all three groups. Passive coping and avoidance coping were the lesser-used strategies and were employed by the three groups in situations where players felt that they could not exert control e.g., playing conditions or dubious referees' decisions. Self-criticism, not blaming others, adopting a negative approach, substance use/abuse and turning to religion were the strategies that appeared only in specific groups. This finding supports the hypothesis of differences in strategies related to differences in ethnic backgrounds. It was also revealed that football players were responding differently to stressful challenges that were presented at the different stages of the match. The dominant strategies used at the pre-match stage by the nonwhite group were: planning and preparation, relaxation, praying, focusing and concentration. At the same stage, white players used mostly focusing, concentration and planning. There were strong similarities between the groups in the use of these strategies. During the match stage, non-white players used active coping, positive approach, suppression of competitive activities, focusing and concentration. White players used similar strategies including emotional expression and mental disengagement. Different strategies were employed by players during the match stage, most of them being problem-focused strategies. In the post-match stage players used less-dominant coping strategies. Some strategies were used by players in all three ethnic groups and others appeared in specific groups only, e.g., substance use (coloured group) and passive thinking (white group). The study further revealed that coping strategies could be classified either as sport or non-sport related. A variety of sport-related strategies were found mostly during the pre-match and match stages. The nonsport related strategies appeared mostly during the post-match stage and were used mostly by non-white players. Concerning the processes involved in the selection of strategies, the study revealed that thought-out processes, automatic processes, influence of experience and a combination of processes were used to identify and select coping strategies. Processing of information was a preferred option used by the three groups of players to identify strategies and very few players used automatic processes. Between-group differences were found in the relationship between environmental background and previous experience and the players' selection of coping strategies. For black and coloured players this influence related mostly from factors outside their home environment. For white players it came from within their home situations. The study showed that factors that affected the players in selecting coping strategies, were both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic factors included personal safety and protection, performance, self-control and personal experience. Extrinsic factors included stress, influence of others, institutional influences, social background, pleasing others, family obligation, opponents and research. White players used intrinsic and extrinsic factors with equal frequency. Non-white players on the other hand, used fewer intrinsic factors than extrinsic factors. The results also showed that relatively less-experienced players were inclined to use achievement motivation as a determining factor. Black players were influenced by one other factor that did not appear in the other groups, that is, family obligations. Finally, exhaustion, cultural differences, language, absence of a family support structure, peer pressure, home circumstances, communication, diet, substance use/abuse, being in a new environment, personality differences and high expectations were identified as factors that restrict the use of coping strategy. Exhaustion and cultural differences appeared across all three groups. Group differences were however observed in language, absence of a family support structure, peer pressure, home circumstances, high expectations, and absence of compliments. These restrictive factors were experienced differently within and between the three ethnic groups and originated from exposure, challenges, and experiences that players encounter in their daily life situations.

A iniciação esportiva tem sido foco de diversos estudos nas áreas das Ciências do Esporte e da Psicologia do Esporte. A aquisição de habilidades, como uma área específica, também tem concentrado esforços de diversos pesquisadores. A Análise do Comportamento aplicada a estes campos tem muito por oferecer. Estudos sobre comportamento verbal, especificamente, podem contribuir substancialmente para a solução de problemas na relação entre professores/ treinadores e iniciantes. Um procedimento, frequentemente utilizado e descrito na literatura específica é a auto-fala, que consiste em verbalizações emitidas para um falante, tendo ele mesmo como ouvinte. Ambientes esportivos costumam ser complexos, no que se refere à disponibilidade de estímulos, proporcionando dificuldades relacionadas à concentração. A auto-fala, como descrita e explicada na literatura, acaba tendo a função de auxiliar o atleta a selecionar estímulos relevantes para as tarefas esportivas, facilitando o estabelecimento de discriminações. O presente estudo investigou o efeito isolado de procedimentos de auto-fala sobre a aquisição de habilidades em modalidades esportivas simuladas, com sete adolescentes sem experiência prévia em treinamento com as modalidades e/ou com o equipamento. Foi utilizado o console de videogame Wii, no treinamento das habilidades de rebatida no beisebol, e lançamento da bola no boliche. Os dados obtidos sugeriram que os participantes, que utilizaram os procedimentos verbais, apresentaram desempenhos superiores, em comparação aos que não o fizeram. Também foi realizada uma comparação entre dois tipos de procedimentos de auto-fala: reforçada diferencialmente e instruída. Foram encontradas diferenças de desempenho, porém não tão significativas quanto às diferenças entre os participantes que se valeram dos procedimentos verbais e os que não o fizeram / The sport initiation has been the focus of several studies in the areas of Sports Science and Sports Psychology. The acquisition of skills, such as a specific area, has also concentrated efforts of many researchers. Behavior Analysis applied to these fields have much to offer. Studies on verbal behavior, specifically, can contribute substantially to the solution of problems in the relationship between teachers / trainers and beginners. A procedure often used and described in specific literature is self-talk, which consists of verbalizations issued for a speaker, and he himself as a listener. Sporting environments are usually complex, with regard to the availability of stimuli, providing difficulties related to concentration. Self-talk, as described and explained in literature, just having the function of helping the athlete to select relevant stimuli for sports tasks, facilitating the establishment of discrimination. The present study investigated the effect of isolated self-talk procedures on the acquisition of skills in simulated sports with seven adolescents with no prior experience in training with the simulated sports and / or equipment. We used the video game console Wii in skills training in baseball batting, and throwing the ball in bowling. The data suggested that participants who used the verbal procedures, showed superior performance compared to those who did not. We also performed a comparison between two different procedures for self-talk: differentially reinforced and instructed. We found differences in performance, but not as significant as the differences between the participants who took advantage of verbal procedures and those who did not

A iniciação esportiva tem sido foco de diversos estudos nas áreas das Ciências do Esporte e da Psicologia do Esporte. A aquisição de habilidades, como uma área específica, também tem concentrado esforços de diversos pesquisadores. A Análise do Comportamento aplicada a estes campos tem muito por oferecer. Estudos sobre comportamento verbal, especificamente, podem contribuir substancialmente para a solução de problemas na relação entre professores/ treinadores e iniciantes. Um procedimento, frequentemente utilizado e descrito na literatura específica é a auto-fala, que consiste em verbalizações emitidas para um falante, tendo ele mesmo como ouvinte. Ambientes esportivos costumam ser complexos, no que se refere à disponibilidade de estímulos, proporcionando dificuldades relacionadas à concentração. A auto-fala, como descrita e explicada na literatura, acaba tendo a função de auxiliar o atleta a selecionar estímulos relevantes para as tarefas esportivas, facilitando o estabelecimento de discriminações. O presente estudo investigou o efeito isolado de procedimentos de auto-fala sobre a aquisição de habilidades em modalidades esportivas simuladas, com sete adolescentes sem experiência prévia em treinamento com as modalidades e/ou com o equipamento. Foi utilizado o console de videogame Wii, no treinamento das habilidades de rebatida no beisebol, e lançamento da bola no boliche. Os dados obtidos sugeriram que os participantes, que utilizaram os procedimentos verbais, apresentaram desempenhos superiores, em comparação aos que não o fizeram. Também foi realizada uma comparação entre dois tipos de procedimentos de auto-fala: reforçada diferencialmente e instruída. Foram encontradas diferenças de desempenho, porém não tão significativas quanto às diferenças entre os participantes que se valeram dos procedimentos verbais e os que não o fizeram / The sport initiation has been the focus of several studies in the areas of Sports Science and Sports Psychology. The acquisition of skills, such as a specific area, has also concentrated efforts of many researchers. Behavior Analysis applied to these fields have much to offer. Studies on verbal behavior, specifically, can contribute substantially to the solution of problems in the relationship between teachers / trainers and beginners. A procedure often used and described in specific literature is self-talk, which consists of verbalizations issued for a speaker, and he himself as a listener. Sporting environments are usually complex, with regard to the availability of stimuli, providing difficulties related to concentration. Self-talk, as described and explained in literature, just having the function of helping the athlete to select relevant stimuli for sports tasks, facilitating the establishment of discrimination. The present study investigated the effect of isolated self-talk procedures on the acquisition of skills in simulated sports with seven adolescents with no prior experience in training with the simulated sports and / or equipment. We used the video game console Wii in skills training in baseball batting, and throwing the ball in bowling. The data suggested that participants who used the verbal procedures, showed superior performance compared to those who did not. We also performed a comparison between two different procedures for self-talk: differentially reinforced and instructed. We found differences in performance, but not as significant as the differences between the participants who took advantage of verbal procedures and those who did not

A series of four studies examined the emotional climate of elite sport, and tested the utility of an emotional disclosure intervention during sport injury rehabilitation. Overall, results from the investigations indicated that athletes' usual coping mechanism during injury rehabilitation was to inhibit and suppress felt emotions, while displaying mock emotions that were considered acceptable within their sport climate. Pennebaker's (1989) written disclosure paradigm was shown to address athletes' emotionally inhibitive coping style and encourage psychological and physical well-being. It was found to be a viable alternative to psychotherapy within the sport injury context. Athletes showed improvements in stress and mood disturbance, and fewer grief responses towards their injury. Affective and cognitive linguistic markers also showed changes during the 3-day intervention period, leading to the informed assumption that there was a likely association between changes in athletes' psychological responses to injury post-intervention and changes among the linguistic markers of interest. Results were discussed in the context of the broader sport psychology of injury research and limitations of the present investigations were discussed. Recommendations were made for future research into intervention research targeting the psychological experience of long-term injury.

SOUZA , Ricardo Angelo de Andrade. Afetividade de adolescentes praticantes de atividades esportivas com relação ao seu bairro. 2009. 93f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2009. / Submitted by moises gomes (celtinha_malvado@hotmail.com) on 2012-05-08T18:45:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_RAASOUZA.pdf: 1056187 bytes, checksum: da7b1e49e34bfb511aabeefdca3cfb64 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-06-15T16:14:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_RAASOUZA.pdf: 1056187 bytes, checksum: da7b1e49e34bfb511aabeefdca3cfb64 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-06-15T16:14:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_RAASOUZA.pdf: 1056187 bytes, checksum: da7b1e49e34bfb511aabeefdca3cfb64 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Sport and/or sportive activities as a whole should be accepted not only as a possibility of improving socio-economic conditions but also as instruments that trigger ever-increasing affects within individual-object relationship. Affective map (BOMFIM 2003) was the instrument this study used to analyze how affects arise in individual-sport-environment relationship. The research used a survey of nineteen 12-to-17 years-old teenagers who practice sportive activities and attend to a NGO (non governmental organization) named ARCA (Associação Recreativa e Esportiva para Crianças e Adolescentes). Therefore the sense of this study was verifying how sport arises at the neighborhood through Affective map gathering information from teenagers who practice systematic sportive activities. The work focused sportive experience related to the neighborhood from affective axe. Thus such concept was theoretically based on Lane and Sawaia (1994) Sawaia (2000, 2004) and also on Sport psychology (SAMULSKI 2002 WEINBERG & GOULD 2001). As results the research found that the most part of teenagers suggested both in qualitatively part and in Likert scale of affective maps contrasts images pleasure pertinence and destruction. In both analyses the contrasts image showed the highest mean according to descriptive statistics. Findings are evidence that sport even quoted in constrasting images is entailed to positive esteem since qualitative analysis of affective maps points that such practices arise as counterparts of negative aspects concerning to the neighborhood as violence drugs and pollution. Besides frequencies obtained with Likert scale of pleasure and pertinence suggest that sportive practice can generate other positive affects related to the neighborhood. Hence the study stresses that sport as a whole can lead teens not only to the highest place of a podium but also to an improvement in the relationship with their place of living aiding to establish new possibilities within the new horizon opened around them. Still psychology specifically Environmental Psychology can also help in this way this challenge this new environment that sport represents / O esporte e/ou as atividades esportivas como um todo deveriam ser vistos não somente como possibilidade de melhora de condições sócio-econômicas mas também como instrumentos geradores de afetos potencializadores na relação pessoa-ambiente. Para a realização desta pesquisa foi utilizado o instrumento gerador do Mapa afetivo (BOMFIM 2003) que possibilita ao investigador analisar como os afetos surgem na relação sujeito-esporte-ambiente. A pesquisa utilizou-se de um censo constituído por 19 adolescentes na faixa etária de 12 à 17 anos de idade praticantes de atividades esportivas e que freqüentam uma ONG (Organização-Não-Governamental) chamada ARCA (Associação Recreativa e Esportiva para Crianças e Adolescentes). Neste sentido, o eixo de minha dissertação foi procurar verificar como o esporte surge no bairro a partir do instrumento do mapa afetivo (BOMFIM 2003) por adolescentes praticantes de atividades esportivas sistemáticas. Foi analisada a vivência esportiva relacionada ao bairro por intermédio do eixo da afetividade. Para tanto esse conceito foi enfocado dentro de um posicionamento fundamentado em Lane e Sawaia (1994) Sawaia (2000 2004) e também na psicologia do esporte (SAMULSKI 2002 WEINBERG & GOULD 2001). Como resultado da pesquisa observou-se que a maior parte dos entrevistados sugeriu tanto na parte qualitativa quanto na escala likert dos mapas afetivos imagens de contraste agradabilidade pertinência e destruição. Sendo que em ambas as análises a imagem de contrastes obteve uma maior média segundo a estatística descritiva. Os resultados indicam que o esporte mesmo sendo citado em imagens contrastantes está vinculado com estima positiva pois na análise qualitativa dos mapas afetivos percebe-se que estas práticas surgem em contraposição aos aspectos negativos relacionados ao bairro tais como violência drogase poluição. Além disso a freqüências obtidas na escala Likert de imagens de agradabilidade e pertinência sugerem que a prática esportiva também pode ser geradora de outros afetos positivos em relação ao bairro. Dessa forma foi verificado que o esporte como um todo tem a possibilidade de levar os adolescentes não somente ao lugar mais alto de um pódio mas sim à uma melhora na relação com seu local de moradia ajudando a estabelecer novos vínculos e novas possibilidades diante do horizonte que se abre a sua volta e que a Psicologia mais especificamente a Psicologia Ambiental também pode ajudar nesse caminho nesse desafio nesse novo ambiente que seria o esporte