Preview

Aggression in Sport essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
6206 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Aggression in Sport essay
Introduction:
Aggression in sport has always been a major issue. Whether it be insults thrown around a school yard playground during a game of football. To hateful attacks on other players, be it physical or verbal, in the premier division of any sport. It can be a problem for the individual who is acting aggressive, such as a disciplinary action or the recipient of the aggression, for example they could suffer injury as result. This can have a larger effect. Sporting teams can lose key players due to injury, because of an aggressive action or to disciplinary action, such as an athlete being sidelined for a number of weeks because of their aggressive behaviour. This can also cause problems for the sport’s governing body as a whole, and for these reasons, action must be taken to reduce athlete aggression in sport. Even the International Society of Sport Psychology recently recognized that sport aggression has become a social problem both on and off the playing field and has recommended ways to curtail this behaviour (Tenenbaum, Stewart, Singer, & Duda, 1997) In this information sheet I will describe the different forms of aggression and how it can be dealt with.
Definitions Of aggression:

A forceful behaviour, action, or attitude that is expressed physically, verbally, or symbolically. It may arise from innate drives or occur as a defence mechanism, often resulting from a threatened ego. It is manifested by either constructive or destructive acts directed toward oneself or against others. (Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier)

‘Aggression is any behaviour that is intended to harm another individual by physical or verbal
Means.’ (Bull, 1990)

‘Aggression is any form of behaviour directed toward the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment.’ (Baron, 1994)

‘Aggression is an intentional physically or psychologically harmful behaviour that is directed at another living organism.’

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    M1 Challenging behaviour

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A person portraying aggressive behaviour may fight with people when frustrated or speak in an abusive manner. Particularly this behaviour is often shown when a person is becoming frustrated with a certain situation. For example, a boy with Aspergers may be asked to read something aloud in front of his class, however due to his syndrome he does not feel comfortable in social situations. He may feel personally victimised and under pressure which may cause him to behave aggressively towards his teacher or his peers. He may refuse to do the task or be distracted while doing the task and then become violent within the classroom after. Another example is people with ADHD, as the simplest of issues can be a blown up infuriation for them. They are naturally aggressive and impulsive which makes it difficult for them to stay calm in every day frustrations. It is their neurochemical make up that causes them to behave this way as it is different to that of people without ADHD. An example of a trigger for aggressive behaviour of an ADHD person would be if the person was concentrating on a television programme and they were interrupted by someone. They would tend to lash out or portray abusive language towards the person who interrupted them. Aggression can be triggered by frustration. If a child is unable to solve a maths problem at school then this may cause them to have a tantrum and they may fight with their peers or be violent. Also another cause/trigger of aggression could be if a child’s peer would not share a toy and this could trigger the child to behave violently and either lash out or throw objects in rejection of their peer. This could be challenging for a teacher to control, especially if that child has a condition which causes them to be particularly more frustrated than other children without conditions. Autism is a condition that often means…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    M1 Unit 27

    • 605 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Aggression is a difficult behaviour to predict but also it is often hard to control. It comes in many physical, verbal and non-verbal forms. Physical aggression can appear from as little as slapping/ hitting a person to firing a gun at someone. Verbal aggression can be someone screaming or using abusive/racist language and non-verbal can include things like using offensive gestures or invading an individual’s personal space. A person may express this kind of behaviour if they are either distressed or if they want to communicate an unmet need. It is classified in 2 groups:…

    • 605 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Institutional Aggression

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It is difficult to define aggression in this context as individuals would regard it as innocent fun. E.g. Researchers stated 1 in 5 students asked in their study met the criteria of aggressive initiation. However when the students were asked if they felt the same way only 1 in 20 thought they had.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aggression is the feeling of anger and hatred that may result in threatening or violent behavior. It is also a physical or emotional expression of the feelings of dissatisfaction arising out of the comparison between what people presently have and what they believe they should have, what they ought to have or what they believe is ideal. The theories of aggression assert that aggression is the inevitable result of frustration or conflict, they affirm that aggression results out of an innate instinct flowing towards destructive tendencies and maintain that aggression arises out of social dysfunction. According to Dollard (1939) the frustration-aggression theory of aggression asserts that aggression is always an inevitable result of frustration.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One social psychological theory of aggression is based on the Social Learning Theory. It is the behavioural approach, which suggests that all behaviours, such as aggression are learnt, through observation and imitation, the theory suggests that there are various steps which need to take place in order for aggression to be learnt. First of all, attention needs to be paid to the aggressive behaviour, it is then important for the behaviour to be remembered and finally motivation. The person reproducing the aggressive behaviour has to have some sort of motivation to do so.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aggression is something that people will experience throughout life whether they are experiencing it directly or indirectly. Throughout the years, aggression has been studied in many different forms and ways. It ranges greatly and can range all the way from destructive behavior down to an insulting remark. Direct aggression would be referred to as a physical altercation or incident and indirect aggression would someone spreading gossip throughout a group of people Aggression comes in many different shapes and sizes. Defining the term aggression has been a major argument throughout the scientific community for many years. The most widely accepted definition of the term aggression was defined by Buss ( 1961: 1) as “a response that delivers noxious…

    • 149 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Violence in sport has become far too commonplace. Aggressive sports such as football and hockey involve many aggressive tactics; however far too often do these aggressive tactics become overshadowed by deliberate acts of violence with the intent to cause bodily harm to an opponent. Many professional and non-profession athletes, as well as coaches, have adapted the mentality that winning is the common goal that all who participate in sport strive for and therefore feel that engaging in violent acts while competing should be permitted in achieving this goal. In sport winning is what each athlete strives for and seemingly they will consign in harmful acts of violence to achieve their goal. Former Boston Bruins player David Forbes was quoted “ I just don’t see, no matter how wrong the act is, how anything that happens in an athletic contest be criminal”, (Gillespie). The mentality of being above the law that most professional athletes possess does not only affect the game in which they are playing. Many athletes who execute physical acts of violence while competing are more prone to committing such violent acts in their everyday lives, most commonly domestic violence. (Harvard Law Review). Spectator violence and hooliganism are also primarily linked to the violence fans observe during sporting events. (Williams). Also, professional and amateur sport has become an integral part of our culture and society. Sports can be seen or heard, in one form or another, at any time of day or night. Professional athletes are amongst the most publicized people in the world. Thus, the words and actions of these athletes have been commonly mistaken as notions of acceptable conduct. Therefore, people, especially children, who view these acts of excessive and dangerous violence often imitate the aggressive acts they too frequently observe from professional and amateur athletes. The core of these on going problems is the lack of, or far too feeble disciplinary actions assigned to players…

    • 2392 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Challenging Behavior

    • 2441 Words
    • 10 Pages

    According to Berkowitz (1993) aggression refers to goal-directed motor behavior that has a deliberate intent to harm or injure another object or person. On the other hand, did not conceptualize aggression to include intentions, but instead considered aggression as harmful behavior that violates social norms. Buss & Perry (1992) defined verbal and physical aggression as the motor components of behavior that involve hurting or harming others. Barratt (1991) further classified aggression into three categories: premeditated, medically related, and impulsive aggression. The distinction between premeditated (proactive) and impulsive (reactive) aggression has been made by others. In people with developmental disabilities, aggressive behavior can occur in many forms or topographies, including hitting, biting, choking, kicking, spitting, and hair pulling.…

    • 2441 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Aggressive Behavior

    • 2073 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Aggression is usually defined by behavioral scientists as behavior that is intended to harm another person. Common forms of aggression are physical (for example, punching), verbal (for example, saying or writing hurtful things to another person), and relational (for example, intentionally and publicly not inviting someone to a party to harm his social relationships). Violence usually is conceived as more extreme forms of physical aggression that are likely to result in physical injury. The most extreme form of violence is homicide, but any form of aggressive behavior that is likely to result in an injury serious enough to warrant medical attention is considered violence. Thus, fights involving weapons as well as fistfights by adolescents old enough to be able to inflict serious injuries are considered acts of violence.…

    • 2073 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aggression is an act of hostility with deliberate intention to harm another person against his or her will. Some psychologists believe that aggression is an important aspect of our evolutionary ancestry and it is understood better in that context, whereas others believe that aggression is best explained in physiological terms e.g. the imbalance of hormones or neurotransmitters in the brain. There are many definitions used to explain why humans/ animals become aggressive (http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisaggress_rxeo.htm).…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aggression – Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone. I was married for 11 years to a very physically and verbally abusive man. Daily he told me what a piece of crap I was and belittled me every chance he got. He broke my nose, burnt my car to the ground and just about anything you could imagine. His aggression nearly destroyed me as a person. I am so thankful today to be out of that relationship.…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Aggression is defined as behaviour directed towards another living being with the intent of harming or injuring them in someway, and can be defined as either Hostile Aggression or Instrumental Aggression. The difference being that Hostile Aggression is aggressive behaviour which its main focus is, on causing or bringing harm to someone. For example, a parent yelling at a child to make them feel bad. It is usually driven by arousal, impulsivity, and immediate to situational provocation. It may be closer to the kinds of aggression identified by instinct theories. It includes irritable aggression. While Instrumental aggression is a learned response, and aggression is used, for achieving certain goals, for example a parent yelling at a child to prevent them running in the road and been hit by a car. In this mode aggression is just another way of getting what you want or avoiding being criticised by authority (obedience based aggression as in the Milgram study), or gaining normal awards. (1)…

    • 2423 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Question 1 – The concept of aggression is an act in which causes injury or anxiety to others or the destruction of property. Aggression may be directed outward, against others, or inward, against the self, It is often driven by some form of frustration.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nowadays, we see much more grown men and women acting cruel all over the world. “Human aggression and conflict are part of every society" . However, in order to know how to prevent aggression, we have to know what it is first. Aggression is the act of doing something willingly or involuntarily in order to hurt someone. It can be a self-defense or a voluntary act. There are different types of aggressions: verbal aggression (teasing), physical aggression (fighting), social cruelty (ganging up), hostile and instrumental…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Relational Aggression

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hitting, kicking, pinching, stabbing and shooting are types of physical aggression (Anderson, 2016, pp. 59).” Aggression can be depicted in different forms. One example is verbal aggression, when an individual says something that is hurtful to another individual with the intent to hurt their feelings. Relational aggression is a form of aggression that involves the individual trying doing things without the other individual knowing with the intent to damage their reputation or intrapersonal relationships. An example of this is spreading rumors to intentionally hurt the other individual. Physical aggression takes place when an individual is physically putting their hands or object on someone with the intent of hurting them. There is a fine line between the description of aggression and violent behavior. Violent behavior is an “aggressive behavior (as identified above) that has a reasonable chance of causing harm serious enough to require medical attention” (Anderson, 2016, pp. 59). This form of behavior is more extreme than aggressive behavior and can seriously injure a…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics