Violence In Sports Essay, Research Paper

For the purpose of this assignment our group chose to do research concerning violence in sports. I wanted to know whether violence in sports lead to aggressive behaviours in people. I found scholarly journal articles to help answer my question.

Journal of Sport and Social Issues:

?Spectator Enjoyment Of Aggression In Intercollegiate Hockey Games?

The study wanted to find out whether the hockey players aggression on the ice is directly related to the spectator enjoyment of the game in the crowd.

The researchers had made a few predictions prior to commencing their study. They predicted that the male spectators would enjoy more acts of aggression than would the female spectators. They had also imagined that the younger sport fan would like more aggressive acts in the game than would the older spectators.

To test their predictions they surveyed the spectators at the hockey games and used the actual game statistics. The researchers attended 16 intercollegiate hockey games at one Midwestern University. Thirty-two subjects per game were randomly selected to complete a short survey concerning their age, gender, and their interest in the game. In total 654 people (248 females and 376 males) ranging in age from 8-82yrs participated in the study. They used both non-aggressive indexes such as shots on goalie, team saves, and home and away scores, and aggressive indexes such as penalty minutes, and power plays to measure the level of spectator enjoyment.

The study yielded surprising results. Contrary to their predictions, enjoyment of the games was directly related to the aggressiveness of the game for both men and women. Also, the researchers did not find any strong differences between younger to older spectators. They equally enjoyed aggressive acts in sports.

International Sports Journal:

?The Verbal Aggression Of Sport Spectators: A Comparison of Hostile and Instrumental Motives?

This study set out to find the motives behind verbal aggressions in sport spectators. They defined 2 aggressions called hostile and instrumental. Hostile aggression is referred to as the actions that are motivated by anger. The goal is to harm another person. Instrumental aggression is intended to harm another person but the goal is to achieve a result such as a victorious game.

They predicted that spectators who viewed an aggressive sport would report higher levels of aggression than those who viewed a less aggressive sport.

The researchers went to six intercollegiate basketball games and 2 intercollegiate hockey games. 402 participants were randomly selected at the end of the game to complete a questionnaire about their reactions to the game and the extent to which the participant had acted verbally aggressive toward the opposition and/or officials.

This study resulted in favourable conclusions for the researchers. They found that those whom witnessed the least aggressive sport reported the least amount of aggression, and the most amount of aggression came from those whom watched a more aggressive sport. They concluded that by watching aggressive sports like hockey where the players are checking, high sticking, and fighting each other, leads to particularly high levels of hostile aggression mostly targeted at the officials of the game.

Journal of Sport and Social Issues:

?Male Student-Athletes Reported For Sexual Assault: A Survey of Campus Police Departments and Judicial Affairs Offices?

The researchers set out to see if there was a substantial link between sexual assault reports made on campus and athletic affiliation. It has been suggested by many that athletes are more prone to commit acts of sexual aggression. The researchers wanted to empirically prove or disprove this suggestion.

The study compared the rates of reported sexual assaults for varsity athletes with the rest of the male student population. 107 cases of sexual assault were examined. The data was collected from 20 campus police departments and 10 judicial affairs office, all from institutions with the top 20 University basketball or football teams in the United States of America. This research relied upon official documentation and reports. Each participating institution internally investigated the incidences of sexual assault in conjunction with varsity team members or athletes.

In the end, the Campus Police Departments yielded no significant difference between the male student athletes and the other male students that were involved in the assault reports. The Judicial Affairs Offices yielded quite different results. In 1991, the male athletes accounted for 2.8% of the total male student population yet represented 24% of the perpetrators for sexual assault.

There are connections between the culture of sport and violence against women. The findings of this research clearly indicate the existence of a problem.

More research needs to be done on the topic of violence in sports. It is hard to conclude with absolute certainty whether or not violence in sports leads people to act in aggressive manners. However, it is clear that violent athletic competitions are particularly likely to facilitate fan aggression. Verbal aggression often leads to physical aggression and that there is a sort of underground world in the arena of sports. Male segregated sports teams are emotionally bonded and often think from a position of power and status.

References :

DeNeui, D., & Sachau, D. 1996. ?Spectator Enjoyment Of Aggression In Intercollegiate Hockey Games.? Journal Of Sport And Social Issues, 20, 69-78.

Wann, D., Schrader, M., & Carlson, J. 2000. ?The Verbal Aggression of Sport Spectators: A Comparison of Hostile

And Instrumental Motives.? International Sports Journal, 4, 55-64

Crosset, T., Benedict, J., & McDonald, M. 1995. ?Male Student-Athletes Reported For Sexual Assault: A Survey Of Campus Police Departments And Judicial Affairs Offices.? Journal Of Sport And Social Issues, 19, 126-140.

Bibliography

References :

DeNeui, D., & Sachau, D. 1996. ?Spectator Enjoyment Of Aggression In Intercollegiate Hockey Games.? Journal Of Sport And Social Issues, 20, 69-78.

Wann, D., Schrader, M., & Carlson, J. 2000. ?The Verbal Aggression of Sport Spectators: A Comparison of Hostile

And Instrumental Motives.? International Sports Journal, 4, 55-64

Crosset, T., Benedict, J., & McDonald, M. 1995. ?Male Student-Athletes Reported For Sexual Assault: A Survey Of Campus Police Departments And Judicial Affairs Offices.? Journal Of Sport And Social Issues, 19, 126-140.