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65The influence of self-esteem on the emotional state of an athlete as personality
Vysochina N.
National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
Annotation:
Studies and analyses the influence of psychological factors on the emotional state of an athlete as personality. Scientific literature elucidates poorly the impact of self-esteem on the emotional state of an athlete as a factor promoting optimization of professional activity, which has made this problem very interesting for the study. The aim of this study is to trace the relationship between the self-esteem level and emotional state of an athlete personality as a factor promoting optimization of professional activity. The following methods were used: theoretical analysis, compilation and systematization of data from scientific literature. Research shows that the level of self-esteem exerts direct effect on the emotional state of an athlete, which predetermines his professional results.
Keywords:
self-esteem, emotional state, level of claim.
Височіна Н. Вплив самооцінки на емоційний стан особистості спортсмена. Дослідження та аналіз впливу психологічних факторів на емоційний стан спортсмена як особистості. Вплив самооцінки на емоційний стан спортсмена як фактор сприяння оптимізації професійної діяльності у науковій літературі висвітлений недостатньо, що зробило цю проблему дуже цікавою для вивчення. Метою даного дослідження є простеження взаємозв'язку між рівнем самооцінки і емоційним станом особистості спортсмена як фактора, що сприяє оптимізації професійної діяльності. Були використані наступні методи: теоретичний аналіз, узагальнення та систематизація даних наукової літератури. Дослідження показує, що рівень самооцінки надає безпосереднього впливу на емоційний стан спортсмена, що зумовлює його професійні результати.
самооцінка, емоційний стан, рівень домагань.
Высочина Н. Влияние самооценки на эмоциональное состояние личности спортсмена. Исследование и анализ влияния психологических факторов на эмоциональное состояние спортсмена как личности. Влияние самооценки на эмоциональное состояние спортсмена как фактор содействия оптимизации профессиональной деятельности в научной литературе освещено слабо, что сделало эту проблему очень интересной для изучения. Целью данного исследования является изучение взаимосвязи между уровнем самооценки и эмоциональным состоянием личности спортсмена как фактора, способствующего оптимизации профессиональной деятельности. Были использованы следующие методы: теоретический анализ, обобщение и систематизация данных научной литературы. Исследование показывает, что уровень самооценки оказывает непосредственное влияние на эмоциональное состояние спортсмена, которое предопределяет его профессиональные результаты.
самооценка, эмоциональное состояние, уровень притязаний.
Background
The influence of psychological factors on the fi repower of performances in athletes becomes particularly crucial in the modern sports of higher achievements. It is induced by a disproportionate increase not only of physical, but also of mental loads and consequently requirements for athletes over the past decades.
One of the most important factors influencing training, game and firepower is self-esteem of a personality [1,2,4,6]. Any start causes emotional stress, so an athlete should approach the competition with confi dence to complete. Scientific literature elucidates poorly the impact of self-esteem on the emotional state of an athlete as a factor promoting optimization of professional activity, which has made this problem very interesting for the study.
Material and Methods
The following methods were used: theoretical analysis, compilation and systematization of data from scientific literature.
The aim of this study is to trace the relationship between the self-esteem level and emotional state of an athlete personality as a factor promoting optimization of professional activity.
Results and Discussion
Self-esteem is one of the most important components among other social and pedagogic virtues of people engaged in any kind of activity and striving to make it more efficient.
This quality is of particular significance for athletes and their specific scope of activity, because influence of an emotional component is the most weighty (the fight is for ever lesser values of adding or reducing: seconds, centimeters, grams and even their shares). However, identification of correct self-esteem is a rather knotty process which demands certain knowledge, personal will, external action © Vysochina N., 2010
and great tenacity. So, it is necessary to help an athlete to develop a sense of his own worth, to increase his self-reliance. This is not only one of conditions for success during the training process, but also a pledge of achieving meaningful results in competitions which will raise gradually the athlete rating.
During learning, education and training of an athlete his need in self-esteem is formed and the athlete should be aimed at following certain rules:
• it is necessary to make a choice of an adequate object for comparison with himself or for imitation of that object; choosing an inadequate model for imitation an athlete plunges himself into frustration (Lat. frustratio means fraud, failure), a psychological state which appears in a situation of disappointment, failure to attain an important aim or need. This state is expressed by anguish, tension, anxiety, despair. The response to frustration may look like walkout to the world of dreams and fantasies accompanied by aggressive behavior. Being in that state an athlete transforms the status into an end in itself, losses the pleasure from the process of self-improvement and focuses only on an ideal result;
• an athlete probably does not know the price to be paid for a success. The initial feeling of euphoria when the aim is gained, weakens with time and is replaced by a sense of dissatisfaction, comprehension that many values of life need to be sacrificed to achieve the aim, to keep a high stable result. An athlete may lack time to communicate with relatives and friends, because it is impossible to communicate with them and to give his strength to sports simultaneously. Regular training, observance of the daytime routine, balanced diet require concentration of willpower efforts and, first of all, exacting attitude to himself. So, it follows that self-reliance is cultivated due to successful performance of difficult tasks;
• development of self-regulation of emotional states per-
Педагогіка, психологія та медико-біологічні
mits an athlete to observe attentively his pre-start state which is a decisive one in the system of psychological training. An athlete interprets sports events either as positive or as negative phenomena. If they are positive, the self-esteem level of an athlete increases and he can estimate critically his own actions, successes and failures, sports results of members of the team. In case of negative emotions the self-esteem falls and an athlete loses a possibility to estimate adequately the situation.
Acquiring habits of self-control and relaxation as well as ability to make self-esteem correctly and to increase its level if necessary, an athlete will be able to optimize results of his professional activity.
Self-esteem of an athlete depends first of all on dynamics and stability of his sports results. In his point of view the success is a primary and immediate aim of sports activity, main value he strives to obtain. The success is achieved by means of intensive sports training and is a connecting link between a series of personal and social goals, namely: high self-esteem, prestige, authority in colleagues, health, attractive appearance, physical perfection, public recognition, possibility to travel and so on.
All factors enumerated have a significant impact on the motivation structure of an athlete and are connected tightly with his emotional structure. In the psychological viewpoint a success in sports, being a source of motives and feelings, is a very critical event in the life of an athlete.
Estimate of a sports performance (either a success or a failure) is a subjective characteristic. A specific achievement is estimated depending on the level of an athlete’s claims. The level is determined as distinctly expressed subjective demands to a forthcoming result in the known activity deduced on the basis of presentation of the latter achievement. The level of claims may be interpreted also as an indirectly expressed self-esteem of an athlete in the form of a demand to quantitative and qualitative aspects of the forthcoming activity (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Dependece of the emotional state of self-esteem
The whole previous experience of an athlete, his ability to foresee own potentials, his appraisal of any properties of own personality, as well as impact of external factors (opinion of a coach, of a team, family and press) and personal examples exert influence on the level of claims. The level of claims is determined with respect to each sports performance. Proceeding from a self-esteem an athlete outlines the limit for himself which, in his opinion, he will be able to
achieve in the next competition.
Achievement of the result above the level of claims is very valuable for an athlete (often it serves a means to achieve other goals). It becomes his need and immediate aim. If that result is achieved, an athlete suffers his success positively and emotionally. If the result is below the level of claims, it means a failure for an athlete.
Psychic state which appears in an athlete as a result of his success is positive and favorable as implementation of the goal of sports training. It is characterized by pleasant feelings (easy movements, joy and laughter, typical relaxation of speech and so on), increases the level of claims in future activity, enhances motivation intensity and raises general capacity for work. It has been proved that most of athletes being in the successful situation demonstrate higher results [3, 5, 7].
However, existence of stable sports results may lead to the emotional dependence on a success and to panic fear of failure. In this case claims of an athlete are at the very high level as compared to rivals. An excessively overrated selfesteem is developed in him. The more regular and intensive the emotional psychic state, the higher the level of claims of an athlete as a result of the gained success, the deeper and more intensive his subjective conflict in case of failure. The very fact that the success has been achieved significantly more difficultly than it was expected, will be such a psychic trouble for an athlete that he will fail to show his usual result. It often occurs with equally trained athletes at the most important competitions and events. Such a danger is most typical of leading athletes, members of the national teams, talented young athletes.
A successful athlete with an exaggerated self-esteem begins to take training sessions as boring and tiresome ones, which induces a state of monotony in him. This state is described by loss of an interest, boredom, somnolence, fall of activity, appearance of fatigue characters long before real tiredness [9].
An overrated self-esteem may lead to underestimation of the situation complicacy during competition. This state is termed “pre-start complacency”. It causes lower energy and muscle tone, retardation of reactions, super contentment, a feeling of removal from the competition situation [8].
So, in terms of the psychological training of an athlete for competition, a success is desirable as an appropriate prerequisite of successful training and an intensifying factor. A wider series of repeated successes is a factor of risk in terms of the psychological training.
If an athlete reaches a result which does not satisfy his level of claims, a difficult situation appears where expectation of a success has not come true, advance to a goal is blocked, a way to achieve a value of dream is retarded or complicated. A state which arises in an athlete in such a situation is termed in psychology as frustration. Regulation of the pre-game state with frustration elements is a complex psychological problem which is solved by means of psychocorrection.
Frustration may show itself in giving up a definite type of activity, in deviation to meet an adversary fearing be defeated and so on. Oppressed by those feelings, an athlete estimates his performance as a failure, being unable to comprehend the situation adequately.
Psychic states which accompany frustration are char-
acterized by unpleasant feelings of a conflict type (malice, fear and so on), which may cause a decrease in the level of claims in future activity, change of motivation, deterioration of athlete’s capacity for work. It is eloquently shown by behavior of athletes characterized by the low level of psychological adaptation to varying conditions, which is impressively demonstrated by post-game frustration. As a result of this unreasonably heightened motivation appears looking as a stereotype and blind repetition of activity, longing for further attempts, deterioration of cognitive processes and so on. When trying to compensate frustration, the low level of psychological adaptation to situations will be seen in giving the runaround, simulation, mocking at the performance results, change in attitude to the running activity which may even cause rebuff of it.
Frustration may be induced by a high level of claims. Sports failures are very negative phenomenon during training, particularly if there is a series of interrelated failures. That is why in certain cases a coach should lower importance of the failures using the thought-out regulation of pregame states and correctly chosen organization of further training of an athlete.
In most cases athletes of higher rank have high level of claims which exceeds the level of their latter result and often even leaves behind present limits of firepower. Results signifi cantly exceeding the level of claims and demonstrated during training are, as a rule, estimated by an athlete as a success and raise positive emotions. The success is followed by a considerable increase in the level of claims, total capacity for work. Emotional rise is observed as well. A result below the level of claims is evaluated as failure [2, 5].
Under conditions of training an athlete treats his claims in compliance with results attained previously in this field. Most often he is inclined to understate requirements to himself as compared to the latter result in order to retain definite moral “reserve”. Under conditions of competitions, vice versa, the level of claims stimulates an athlete to increase requirements to himself trying to improve the latter result. This fact demonstrates a tendency to maximize the achieve-
ment, which causes failure to attain the level of claims in subsequent attempts. In this situation athletes often endure impact of frustration mechanisms.
Conclusion
Analysis of literature from science has shown that the level of self-esteem exerts direct effect on the emotional state of an athlete, which predetermines his professional results. The self-esteem level of athletes of higher rank is characterized by high performance and depends on actual results of their activity. A self-esteem formed on the basis of feeling of self-reliance engenders emotional comfort, harmonizes personality of an athlete, countervails his psychic state and leads to stable and successful results.
Ability to self-regulation of psychic states, development of emotional-volitional properties on the basis of high selfesteem are one of main promising problems in the field of psychological training of athletes.
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Came to edition 10.02.2010. Wisotschina Nadjeschda Leonidovna naspa2@yandex.ru
