Antecedents and Consequences of Outward Emotional Reactions in Table Tennis.

Julian Fritsch,Emily Finne,Anne-Marie Elbe,Darko Jekauc,Diana Zerdila,Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.578159

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to shed light on the behavioral component of emotions by investigating antecedents and consequences of outward emotional reactions during table tennis competitions. With regards to the antecedents of outward emotional reactions, in line with appraisal theories, we considered the importance and the controllability of the situation as two important constructs. Fifteen table tennis matches, involving in total 21 players (7 females) with a mean age of 16.71 (SD = 0.70), were video recorded during the finals of the youth National Championship in Greece. Based on the footage, outward emotional reactions after every point were classified as neutral, positive, or negative. Situational factors in relation to the scoring system, bearing the importance and the controllability of the situation, were formed to assess antecedents of outward emotional reactions. To measure the consequences of outward emotional reactions, the impact on the outcome of the next point was assessed. Generalized linear models with a logit link were computed separately for positive outward emotional reactions after having won a point and negative outward emotional reactions after having lost a point. In general, the results show that while situational factors bearing the importance of the situation could predict positive and negative outward emotional reactions, the effects of situational factors bearing the controllability of the situation were less conclusive. In addition, the results also showed interactive effects between the two constructs for both positive and negative outward emotional reactions. With regard to the consequences of outward emotional reactions, negative and positive outward emotional reactions could not predict the outcome of the next point. To conclude, this study highlights the behavioral component of emotions as a viable alternative to enhance our understanding of the role of emotions in sport.

Highlights

In sports like table tennis, players can react very differently, depending on whether they won or lost a point
The definition of emotions is highly debated (Lindquist et al, 2013), researchers agree that emotions consist of one’s individual subjective experience, physiological processes, and behavioral component
With regard to the 140 differently rated situations, only one of the coders identified a negative outward emotional reaction in 119 cases, and a positive outward emotional reaction in 21 cases, whereas the other coder rated all of the 140 outward emotional reactions as neutral

Summary

Introduction

In sports like table tennis, players can react very differently, depending on whether they won or lost a point. You cannot really tell from the players’ reaction whether the point was won or lost. This variety of emotional reactions during a match makes sport fascinating to watch, it says a lot about the psychological challenges players face in sports competitions. As an alternative to these methods, focusing primarily on the subjective experience of emotions or the perception of physiological processes, this study was based on the premise that emotions are observable from the outside. In this study we focused on the investigation of antecedents and consequences of outward emotional reactions in table tennis

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion