C. Roger Rees

Do high school sports build character? A quasi-experiment on a national sample

Abstract Popular sport culture, conventional social wisdom and promotional ideology by athletic associations suggest that participation in high school varsity sports programs has positive effects on prosocial personality traits (i.e., sport “builds character”). While it is an open ended process to specify which facets of personality are affected during the high school years by playing sports, we use a broad array of personality measures in a secondary analysis of a five-wave panel of U.S. males. Drawing from the nationally representative Youth in Transition panel (n = 1,628), we employ a quasi-experimental design incorporating pre- and post-sports participation measures of personality to evaluate the “sport builds character” argument. Few statistically significant effects of varsity sports participation on social character are observed in these data on males during the late-60s and early-70s. Since little positive evidence was found, we challenge the “sports builds character” myth of conventional high school sport programs.

Role Differentiation In Groups The Relationship Between Instrumental and Expressive Leadership

Empirical tests of leadership role differentiation theory have been limited to experimental groups This article examines the degree of differentiation between mstrumental and expressive leadership roles m two natural groups (college football teams) that have high consensus regardmg task goals and high task legitimacy. As predicted, there is a relatively high degree of leadership role integration, with several members of each group chosen as fulfilling both leadership roles. All these leaders have high formal task status. There are also some leaders who are task or social leaders only. Task specialists all score high on formal task status, while social specialists all score high on group seniority. Finally, the three types of leaders tend to receive higher rates ojmterpersonal attraction (respect and liking) than do nonleaders and the most highly chosen leaders are the most respected.

The steroids/sports supplements connection: pragmatism and sensation-seeking in the attitudes and behavior of JHS and HS students on Long Island.

In this article we examine the importance of sensation seeking and pragmatism in the steroids and sports supplements behavior and attitudes of high school and junior high school students on Long Island, New York. Steroid use is much less acceptable than sports supplement use, although the reasons for use are similar. Respondents use supplements more than steroids, have a greater variety of attitudes toward their use, and have a high acceptance of their “energy” potential. There is a significant effect of current sports supplements use on future steroid use. Independent of measurement format (fixed choice questions and hypothetical situations), the steroids-sports supplement connection seems to exist within a pragmatic approach to cosmetic fitness, where the goal is improving physical ability and appearance.

Conflict Resolution in Games and Sports

Structural elements which seem to limit and control conflicts in games and sports are examined. How these elements may be developed within sport environments is then discussed. Valuable lessons can be learned (a) from sports and games in non-Western societies where conflict is often controlled by ritual, (b) from the informal games of children, where the play element often is maintained, and (c) from the concept of subordinate goals, developed as a way of ensuring association. Finally, these three forms of conflict resolution are demonstrated in the game of rugby football.

Overcoming Obstacles to Collaboration and Integration in Physical Education

This paper identifies subdisciplinary fragmentation, academic elitism, and negative stereotyping as obstacles impeding the process of collaboration among different groups within the profession of physical education. It provides examples of projects in which academics interacted among themselves and with physical education teachers, classroom teachers, and volunteer coaches. To the extent that these interactions reduce fragmentation and allow academics and practitioners to act as equal partners in the process of problem setting and problem solving, they are offered as ways to “connect” in physical education and as a basis for professional integration.

The Olympic Dilemma: Applying the Contact Theory and Beyond.

This paper analyzes the Olympic dilemma from the perspective of social psychology. Specifically, the contact theory is applied to the interaction of organizers, athletes, and spectators at the Olympic Games. The literature investigating the relationship between interaction and the development of positive feelings among participants is reviewed and, where possible, hypotheses based upon the contact theory are developed. Finally, changes are suggested in the Olympic format which would increase the opportunities for positive outcomes from interaction.