‘‘A Comparative Study of Emotional Intelligence and Achievement
Motivation among Interuniversity and Intercollegiate Kabaddi
Players’’
Chapter - I
Introduction
Traditionally, Indians have enjoyed various sporting activities and games. Sports history of India
dates back to the Vedic era. Traces of the earliest sport activities such as hunting, swimming,
boating, archery, horse riding, wrestling, martial arts, fishing and board games like chess, snakes
and ladders etc can be seen from ancient bronze ware, paintings etc and finds mention in books
such as the two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The origin and development of sports activities are closely related with the work, defence and
entertainment of the time. Records says that games like, Chess, Snakes and Ladders, Kabbadi,
Kho-Kho, playing cards, martial arts of 'Kalari Payattu' etc had originated as a sport in
India. Now the most popular sports in India is Cricket and Football. In fact, Cricket has become a
way of life with Indians and India has an impressive track record in cricket. Traditionally a
number of games were popular - Kho-Kho, Kabbadi, Gulli- Danda, Wrestling, camel race,
Vallamkali (boat race), pachisi are a few amongst them.
India is an active participant in major world sports tournaments such as the Olympics,
Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, SAF Games, Wimbledon and many others. The country
has hosted the Asian Games twice in 1951 and in 1982 and the World Table tennis
championships three times in 1952, 1975 and 1987.
But India's sportspersons have generally performed creditably only at the Asian and
Commonwealth games and in quite a few cases at the world level. From the1948 Olympics
through to the Athens, India's effort have brought a meager return of eight gold medals in
Hockey, six of them successively, three silver medals ( 2 in athletics and 1 in Hockey) and four
Bronze medals from the Olympics so far. A few notable performances, those of the triple-jumper
1
Henry Rebello (1948), quarter-miler Milkha Singh (1960), hurdler Gurbachan Singh Randhawa
(1964), 800m-runner Sriram Singh (1976) and P.T. Usha (400m hurdles, 1984) etc, Karnam
Malleswari (2004). Apart from Hockey, Tennis Doubles, Cricket, Billiards and Kabbadi, India
has had relatively little success in these tournaments.
India has produced some players with exceptional skills who have made their presence felt at the
international events in individual sports such as Viswanathan Anand in chess, Geeth Sethi in
Billiards, Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and recently
Sania Mirza who is making waves in tennis, Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand in
badminton; Rajyavardhan Rathore, Jaspal Rana, Mansher Singh (shooting), Anju George (long
jump), Narain Karthikeyan in Motor Racing, Chetan P. Baboor in table tennis, Chiranjeev
Milkha Singh in golf, and A.Maria Irudayam in carrom etc. All these sportspersons and many
others lent prestige and splendour to the Indian sports.
But, in a country having a population of over a billion, these stars represent a microcosm of the
stars at the world level. With the introduction of new equipment and techniques of coaching and
training, there is hope that India will show a marked improvement in various disciplines of sport.
The history of sports probably extends as far back as the existence of people as
purposive sportive and active beings. Sport has been a useful way for people to increase
their mastery of nature and the environment. The history of sport can teach us a great
deal about social changes and about the nature of sport itself. Sport seems to involve
basic human skills being developed and exercised for their own sake, in parallel with
being exercised for their usefulness. It also shows how society has changed its beliefs
and therefore there are changes in the rules. Of course, as we go further back in history
the dwindling evidence makes the theories of the origins and purposes of sport difficult
to support. Nonetheless, its importance in human history is undeniable.
2
Antiquity
Sports that are at least two and a half thousand years old include hurling (similar to
field hockey) in Ireland, harpastum (similar to rugby) in Rome, cuju (similar to
association football) in China, and polo in Persia. The Mesoamerican ballgame
originated over three thousand years ago.
There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting
activities as early as 4000 BC. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in
China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports,
including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated several thousands
of years ago in ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high
jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of
Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills. Among other sports that
originate in Persia are polo and jousting.
Ancient Greece
Depictions of ritual sporting events are seen in the Minoan art of Bronze Age Crete
(from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC), mainly involving religious bull-leaping and
possibly bullfighting. Homer tells us that sport was practised in Mycenaean times,
between 1600 BC and ca. 1100 BC. In the Iliad there are extensive descriptions of funeral
sports games held in honour of deceased warriors, and engaging in sports is described
as the occupation of the noble and wealthy, who have no need to do manual labour
themselves. In the Odyssey, king Odysseus of Ithaca proves his royal status to king
Alkinoös of the Phaiakes by showing his proficiency in throwing the javelin. It was
predictably in Greece that sports were first instituted formally, with the first Olympics
recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, where they were celebrated until 393 AD. Initially a
3
single sprinting event, the Olympics gradually expanded to include several footraces,
run in the nude or in armor, boxing, wrestling, pankration, chariot racing, long jump,
javelin throw, and discus throw. A variety of informal and formal games were popular
in Ancient Greece, with the most prestigious ones achieving Panhellenic status. Some
games, e.g. the Panathenaia of Athens, included musical, reading and other non-athletic
contests in addition to regular sports events. High-profile athletes were major celebrities
in Ancient Greece. City walls were torn down when victors returned home, as a city of
such men was said to be in no need for walls to defend itself. They were often granted
lifetime pensions or dining rights at public expense. Regardless of such material
rewards granted afterwards, the most prestigious games were strictly stephanítai (from
the Greek: στέφανος, stéphanos, a wreath or crown of plant branches), i.e. the only prize
awarded was a wreath and the athletes competed for glory alone.
Middle Ages
For at least seven hundred years, entire villages have competed with each other in
rough, and sometimes violent, ballgames in England (Shrovetide football) and Ireland
(caid). In contrast, the game of calcio Fiorentino, in Florence, Italy, was originally
reserved for the aristocracy. The aristocracy throughout Europe favoured sports as
patrons. Horse racing, in particular, was a favourite of the upper class in Great Britain,
with Queen Anne founding the Ascot Racecourse.
Development of modern sport
Writing about cricket in particular, John Leach (2005a) has explained the role of Puritan
power, the Civil War, and the Restoration of the monarchy in England. The Long
Parliament in 1642 "banned theatres, which had met with Puritan disapproval.
Although similar action would be taken against certain sports, it is not clear if cricket
4
was in any way prohibited, except that players must not break the Sabbath. In 1660, "the
Restoration of the monarchy in England was immediately followed by the reopening of
the theatres and so any sanctions that had been imposed by the Puritans on cricket
would also have been lifted." He goes on to make the very important point that political,
social and economic conditions in the aftermath of the Restoration encouraged
excessive gambling, so much so that a Gambling Act was necessary in 1664. It is certain
that cricket, horse racing and boxing (i.e., prizefighting) were financed by gambling
interests. Leach explains that it was the habit of cricket patrons, all of whom were
gamblers, to form strong teams through the 18th century to represent their interests. He
defines a strong team as one representative of more than one parish and he is certain
that such teams were first assembled in or immediately after 1660. Prior to the English
Civil War and the Commonwealth, all available evidence concludes that cricket had
evolved to the level of village cricket only where teams that are strictly representative of
individual parishes compete. The "strong teams" of the post-Restoration mark the
evolution of cricket (and, indeed of professional team sport, for cricket is the oldest
professional team sport) from the parish standard to the county standard. As he rightly
says, this was the point of origin for major, or first-class, cricket.1660 also marks the
origin of professional team sport.A number of the English Public Schools, such as
Winchester and Eton, introduced sports for their pupils, particularly variants of
football. These were described at the time as "innocent and lawful," certainly in
comparison with the rural games.With the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the
movement of the populace from the country to the cities, the rural games moved to the
new urban centres and came under the influence of the middle and upper classes. The
rules and regulations devised at English public schools began to be applied to the wider
game, with governing bodies in England being set up for a number of sports by the end
of the 19th century. The rising influence of the upper class also produced an emphasis
of the amateur, and the spirit of 'fair play'.The industrial revolution also brought with it
5
increasing mobility, and created the opportunity for English public schools, and
universities in Britain and elsewhere, to compete with each other. This sparked
increasing attempts to unify and reconcile various public school games in England,
leading to the establishment of the Football Association in London, the first official
governing body in football.
Modern history
The influence of British sports and their codified rules began to spread across the world
in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly association football. A number of
major teams elsewhere in the world still show these British origins in their names, such
as AC Milan in Italy, Corinthians in Brazil, and Athletic Bilbao in Spain. Cricket became
popular in several of the nations of the then British Empire, such as Australia, South
Africa and India. The revival of the Olympic Games by Baron Pierre de Coubertin was
also heavily influenced by the amateur ethos of the English public schools. Baseball
became established in the urban Northeastern United States, with the first rules being
codified in the 1840s, while American football was very popular in the south-east. With
baseball spreading to the south, and American football spreading to the north after the
Civil War. In the 1870s the game split between the professionals and amateurs; the
professional game rapidly gained dominance, and marked a shift in the focus from the
player to the club. The rise of baseball also helped squeeze out other sports such as
Cricket, which had been popular in Philadelphia prior to the rise of Baseball.American
football also has its origins in the English variants of the game, with the first set of
intercollegiate football rules based directly on the rules of the Football Association in
London. However, Harvard chose to play a game based on the rules of Rugby football.
Walter Camp would then heavily modify this variant in the 1880s, with the
modifications also heavily influencing the rules of Canadian football.Some historians—
6
notably Bernard Lewis—claim that team sports are primarily an invention of Western
cultures. The traditional teams sports, according to these authors, springs from Europe,
primarily England. This ignores some of the ancient games of cooperation from ,
paragliding, canyoning, BASE jumping, Parkour and more genteelly, orienteering. The
history of sport education is an important topic of the political history.
There are many sports whose modern rules were formulated during the mid- or late19th century. World-wide, this certainly includes many different football codes, lawn
bowls, lawn tennis and others. The major impetus for this was the patenting of the
world's first lawnmower in 1830. This allowed for the preparation of modern ovals,
playing fields, pitches, grass courts, etc.
Women's sport history
Women's competition in sports has been frowned upon by many societies in the past.
The English public-school background of organised sport in the 19th and early 20th
century led to a paternalism that tended to discourage women's involvement in sports,
with, for example, no women officially competing in the 1896 Olympic Games.The 20th
century saw major advances in the participation of women in sports, although women's
participation as fans, administrators, officials, coaches, journalists, and athletes remains
in general less than men's. Mass involvement tends to favour sports such as swimming
and aerobics, and tends to stress the competitive aspects less than men.The increase has
been partly related to the drive for more women's rights. In the United States, female
students participation in sports was significantly boosted by the Title 9 Act in 1972,
preventing gender discrimination and equal opportunity for women to participate in
sport at all levels.Pressure from sports funding bodies has also improved gender
equality in sports. For example the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Leander
Rowing Club in England had both been male-only establishments since their founding
7
in 1787 and 1818, respectively, but both opened their doors to female members at the
end of the 20th century at least partially due to the requirements of the United Kingdom
Lottery Sports Fund.
Sport psychology
Sport psychology (or sports psychology) is the study of the psychological and mental
factors that affect and are affected by participation and performance in sport, exercise,
and physical activity. It is also a specialization within the brain psychology and
kinesiology that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect
performance in sports, physical activity, and exercise and apply these to enhance
individual and team performance. It deals with increasing performance by managing
emotions and minimizing the psychological effects of injury and poor performance.
Some of the most important skills taught are goal setting, relaxation, visualization, selftalk, awareness and control, concentration, confidence, using rituals, attribution
training, and periodization.
The history of sport psychology
The first sport psychologist is said to have been Norman Triplett, a North American
man from Asia, born in 1861. Triplett’s first finding as a sport psychologist was that
cyclists cycle faster in pairs or a group, rather than riding solo.
Carl Diem, a German, founded the world’s first sport psychology laboratory in 1920.
Five years later, A.Z. Puni opened a lab at the Institute of Physical Culture in
Leningrad. Also in 1925, Coleman Griffith opened the first sport psychology lab in
North America at the University of Illinois. He began his research in factors that affect
sport performance in 1918, and in 1923, offered the first ever sport psychology course.
8
The International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) was formed by Dr. Ferruccio
Antonelli of Italy in 1965. In 1966, a group of sport psychologists met in Chicago to form
the North American Society of Sport Psychology and Physical Activity (NASPSPA).
In the 1970's, sport psychology became a part of the curriculum on university campuses.
These courses which were generally found in the kinesiology programs taught students
how to develop positive attitudes in athletes using cognitive and behavioral
modification techniques. In the 1980's, sport psychology became more research focused.
Sport psychologists looked into performance enhancement, the psychological impact of
exercise and over training as well as stress management.
Today, sport and exercise psychologists have begun to research and provide
information in the ways that psychological well-being and vigorous physical activity
are related. This idea of psychophysiology, monitoring brain activity during exercise
has aided in this research. Also, sport psychologists are beginning to consider exercise
to be a therapeutic addition to healthy mental adjustment.
Just recently have sport psychologists begun to be recognized for the valuable
contributions they make in assisting athletes and their coaches in improving
performance during competitive situations, as well as understanding how physical
exercise may contribute to the psychological well-being of non-athletes. Many can
benefit from sport psychologists: athletes who are trying to improve their performance,
injured athletes who are looking for motivation, individuals looking to overcome the
pressure of competition, and young children involved in youth sports as well as their
parents. Special focus is geared towards psychological assessment of athletes.
Assessment can be both, focused on selection of athletes and the team set up of rosters
as well as on professional guidance and counseling of single athletes.
9
Sport psychology terminology
A few terms used in sport psychology:
•
Cohesion – Group cohesion refers to the extent to which a team or group shares a
sense of shared task or social bond
•
Imagery – Refers to 'imagined' sensations, for example visual imagery is known
as 'visualization'
•
Attention Focus – Being able to block everything out, e.g., a crowd.
•
Motivation– Recent research implies that sports-related achievement motivation
is composed of several traits that together form a general orientation of a person
towards achievement in sports. This research refers to The Achievement
Motivation Inventory (AMI) (Schuler, Thornton, Frintrup & Mueller-Hanson,
2003) which is a broad-spectrum assessment of achievement-motivation in
business, and has been used to develop the Sports Performance Indicator.
•
Internal Monologue - Maintaining positive thoughts during competition by
keeping a running conversation going in one's mind
•
Criticism - A tenet of motivational theory that is necessary to improve
performance. The proper delivery of that criticism is imperative, as criticism can
either better performance or drastically worsen it. There are three types of
criticism: Destructive, Self, and Constructive. The best method of delivering
constructive criticism is the "sandwich" approach; here, one first offers a
compliment, then offers and critical feedback and useful directions to improve in
that particular area, and then end with another compliment.
10
Sport
A sport is an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring
commitment and fair play, in which a winner can be defined by objective means. It is
governed by a set of rules or customs. In a sport the key factors are the physical
capabilities and skills of the competitor when determining the outcome (winning or
losing). The physical activity involves the movement of people, animals and/or a variety
of objects such as balls and machines or equipment. In contrast, games such as card
games and board games, though these could be called mind sports and some are
recognized as Olympic sports, require primarily mental skills and only mental physical
involvement. Non-competitive activities, for example as jogging or playing catch, are
usually classified as forms of recreation.
Physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first often define the result of a
sport. However, the degree of skill and performance in some sports such as diving,
dressage and figure skating is judged according to well-defined criteria. This is in
contrast with other judged activities such as beauty pageants and body building, where
skill does not have to be shown and the criteria are not as well defined.
Records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and
accomplishments are widely announced in sport news. Sports are most often played
just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical
condition. However, professional sport is a major source of entertainment.
While practices may vary, sports participants are expected to display good
sportsmanship, and observe standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents
and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.
11
Etymology and meaning
"Sport" comes from the Old French desport meaning "leisure." American English uses the
term "sports" to refer to this general type of recreational activity, whereas other regional
dialects use the singular "sport". The Persian word for "sport" is based on the root bord,
meaning "winning". The Chinese term for "sport," tiyu connotes "physical training". The
Modern Greek term for sport is Αθλητισμός (athlitismos), directly cognate with the
English terms "athlete" and "athleticism."
The oldest definition of sport in English (1300) is of anything humans find amusing or
entertaining. Other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of
gambling; hunting; and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise.
Roget's defines the noun sport as an "Activity engaged in for relaxation and
amusement" with synonyms including diversion and recreation. An example of a more
sharply defined meaning is "an athletic activity where one competitor or a team of
competitors plays against another competitor or group of competitors [with] a
conclusive method of scoring...not determined by a judge."
History
There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting
activities as early as 4000 BC. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in
China's ancient past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a number of sports,
including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated several thousands
of years ago in ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports included javelin throwing, high
jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of
Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills. Among other sports that
originate in ancient Persia are polo and jousting.
12
A wide range of sports were already established by the time of Ancient Greece and the
military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another
considerably. Sports became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks
created the Olympic Games, which in ancient times were held every four years in a
small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.
Sports have been increasingly organized and regulated from the time of the Ancient
Olympics up to the present century. Industrialization has brought increased leisure
time to the citizens of developed and developing countries, leading to more time for
citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation in athletic activities,
and increased accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and
global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the
increase in sport's popularity, as sports fans began following the exploits of professional
athletes through radio, television, and the internet—all while enjoying the exercise and
competition associated with amateur participation in sports.
In the new millennium, new sports have been going further from the physical aspect to
the mental or psychological aspect of competing. Electronic sports organizations are
becoming more and more popular.
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and
opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat.
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its
own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not
that you won or lost but how you played the game," and the Modern Olympic creed
13
expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing . . . is not
winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment.
Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional
aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent
behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or
celebration. Rioting or hooliganism are common and ongoing problems at national and
international sporting contests.
Professional sports
The entertainment aspect of sports, together with the spread of mass media and
increased leisure time, has led to professionalism in sports. This has resulted in some
conflict, where the paycheck can be seen as more important than recreational aspects, or
where the sports are changed simply to make them more profitable and popular,
thereby losing certain valued traditions.
The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to
celebrity status in media and popular culture.
Politics
At times, sports and politics can have a large amount of influence on each other.
When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sports people, particularly
in rugby union, adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in
competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual
demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and
reinforced its worst effects.
14
The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, perhaps best recognised
in retrospect, where an ideology was developing which used the event to strengthen its
spread through propaganda.
In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Until
the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football,
hurling, or other sports administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) if she/he
played or supported soccer, or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently
the GAA continued to ban the playing of soccer and rugby union at Gaelic venues. This
ban is still enforced, but has been modified to allow football and rugby be played in
Croke Park while Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped. Until recently, under Rule 21,
the GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC
from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to
the eventual removal of the ban.
Nationalism is often evident in the pursuit of sports, or in its reporting: people compete
in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. On
occasion, such tensions can lead to violent confrontation among players or spectators
within and beyond the sporting venue (see Football War). These trends are seen by
many as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sports being carried on for its own sake
and for the enjoyment of its participants.
Physical art
Sports have many affinities with art. For example, figure skating, artistic gymnastics,
dancesport, and Tai chi can be considered artistic spectacles. Similarly, there are other
activities that have elements of sport and art in their execution, such as bodybuilding,
free running, martial arts, performance art, Yoga, bossaball, dressage, and culinary arts.
15
Perhaps the best example is bull-fighting, which in Spain is reported in the arts pages of
newspapers.
All sports involve physical and mental activities that are pursued for more than simply
utilitarian reasons. For instance, running, when done as a sport, occurs for reasons
beyond simply moving from one place to another. Value is gained from this activity
when it is conducted simply for its own sake. This is similar to the concept of aesthetic
value, which is seeing something over and above the strictly functional value coming
from an object's normal use. For instance, an aesthetically pleasing car is one which
doesn't just get from A to B, but which impresses with its grace, poise, and charisma. In
the same way, a sporting performance such as jumping doesn't just impress as being an
effective way to avoid obstacles. It impresses because of the ability, skill, and style that
is demonstrated in its performance.
Art and sports were clearly linked at the time of Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and
calisthenics invoked admiration and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build,
prowess and 'arete' displayed by participants. The modern term 'art' as skill, is related
to this ancient Greek term 'arete'. The closeness of art and sport in these times was
revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games, which were celebrations of both sporting
and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture.
Technology
Technology has an important role in sports, whether applied to an athlete's health, the
athlete's technique, or equipment's characteristics.
•
Equipment - As sports have grown more competitive, the need for better
equipment has arisen. Golf clubs, (American) football helmets, tennis racquets,
16
baseball bats, soccer balls, hockey skates, and other equipment have all seen
considerable changes when new technologies have been applied.
•
Health - Ranging from nutrition to the treatment of injuries, as the knowledge of
the human body has deepened over time, an athlete's potential has been
increased. Athletes are now able to play to an older age, recover more quickly
from injuries, and train more effectively than previous generations of athletes.
•
Instruction - Advancing technology created new opportunities for research into
sports. It is now possible to analyse aspects of sports that were previously out of
the reach of comprehension. Being able to use motion capture to capture an
athlete's movement, or advanced computer simulations to model physical
scenarios has greatly increased an athlete's ability to understand what they are
doing and how they can improve themselves.
Terminology
In British English, sporting activities are commonly denoted by the mass noun "sport".
In American English, "sports" is more used. In all English dialects, "sports" is the term
used for more than one specific sport. For example, "football and swimming are my
favourite sports", would sound natural to all English speakers, whereas "I enjoy sport"
would sound less natural than "I enjoy sports" to North Americans.
The term "sport" is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities,
regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit
many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the
highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports. Air
sports, billiards, bridge, chess, motorcycle racing, and powerboating are all recognized
as sports by the International Olympic Committee with their world governing bodies
represented in the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.
17
Spectator sport
As well as being a form of recreation for the participants, much sport is played in front
of an audience. Most professional sport is played in a 'theatre' of some kind; be it a
stadium, arena, golf course, race track, or the open road, with provision for the (often
paying) public.
Australian Rules football
Large television or radio audiences are also commonly attracted, with rival broadcasters
bidding large amounts of money for the 'rights' to show certain fixtures. The football
World Cup attracts a global television audience of hundreds of millions; the 2006 Final
alone attracted an estimated worldwide audience of well over 700 million. The Cricket
World Cup is another sporting event which attracts a global audience. The 2007 Cricket
World Cup attracted about 2.3 Billion viewers all over the world. In the United States,
the championship game of the NFL, the Super Bowl, has become one of the most
watched television broadcasts of the year. Super Bowl Sunday is a de facto national
holiday in America; the viewership being so great that in 2007 advertising space was
reported as being sold at $2.6m for a 30 second slot.
Nationalism and sport
Nationalism and sport are often intertwined, as sports provide a venue for symbolic
competition between nations; sports competition often reflects national conflict, and in
fact has often been a tool of diplomacy. The involvement of political goals in sport is
seen by some as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sport being carried on for its own
sake, for the enjoyment of its participants, but this involvement has been true
throughout the history of sport.
18
Sports diplomacy
Most sports are contested between national teams, which encourages the use of sporting
events for nationalist purposes, whether intentionally or not. The signalling of national
solidarity through sport is one of the primary forms of banal nationalism.
Several sporting events are a matter of national pride; The Ashes is a matter of national
pride between England and Australia. Also in cricket an India vs Pakistan match puts
both countries on a virtual standstill as it is all about national pride during those
matches.
The Olympic Games are the premier stage for nationalist competition, and its history
reflects the history of political conflict since its inception at the end of the 19th century.
The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, maybe best
acknowledged in hindsight, where an ideology was developing which used the event to
strengthen its spread through propaganda. The boycott by the United States and
politically aligned nations of the 1980 Summer Olympics and the Soviet Union of the
1984 Summer Olympics were part of the Cold War conflict.
When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sportspeople adopted the
conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some
feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of
apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects. Many
African nations boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, as a result of then
New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon allowing the All Blacks to tour South
Africa. The issue would later come to a head during the 1981 Springbok Tour.
19
George Orwell's essay "The Sporting Spirit" examines the effect nationalism plays on
sport, where Orwell argues that various sporting events trigger violence between
groups for the very reason of competition.
Nationalist sports
In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were clearly carried on with nationalist
overtones: for example, for most of the last century a person could have been banned
from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sport, if the person was seen to have
played soccer, cricket, rugby or any other game which was perceived to be of British
origin. Furthermore, the Old Firm derby in Glasgow featuring Celtic, historically linked
to the city's Catholic community, and Rangers, similarly linked to the city's Protestant
community, have also historically seen trends along religio-political lines.
The nationalistic Italian fascists also created Volata as their own home-grown
alternative to soccer and rugby. It was intended to be a replacement for the popular
games perceived to be of British origin that would be of a more local character, tracing
its heritage back to the earlier Italian games of Harpastum and Calcio Fiorentino.
However, unlike its Gaelic equivalents, Volata was short-lived and is no longer played.
The policy of Spanish football team Athletic Bilbao of picking only Basque players is
strongly linked to Basque nationalism.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games are a major international event featuring summer and winter
sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The
Games are currently held every two years in even-numbered years, with Summer and
Winter Olympic Games alternating, although they occur every four years within their
20
respective seasonal games. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in
Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 5th century AD. Baron Pierre de
Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The IOC has
since become the governing body of the Olympic Movement, whose structure and
actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.
The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has
resulting in the IOC adapting the Games to the world's changing social[clarification
needed]
circumstances. Some of these adjustments included the creation of the Winter Games
for ice and snow sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with physical disabilities,
and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. The IOC also had to accommodate
the Games to the varying economical, political, and technological realities of the 20th
century. As a result, the Olympics shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned
by Coubertin, to allow participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of
the mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the
Games.
The Olympic Movement currently comprises international sports federations (IFs),
National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and organizing committees for each specific
Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the
host city for each Olympic Games. The host city is responsible for organizing and
funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter. The Olympic
program, consisting of the sports to be contested at each Olympic Games, is also
determined by the IOC. The celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and
symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, as well as the opening and closing
ceremonies. There are over 13,000 athletes that compete at the Summer and Winter
21
Olympics in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third place
finishers in each event receive gold, silver or bronze Olympic medals, respectively.
The Games have grown in scale to the point that nearly every nation is represented.
Such growth has created numerous challenges, including boycotts, doping, bribery of
officials, and terrorism. Every two years, the Olympics and its media exposure provide
unknown athletes with the chance to attain national, and in particular cases,
international fame. The Games also constitute a major opportunity for the host city and
country to promote and showcase themselves to the world.
Sport psychology is the scientific study of people and their behaviors in sport. The
role of a sport psychologist is to recognize how participation in sport exercise and
physical activity enhances a person’s development. The first sport psychologist is said to
have been a North American man from Asia, born in 1861. Triplett’s first finding as a
sport psychologist was that cyclists cycle faster in pairs or a group, rather than riding
solo a German, founded the world’s first sport psychology laboratory in 1920. Five years
later, opened a lab at the Institute of Physical Culture in Leningrad. Also in 1925, opened
the first sport psychology lab in North America at the University of Illinois. He began his
research in factors that affect sport performance in 1918, and in 1923, offered the first ever
sport psychology course.
Beginning, in the 1970's, sport psychology became a part of the curriculum on university
campuses. These courses which were generally found in the kinesiology programs taught
students how to develop positive attitudes in athletes using sport psychology and drugs.
In the 1980's, sport psychology became more research focused. Sport psychologists
looked into performance enhancement, the psychological impact of exercise and over
training as well as stress management.
22
Today, sport and exercise psychologists have begun to research and provide information
in the ways that psychological well-being and vigorous physical activity are related. This
idea of psychophysiology, monitoring brain activity during exercise has aided in this
research. Also, sport psychologists are beginning to consider exercise to be a therapeutic
addition to healthy mental adjustment.
Just recently have sport psychologists begun to be recognized for the valuable
contributions they make in assisting athletes and their coaches in improving performance
during competitive situations, as well as understanding how physical exercise may
contribute to the psychological well-being of non-athletes. Many can benefit from sport
psychologists: athletes who are trying to improve their performance, injured athletes
who are looking for motivation, individuals looking to overcome the pressure of
competition, and young children involved in youth sports as well as their parents.
Special focus is geared towards psychological assessment of athletes. Assessment can be
both, focused on selection of athletes and the team set up of rosters as well as on
professional guidance and counseling of single athletes.
Sports Psychology - Makes Sportsmen Perform Better
Modern day sports are very demanding. It requires for the sportsmen and athletes alike
to perform to the very best of their abilities and beyond. So it becomes all the more
important that the athletes do get the maximum help that they can in order to compete
and win in a highly competitive environment. While it is important that the athlete
should have the necessary skills required to excel in a particular sporting event, the
sports team that he or she is a part of also forms an equally important contributing factor
for the athlete’s success. The team includes supporters, trainers and sports doctors
among others, who are all doing their bit in ensuring that the athlete performs in
competitions at the height of the mental, physical and emotional abilities that he or she is
23
capable of. In all of this, one area of psychology has an important part to play, and that is
sports psychology.
Sports psychology is concerned with preparing the athlete or teams to be able to handle
the high emotional stress levels that come with participating in sports competitions.
Psychologists and sports trainers can work in tandem to enhance the performance levels
of the athlete. The coach can give appropriate information about the particular athlete to
the psychologist, who will then be able to derive the psychological and behavioral
patterns of the athlete before an event. With the help of this mental picture as well as the
characteristic mental attitude of the athlete, the coach will be able to set up the most
effective training schedule that will bring out the best in all of the athlete’s capabilities.
Thus, sports trainers can use psychology and help their charges better and get the best
performance out of them.
In order to better equip the athlete or teams for sports competitions, the coaches will
have to have an idea about sports psychology. Event though it is not necessary for them
to be experts in psychology, it does help their wards a lot if coaches are able to gauge the
mental condition of the athletes before and during a competition.
One of the best examples of the benefits of sports psychology can be witnessed in and
during several sports competitions that are held over long periods and test the endurance
levels of the different sportsmen. In such events, you will be able to see that certain of the
athletes will be handling themselves through the competition with much lesser effort
than others. These athletes and sportsmen will be turning up their peak performances
with high levels of endurance and focus notwithstanding the length of the sporting
competition. Now it becomes clear that these athletes would have had a coach with an
idea about sports psychology and the advantages that it brings along to the performing
athletes. On the other hand, you will also see other athletes who appear to be struggling
24
to maintain focus and complete goals; these will be the ones who might not have had the
benefit of sports psychology.
Like in the other fields of psychology, sports psychology also deals with the complex
human mind. Only it is more oriented towards extending the advantage of
understanding the athletes’ minds and giving them every chance of outperforming
themselves and others. So a sports psychologist forms a necessary part of every sports
team.
Sports psychology: Mental toughness: do you have what it takes to maintain focus,
motivation and self-belief when the going gets hard?
There are certain moments during competition that appear to carry great psychological
significance, when the momentum starts to shift in one direction or another. These
situations require athletes to remain completely focused and calm in the face of difficult
circumstances. Tennis players talk of the ‘big’ points during a tight match, such as a
fleeting chance to break serve; for an athlete, it could be the final triple-jump in the
competition after seriously under-performing; for a footballer, it could be how you react
to a perceived bad refereeing decision or to going behind in a match your team are
expected to win. Think about times when things have not gone quite to plan and how
you reacted. The journey towards peak performance is rarely a perfectly smooth road
and we learn from our mistakes – or should do. Do setbacks shake your self-belief and
lower your motivation or act as a catalyst for even greater effort?
Even great athletes and teams suffer setbacks. Olympic athlete Steve Backley is a prime
example. In his book The Winning Mind, Backley cites his psychological strengths and, at
times, his weaknesses as major determinants of whether he performed near to or below
his own strict targets in competition ). He talks of the transition from young up-and-
25
coming javelin thrower to major international competitor when, after experiencing
success so often as a junior, he found himself under-prepared for the mental hurdles and
barriers created by higher-level competition. Backley says psychological strategies were
the key to helping him to deal with this competitive stress.
Most top athletes and coaches believe that psychological factors play as crucial a role as
physical attributes and learned skills in the make-up of champions. When physical skills
are evenly matched – as they tend to be in competitive sport – the competitor with
greater control over his or her mind will usually emerge as the victor. Mental strength is
not going to compensate for lack of skill, but in close contests it can make the difference
between winning and losing.
A key question for sport and exercise psychologists is whether champions have simply
inherited the dominant psychological traits necessary for success or whether mental
toughness can be acquired through training and experience. Recent research has
attempted to explore the concept of mental toughness in sport more thoroughly, and it
appears that, while some people are naturally more tough-minded than others, people
can be ‘toughened-up’ with the correct approach to training .
What do we mean by mental toughness? It is probably easiest to define in terms of how it
affects behaviour and performance. A mentally tough athlete is likely to:
•
achieve relatively consistent performances regardless of situational factors;
•
retain a confident, positive, optimistic outlook, even when things are not going
well, and not ‘choke’ under pressure;
•
deal with distractions without letting them interfere with optimal focus;
•
tolerate pain and discomfort;
•
remain persistent when the ‘going gets tough’;
26
•
have the resilience to bounce back from disappointments.
The AIM of physical education is to enable all students to enhance their quality of life
through active living.
There is an increasing awareness of the importance of providing children and youth
with meaningful and enjoyable movement experiences. Movement and play are focal
points of children's lives, critical to all aspects of their growth and development. A
physical education program provides opportunities for all students to be physically
active regularly and to develop an appreciation for and enjoyment of movement in the
following categories: alternative-environment activities, dance, games, gymnastics, and
individual or dual activities. Outdoor activities in a natural setting are encouraged.
The unique learning opportunities in physical education allow all students from
Kindergarten to Grade 12 to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable
them to enhance their quality of life through active living--a way of life that values
physical activity as an essential component. Active living is characterized by the
integration of physical activity into daily routines and leisure pursuits.
Physical education is also an integral part of the total education process. Students who
participate in regular physical education classes enjoy enhanced memory and learning,
better concentration, and increased problem-solving abilities. They are willing to take
appropriate risks, and have a more positive attitude toward self and others. Positive
personal and social behaviours improve school climate, resulting in better attendance
and reduced violence and vandalism.
The physically educated person has the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to
incorporate physical activity into regular routines, leisure pursuits, and career
27
requirements throughout life. Striving for an active, healthy lifestyle fosters personal
growth and the ability to meet the challenges of society.
Characteristics of a Quality Physical Education Program
Quality physical education programs are structured so that the duration, intensity, and
frequency of activities motivate students and meet their individual needs. When
appropriate, students participate in the selection of activities from all movement
categories. All students are given equal opportunity to participate in a balanced
physical education program. It is intended that a quality physical education program
will:
•
foster the development of positive attitudes
•
foster active participation
•
require problem-solving skills
•
recognize the difference in students' interests, potential, and cultures
•
develop personal and career-planning skills
The Development of Positive Attitudes
Students are exposed to experiences that encourage them to enjoy and value physical
activity and its effect on lifelong health and well-being. They are encouraged to explore,
take risks, exhibit curiosity, work with others co-operatively, and achieve a personal
functional level of physical fitness. All movement experiences provide opportunities for
the development of positive personal and social behaviours.
28
Active Participation
Learning experiences in physical education provide maximum activity and
participation time for every student. During group work, every opportunity is made to
ensure that each student has an active role in the learning activity.
Problem-Solving Skills
In order to develop decision-making and problem-solving skills, students are
challenged to identify and investigate problems, find active ways to solve them, and
represent solutions in a variety of ways.
Diverse Student Characteristics
Selection of learning activities, equipment, and materials reflect students' diverse
characteristics. Cultural heritage, gender, special needs, and a variety of interests are
examples of characteristics to be considered when planning learning opportunities.
Personal and Career-Planning Skills
Wherever possible, a physical education program should connect students to what is
happening in the community and the workplace. Students should be provided with
opportunities to explore careers related to physical activity and develop basic
employability skills, including teamwork, problem solving, leadership, and effective
communication
The physical education curriculum is arranged under three curriculum organizers:
•
Active Living
•
Movement
29
•
Personal and Social Responsibility
These organizers form the curriculum framework. Under each organizer, learning
outcomes reflect the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students are expected to
demonstrate at each grade level.
Active Living
Active living is a way of life that values physical activity and its integration into daily
routines and leisure pursuits. Physical education provides opportunities for students to
participate in physical activities that promote well-being and a personal functional level
of physical fitness. Through active living, students have opportunities to make
appropriate choices and set personal goals that enhance their quality of life.
Movement
The elements of movement include the skills, concepts, and body mechanics necessary
for participation in activities from all movement categories. In all categories, students
develop efficient and effective movement skills, and an understanding of the movement
concepts and body mechanics that are necessary to develop activity-specific motor
skills. Movement provides a unique medium in which students apply their criticalthinking processes in active and creative ways. Planning for physical education requires
a progression from a long-term overview to short-term units and the development of
individual lesson plans. Teachers can do this by first selecting a main concept, skill, or
theme. Once they have identified the focus, they may select prescribed learning
outcomes. They can design a series of lessons that reflects the sequential nature of skill
development and meets a number of prescribed learning outcomes.
30
When selecting appropriate activities for students, teachers should consider their own
expertise, available resources, and facilities within the school and community. It is
recommended that no less than 15% of instructional time be spent in any one movement
category. This minimum-time percentage provides flexibility for teachers to allocate
additional time in areas that best meet the needs of their students.
Creating a Safe Learning Environment
It is essential that teachers address the following questions prior to, during, and after an
activity has taken place:
•
Is the activity suitable to the student's physical age, and mental and physical
condition?
•
Has the instruction been sequenced progressively to ensure safety?
•
Have students been given specific instruction about how to use and handle the
equipment appropriately?
•
Is the equipment in good repair, and has it been suitably arranged?
•
Are the students being properly supervised?
•
Are the facilities in good repair?
Teachers should ensure that the following safety practices are implemented. This is not
an all-inclusive list but a guide to help teachers establish a safe learning environment in
physical education classes.
Students should:
•
wear clothing and footwear appropriate for the activity
31
•
follow established rules and routines
•
respond appropriately to control signals
•
select tasks that are within their ability and comfort zone
•
move in the designed space with control and respect for others
•
recognize hazards in the play areas
When planning instructional activities to meet the learning outcomes and needs of the
students, teachers should always select appropriate exercises, drills, and activities that
reflect safe practices in physical education.
When teaching activities in which contact or collisions occur (e.g., basketball, wrestling,
football, rugby, hockey, soccer) or that require spotting (e.g., weight lifting and
gymnastics), teachers should keep in mind the following:
•
Appropriate teaching progressions and drills must be used to develop the skills
required to participate in the activity safely.
•
The height, weight, and age of students should be considered when planning
specific drills and other activities.
Student interest and confidence level should be considered before encouraging student
participation
Sensitive Content
The body image components of the physical education curriculum address issues and
concerns that may be a source of sensitivity for some students and their parents, such as
self-image, body image, eating difficulties, and eating disorders. Concerns may arise
about a student having an eating disorder, or a student may disclose this information
32
directly. Eating disorders are a serious medical concern. The following are some
suggested guidelines for dealing with such sensitive issues:
•
Obtain the support of the school administration before beginning instruction on
any potentially sensitive issues.
•
Inform an administrator or counsellor when a concern arises. Warning signals
may include some or all of the following: excessive perfectionism, compulsive
exercising, depression, very low or high body weight, or avoidance of wearing
standard gym attire.
•
Be aware of provincial and district policy and legislation on disclosure related to
child abuse and eating disorders or suicide.
•
Do not promise that information disclosed will be kept in confidence.
•
Obtain appropriate inservice training before beginning instruction in these
sensitive areas.
Adapting Instruction for Students with Special Needs
Participation in physical education is important for all students. Some students with
special needs may require program modification to facilitate their participation. When
students with special needs are expected to achieve the learning outcomes, with or
without adaptations, teachers should follow regular grading practices and reporting
procedures. When students are not expected to achieve the learning outcomes because
of special needs, teachers should make program modifications. Reports should be in the
form of structured written comments rather than letter grades.
The following are examples of strategies that may help students with special needs
succeed in physical education:
•
Adapt the task by using props, simplifying the task, or substituting skills.
33
•
Adapt the task by decreasing the
•
complexity.
•
Adapt rules and scoring systems (e.g., allow kicking instead of throwing).
•
Adapt or modify equipment (e.g., smaller, softer, or lighter equipment).
•
Identify methods of providing assistance (e.g., peers or teacher assistants).
•
Provide opportunities for extension and more practice.
•
Adapt success-measurement criteria to meet individual students' needs.
•
Modify activities by providing parallel ones for students whose special needs
preclude participation.
Many resources offer ideas for integrating all students into physical education
programs or for providing specialized activities for some students with special needs
Gender Issues in Physical Education
Research indicates that upon reaching secondary level, girls' participation and interest
in physical education decreases significantly. Most young women do not select optional
physical education in grades 11 and 12 and may develop a lifelong distaste for physical
activity. A decline in interest has been particularly evident in physical education
programs that emphasize highly structured and competitive sports. However, the
research shows that young women tend to be more involved in physical education
programs that provide a balance of co-operative, competitive activities from all
movement categories.
Equitable physical education could be attained by using the following strategies:
•
Communication Strategies
o
Be willing to examine interaction patterns with both male and female
students.
34
o
Use inclusive language (i.e., avoid phrases such as "throw like a girl" or
"man to man defence").
o
Use incidents of students making derogatory remarks as teaching
opportunities about gender expectations.
•
•
o
Encourage students having difficulty.
o
Promote assertive behaviour rather than passive or aggressive behaviour.
o
Emphasize health and lifestyle rather than weight and appearance.
Planning Strategies
o
Avoid special rules for girls' games or for girls in co-ed games.
o
Avoid using exercise as punishment.
o
Include structured peer teaching activities.
o
Provide opportunities for specific feedback on skill development.
Professional Development Strategies
o
Team with colleagues for peer coaching opportunities.
o
Develop teaching skills in an activity that is not traditional for your
gender.
•
Programming Strategies
o
Give students the opportunity to choose activities.
o
Choose a wide range of non-violent activities that emphasize cooperation.
o
Encourage students to engage in non-traditional activities.
o
Increase the range of recreation-type activities.
o
Choose activities in which both boys and girls have little experience.
o
Include opportunities for co-ed and single-sex team and partner work.
o
Introduce self-defence awareness and training.
35
Assessment is the systematic process of gathering information about students' learning
in order to describe what they know, are able to do, and are working toward. From the
evidence and information collected in assessments, teachers describe each student's
learning and performance. They use this information to provide students with ongoing
feedback, plan further instructional and learning activities, set subsequent learning
goals, and determine areas requiring diagnostic teaching and intervention.
Teachers determine the purpose, aspects, or attributes of learning on which to focus the
assessment. They also decide when to collect the evidence and the assessment methods,
tools, or techniques most appropriate to use. Assessment focusses on the critical or
significant aspects of the learning students will be asked to demonstrate. Students
benefit when they clearly understand the learning goals and learning expectations.
Since the emphasis in physical education is on activity, teachers should use a variety of
strategies to assess the ongoing development of skills in the various movement
categories.
The competitively sports have been highly specialized excellence, achievement, of high
sport standards depends largely upon the different component of physical fitness and
volume of training. In the past a great emphasis was laid on physical and hard training
only in sports and the important psychological factors where ignored the expert in the
field of sports started recognizing the importance of psychological factors which
contribute so much to the physical fitness in sports.
It is now taken for granted that psychological training is on integrated factory in
building standard players for competitive sports this leads to discovery of new scientific
method there has been on increased interest among biologists, anthropologists, physical
educationists and sport coaches, in determining the effect of physical factors in different
sports. Having explained to an extend necessity for the awareness and physiological and
36
psychological makeup of human organism, the investigator proceeds to highlight the
importance of psychological training in sports.
The present study is an effort to add to the knowledge of sports for coaches,
heads and leaders. Our boys and girls can achieve national and international triumphs
only if they are scientifically trained. The study of psychological components is there for
as on essential part of the scientific approach towards the development of training
techniques in physical education and training in India. Success is very largely a matter
of adjusting oneself to the changing environment facts of life psychology is a key note
the success. Through the study it would be possible to pinpoint psychological compounds of success that can be applied in our sports performance
During the past 50 years numerous behaviors scientist in Europe have focused
attention upon the psyche of the superior athletes. There findings were given particular
had by coaches in the eastern European countries after the 1960 . Melbourne Olympics
as they began to perceive the importance of sound psychological evaluation and
training of athletes. At times this interest coalesced into reasonable objective
laboratorial experiment exploring the capacities of the elite sports performer, at other
times field test were continued, while still a third approach was to analyses behavior of
individuals and groups of sports performers within the actual game situations . These
data have contributed in several ways to a letter understanding of human behavior .But
before we understand "psychologizing" the process we should go through the brief
history of sports psychology.
The Beginnings.
In both Europe and united states the studies and interest in motor ability motor
learning during the past 50 years have contributed in indirect ways to the
37
understanding of superior athletes in the United states relatively few studies and even
fewer scholars focused upon superior athletes directly. In Europe however particularly
in the countries of Eastern Europe, more Concentrated efforts were made during this
period of time to understand the psychological problems of athletes, engaging in International competition. In Europe and in this United States it is often difficult to
separate the development of psychology form the evolution of sports psychology and
indeed it is helpful if we consider the two inseparable, especially when studying the
earlier period of development.
The early philosophers speculated about motor function and perceptual
awareness of movement in the writings of Plato, Aristotle and other it is possible to find
references to important mind, body relationships that latter were to become subjects for
psychological experimentation.
The great minds of ancient Greece education should pay equal heed to the
development of mind and body (Zeiglosre 1964)
The statues of early years reflected this mind and body balance and depicted
clever faces which determined gazes atop well developed bodies. By the close of the
golden Era. however the emphasis began to the placed upon winning athletic contest.
Professional Boxers were trained in the larger cities, status become were heavily
muscles and their faces did not reflect the same intentness that was formerly seen. Some
of the problems seen in the connection with superior athletes and international
competition in 19th century had their roots in ancient Greece.
During middle ages the human body was scorned by the theologians. No sport
activity was permitted in connection with education and cultural events only activities
38
that in some way contributed to military excellence were prevalent i.e. riding fencing,
archery, javelin throw and the like.
In opposition to theological separatism which shown the body in reference to the
spiritual uplifting that was prevalent during the Dark Ages, The Renaissance spread its
light over Europe and unlighted humanists incorporated physical activity into
educational programs in France, Switzerland, Germany, and latter in England.
Nacknsmith ( 1966) described this period of transition in his test.
Conenius ( 1930) in Czechoslovakia for example divided the ideal day for the
child into three equal parts One to be devoted to sleep, the record to intellectual
development and the third to physical recreation of various kinds. Comenius suggested
that as the human soul is nourished through books to must the body to the wourished
through movement John Locks On 18th Century English man also developed on
educational system in which sports and game play a major role Guts Muths of Germany
similarly by some of the philosophical foundation for sport psychology, he stated that
Childs play was his preparation for life and further more educators should attend to
device programmed which would aid children to find a balance in life between work
and play.
Pestalozzy a Switz also suggested that exercise contributed in a positive way in
what today would be turned "Sound emotional adjustment of “Mental hygiene"
He further suggested that physical exercise could hasten the total intellectual
development of would children and could also aid remediation of mental retardation in
a typical children.
Thus the roots of sports psychology may be traced from many sources while
many concentrated upon the physical psychological changes well lower to these
39
participating in motor activities a separate philosophical interest appeared very early
which implied that sports activities involves more than muscles bones and breath
The early experiments in sensation that laid psychophysical laws that derived
from investigation in which Kinesthetic perceptions of the difference in hand held rates
were measured. Before the turn on century, experiments were carried in Kinesthetic and
various facets of sports performance both in Europe and United States. By the end of
the second decade of 19th century number of theoretical and experimental trends may
be discovered which later contributed to the beginning of sport psychology in the fields
of physical education and psychology. A scientific awakening seemed eminent in physical education
Physical educators seemed to be attempting to expand their understanding of
physical activity. They seemed to be looking beyond the statements of the physicians
who first supported their programmers in United States', and suggesting that perhaps
emotional and social and personality change could be elicited by exercise and game
participation. At the same time experimental psychology, although at times dissipating
its energy in the struggle between system and theories, had began to establish a pull of
basic knowledge about motor responses motor learning and the perception of
movement.
During 1890's and the early 1900's a number of trends may be discerned which
later contributed to the emergence of sport psychology after World War
I. For example, in 1896 Karl Gross wrote the play of Animals and 3 years later wrote
Human Play, suggesting that, both for animals and humans contributed a training
ground for later life.
40
In later years a number of authors similarly incorporated the play into various
psychological theories trend, for example. Suggested that while play has sub senual
overtones, it is also useful in emancipating the human ego, at the former way & quickly
take the form of positively and activity in childhood Vuytendijk attributed many
functions to play including the following preparing for life education of guess energy
say realization, and also at times providing a therapeutic relate of unhealthy tensions
and aggressions.
The psychological parameters of play commented upon by some authors mortar
activity and Kinesthetic has been studied in several experimental laboratories in and in
America. Activation, motivation, and arousal had been explored by others thus by the
turn of century a number of trends had appeared in what was formerly classified as "
General psychology" there trends latter coalesced into what would be turned "sport
psychology" following world war I in Europe. Contemporary trends in sport psychology.
Each country in the word, due to cultural differences, emphasizes different
aspects of the psychology of sport and physical activity. One important unifying event
was the 1965 congress of sport psychology organized by Professor Fersyccio Antonelli,
a psychiatrist from the catholic University in Rome.
At international meeting all countries aware of some of the current trends in
sport psychology through out the world.
In France there is a libratory of sport psychology at the Normal school of
physical Education. This laboratory is headed by Prof. E. Hiriarborde, a psychologist .
His special interest is in the study of rhythm.
41
The French society of sport psychology was founded in 1967. At the present time
it has about two hundred members on in rolls.
In England three workers i.e. kane, Brbana, Knapp's James Oliver, have been
productive within recent years.
In Italy, Antonelli's text titled the psychology and psychopathology of sport (
1966) is prominent guide to the literature. Similarly the Bulgaria, Hungary, Belardi,
Holland, Brazil & the Japan all countries are busy in studying & flowerishing the sport
psychology.
The Most recent significant event that has influenced the course of sport
psychology was the second International congress of sport psychology held in
Wasjomgtpm D.C. following the 1968 Mexican Olympic. Over one hundred papers
were given and the attendance exceeded two hundred present were psychiatrists,
psychologists, physical educators and educations from sixteen countries. At the present
time president of the International society of sport psychology places its total world
membership at more than 1400.
Adolescence is a developmental transition between childhood and
adulthood. It is generally considered to begin at about age 12 or 13 and to end in the late
teens or early twenties. However, its physical basis has actually begun long before, and
its psychological ramifications may continue long after, hi this chapter we look at the
dramatic physical changes of this stage and at how they affect and are affected by
psychological changes. Then we see how adolescents develop intellectually as they
become able to think abstractly, even though they retain traces of egocentric thought.
Their thinking processes affect not only their moral reasoning but also their education
and career goals.
42
Adolescence is generally considered as beginning at puberty, the process
that leads to sexual maturity, when a person is able to reproduce. Although the physical
changes of this time of life are dramatic, they do not burst full-blown at the end of
childhood. Instead, puberty is part of a long and complex process that began even
before birth. The biological changes that signal the end of childhood produce rapid
growth in height and weight (a rate of growth second only to that of infancy), changes
in body proportions and form, and the attainment of sexual maturity. But adolescence is
also a social and emotional process. It has been said that "adolescence begins in biology
and ends in culture" (Conger & Peterson, 1984, p. 92).
Before the twentieth century, children entered the adult world when their bodies
were mature or when they began a vocational apprenticeship. Now, however, the entry
into adulthood is not so clear-cut. Puberty occurs earlier than it used to. And because of
the longer period of education required by our complex society, adulthood takes longer
to arrive.
Americans consider themselves adult at various ages, depending on which marker they
use. They may draw on a variety of legal definitions. James may consider himself an
adult at 17 when he can enlist in the army, Madeline at age 18 when she can marry
without her parents' permission; others may go by the age when they can be held
legally responsible for contracts (18 to 21, depending on the state). Or people may consider themselves to have achieved sociological adulthood when they are self-supporting
or have chosen a career, or married, or founded a family. Intellectual maturity is
generally considered to coincide with the capacity for abstract thought. Emotional
maturity depends on such achievements as discovery of identity, independence from
parents, development of a system of values, and ability to form mature relationships of
43
friendship and love. Some people, of course, never leave adolescence emotionally or socially, no matter what their chronological age.
Ancient Olympics
The Ancient Olympic Games was a series of competitions held between representatives
of several city-states and kingdoms from Ancient Greece, which featured mainly
athletic but also combat and chariot racing events. During the Olympic games all
struggles against the participating city-states were postponed until the games were
finished. The origin of these Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend. One of the
most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the
Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and
established the custom of holding them every four years. A legend persists that after
Heracles completed his twelve labors, he built the Olympic stadium as an honor to
Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this
distance a "stadion" (Greek: στάδιον, Latin: stadium, "stage"), which later became a unit
of distance. Another myth associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of
Olympic truce (ἐκεχειρία, ekecheiria). The most widely accepted date for the inception of
the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, of the
winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. The Ancient Games
featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin
throws, a foot race and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, and equestrian events. Tradition
has it that Coroebus, a cook from the city of Elis, was the first Olympic champion.
The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, featuring sporting events
alongside ritual sacrifices honoring both Zeus (whose famous statue by Phidias stood in
his temple at Olympia) and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia. Pelops
was famous for his chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis. The winners of the
44
events were admired and immortalized in poems and statues. The Games were held
every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad, was used by Greeks as one of
their units of time measurement. The Games were part of a cycle known as the
Panhellenic Games, which included the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games, and the
Isthmian Games.
The Olympic Games reached their zenith in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, but then
gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece.
There is no consensus on when the Games officially ended, the most common-held date
is 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I declared that all pagan cults and practices be
eliminated. Another date cited is 426 AD, when his successor Theodosius II ordered the
destruction of all Greek temples. After the demise of the Olympics, they were not held
again until the late 19th century.
Modern Games
Forerunners
The first significant attempt to emulate the ancient Olympic Games was the L'Olympiade
de la République, a national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in
Revolutionary France. The competition included several disciplines from the ancient
Greek Olympics. The 1796 Games also marked the introduction of the metric system
into sport.
In 1850 an Olympian Class, to improve the fitness of locals, was started by Dr William
Penny Brookes at Much Wenlock, in Shropshire, England. In 1859, Dr Brookes
renamed[19] the Olympian Class to Wenlock Olympian Games and this annual games
continues to this day. The Wenlock Olympian Society was founded by Dr Brookes on
November 15, 1860. 28
45
Revival
Greek interest in reviving the Olympic Games began with the Greek War of
Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. It was first proposed by poet and
newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead", published in
1833. Evangelis Zappas, a wealthy Greek philanthropist, first wrote to King Otto of
Greece, in 1856, offering to fund a permanent revival of the Olympic Games Zappas
sponsored the first Olympic Games in 1859, which was held in an Athens city square.
Athletes participated from Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Zappas funded the
restoration of the ancient Panathenaic stadium so that it could host all future Olympic
Games.
Dr Brookes adopted events from the program of the Olympics held in Athens in 1859 in
to future Wenlock Olympian Games. In 1866, a national Olympic Games in Great
Britain was organized by Dr. William Penny Brookes at London's Crystal Palace.
The Panathinaiko Stadium hosted Olympics in 1870 and 1875. Thirty thousand
spectators crowded in to and around the stadium in 1870 - bigger than almost any
crowd at Coubertin's IOC Olympics from 1900 to 1920.
In 1890, after attending the Olympian Games of the Wenlock Olympian Society Baron
Pierre de Coubertin was inspired to found the International Olympic Committee.
Coubertin built on the ideas and work of Brookes and Zappas with the aim of
establishing internationally rotating Olympic Games that would occur every four years.
He presented these ideas during the first Olympic Congress of the newly created
International Olympic Committee (IOC). This meeting was held from June 16 to June
23, 1894, at the Sorbonne University in Paris. On the last day of the Congress, it was
decided that the first Olympic Games, to come under the auspices of the IOC, would
46
take place two years later in Athens. The IOC elected the Greek writer Demetrius
Vikelas as its first president.
1896 Games
The first Games held under the auspices of the IOC was hosted in the Panathenaic
stadium in Athens in 1896. These Games brought 14 nations and 241 athletes who
competed in 43 events. Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas had left the Greek
government a trust to fund future Olympic Games. This trust was used to help finance
the 1896 Games. George Averoff contributed generously for the refurbishment of the
stadium in preparation for the Games. The Greek government also provided funding,
which was expected to be recouped through the future sale of tickets to the Games and
from the sale of the first Olympic commemorative stamp set.
The Greek officials and public were enthusiastic about the experience of hosting these
Games. This feeling was shared by many of the athletes, who even demanded that
Athens be the host of the Olympic Games on a permanent basis. The IOC did not
approve this request. The committee planned that the modern Olympics would rotate
internationally. As such they decided to hold the second Games in Paris.
Changes and adaptations
Following the success of the 1896 Games, the Olympics entered a period of stagnation
that threatened their survival. The Olympic Games held at the Paris Exposition in 1900
and the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904 were side-shows. The Games at Paris did not
have a stadium, however this was the first time women took part in the games. The St.
Louis Games hosted 650 athletes, but 580 were from the United States. The
homogeneous nature of these celebrations was a low point for the Olympic Movement.
The Games rebounded when the 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because they were
47
the second Games held within the third Olympiad) were held in Athens. These Games
are not officially recognized by the IOC and no Intercalated Games have been held
since. These Games, which were hosted at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens, attracted
a broad international field of participants, and generated great public interest. This
marked the beginning of a rise in both the popularity and the size of the Olympics.
Winter Games
The Winter Olympics were created to feature snow and ice sports that were logistically
impossible to hold during the Summer Games. Figure skating (in 1908 and 1920) and ice
hockey (in 1920) were featured as Olympic events at the Summer Olympics. The IOC
desired to expand this list of sports to encompass other winter activities. At the 1921
Olympic Congress, in Lausanne, it was decided to hold a winter version of the Olympic
Games. A winter sports week (it was actually 11 days) was held in 1924 in Chamonix,
France; this event became the first Winter Olympic Games.[30] The IOC mandated that
the Winter Games be celebrated every four years on the same year as their summer
counterpart. This tradition was upheld until the 1992 Games in Albertville, France; after
that, beginning with the 1994 Games, the Winter Olympics were held on the third year
of each Olympiad.
Paralympics
In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttman, determined to promote the rehabilitation of soldiers after
World War II, organized a multi-sport event between several hospitals to coincide with
the 1948 London Olympics. Guttman's event, known then as the Stoke Mandeville
Games, became an annual sports festival. Over the next twelve years, Guttman and
others continued their efforts to use sports as an avenue to healing. For the 1960
Olympic Games, in Rome, Guttman brought 400 athletes to compete in the "Parallel
48
Olympics", which became known as the first Paralympics. Since then, the Paralympics
have been held in every Olympic year. As of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South
Korea, the host city for the Olympics has also played host to the Paralympics.
Youth Games
Starting in 2010, the Olympic Games will be complemented by Youth Games, where
athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 will compete. The Youth Olympic Games were
conceived by IOC president Jacques Rogge in 2001 and approved during the 119th
Congress of the IOC. The first Summer Youth Games will be in Singapore in 2010, while
the inaugural Winter Games will be hosted in Innsbruck, Austria, two years later. These
Games will be shorter than the senior Games; the summer version will last twelve days,
while the winter version will last nine days. The IOC will allow 3,500 athletes and 875
officials to participate at the Summer Youth Games, and 970 athletes and 580 officials at
the Winter Youth Games. The sports to be contested will coincide with those scheduled
for the traditional senior Games, however there will be a reduced number of disciplines
and events.
Recent games
From 241 participants representing 14 nations in 1896, the Games have grown to about
10,500 competitors from 204 countries at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[40] The scope and
scale of the Winter Olympics is smaller. For example, Turin hosted 2,508 athletes from
80 countries competing in 84 events, during the 2006 Winter Olympics.[41] During the
Games most athletes and officials are housed in the Olympic village. This village is
intended to be a self-contained home for all the Olympic participants. It is furnished
with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression.
49
The IOC allows nations to compete that do not meet the strict requirements for political
sovereignty that other international organizations demand. As a result, colonies and
dependencies are permitted to set up their own National Olympic Committees.
Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Taiwan, and Hong
Kong, all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another
country.
International Olympic Committee
The Olympic Movement encompasses a large number of national and international
sporting organizations and federations, recognized media partners, as well as athletes,
officials, judges, and every other person and institution that agrees to abide by the rules
of the Olympic Charter. As the umbrella organization of the Olympic Movement, the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for selecting the host city,
overseeing the planning of the Olympic Games, updating and approving the sports
program, and negotiating sponsorship and broadcasting rights. The Olympic
Movement is made of three major elements:
•
International Federations (IFs) are the governing bodies that supervise a sport at
an international level. For example, the International Federation of Association
Football (FIFA) is the IF for football (soccer), and the Fédération Internationale de
Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body for volleyball. There are
currently 35 IFs in the Olympic Movement, representing each of the Olympic
sports.
•
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) represent and regulate the Olympic
Movement within each country. For example, the United States Olympic
Committee (USOC) is the NOC of the United States. There are currently 205
NOCs recognized by the IOC.
50
•
Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) constitute the
temporary committees responsible for the organization of a specific celebration
of the Olympics. OCOGs are dissolved after each Games, once the final report is
delivered to the IOC.
French and English are the official languages of the Olympic Movement. The other
language used at each Olympic Games is the language of the host country. Every
proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations
in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these three languages, or the main two
depending on whether the host country is an English or French speaking country.
Criticism
The IOC has often been criticized for being an intractable organization, with several
members on the committee for life. The leadership of IOC presidents Avery Brundage
and Juan Antonio Samaranch was especially controversial. Brundage was president for
over 20 years, and during his tenure he protected the Olympics from untoward political
involvement. He was accused of both racism, for his handling of the apartheid issue
with the South African delegation, and anti-Semitism. Under the Samaranch
presidency, the office was accused of both nepotism and corruption. Samaranch's ties
with the Franco regime in Spain were also a source of criticism.
In 1998, it was uncovered that several IOC members had taken bribes from members of
the Salt Lake City bid committee for the hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympics, to ensure
their votes were cast in favor of the American bid. The IOC pursued an investigation
which led to the resignation of four members and expulsion of six others. The scandal
set off further reforms that would change the way host cities are selected, to avoid
similar cases in the future.
51
A BBC documentary entitled Panorama: Buying the Games, aired in August 2004,
investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The documentary claimed it was possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a
particular candidate city. After being narrowly defeated in their bid for the 2012
Summer Games, Parisian Mayor Bertrand Delanoë specifically accused the British
Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London Bid Committee (headed by former Olympic
champion Sebastian Coe) of breaking the bid rules. He cited French President Jacques
Chirac as a witness; Chirac gave guarded interviews regarding his involvement. The
allegation was never fully explored. The Turin bid for the 2006 Winter Olympics was
also shrouded in controversy. A prominent IOC member, Marc Hodler, strongly
connected with the rival bid of Sion, Switzerland, alleged bribery of IOC officials by
members of the Turin Organizing Committee. These accusations led to a wide-ranging
investigation. The allegations also served to sour many IOC members against Sion's bid
and potentially helped Turin to capture the host city nomination.
Commercialization
The IOC originally resisted funding by corporate sponsors. It was not until the
retirement of IOC president Avery Brundage, in 1972, that the IOC began to explore the
potential of the television medium and the lucrative advertising markets available to
them. Under the leadership of Juan Antonio Samaranch the Games began to shift
toward international sponsors who sought to link their products to the Olympic brand.
Budget
During the first half of the 20th century the IOC was run on a small budget. As
president of the IOC from 1952 to 1972, Avery Brundage rejected all attempts to link the
Olympics with commercial interest. Brundage believed the lobby of corporate interests
52
would unduly impact the IOC's decision-making. Brundage's resistance to this revenue
stream meant the IOC left organizing committees to negotiate their own sponsorship
contracts and use the Olympic symbols. When Brundage retired the IOC had
US$2 million in assets; eight years later the IOC coffers had swelled to US$45 million.
This was primarily due to a shift in ideology toward expansion of the Games through
corporate sponsorship and the sale of television rights. When Juan Antonio Samaranch
was elected IOC president in 1980 his desire was to make the IOC financially
independent.
The 1984 Summer Olympics became a watershed moment in Olympic history. The Los
Angeles-based organizing committee, led by Peter Ueberroth, was able to generate a
surplus of US$225 million, which was an unprecedented amount at that time. The
organizing committee had been able to create such a surplus in part by selling exclusive
sponsorship rights to select companies. The IOC sought to gain control of these
sponsorship rights. Samaranch helped to establish The Olympic Program (TOP) in 1985,
in order to create an Olympic brand. Membership in TOP was, and is, very exclusive
and expensive. Fees cost US$50 million for a four year membership. Members of TOP
received exclusive global advertising rights for their product category, and use of the
Olympic symbol, the interlocking rings, in their publications and advertisements.
Effect of television
The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin were the first Games to be broadcast on television,
though only to local audiences. The 1956 Winter Olympics were the first internationally
televised Olympic Games, and the following Winter Games had their broadcasting
rights sold for the first time to specialized television broadcasting networks—CBS paid
US$394,000 for the American rights, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
allocated US$660,000. In the following decades the Olympics became one of the
53
ideological fronts of the Cold War. Superpowers jockeyed for political supremacy, and
the IOC wanted to take advantage of this heightened interest via the broadcast medium.
The sale of broadcast rights enabled the IOC to increase the exposure of the Olympic
Games, thereby generating more interest, which in turn created more appeal to
advertisers who purchased advertising time on television. This cycle allowed the IOC to
charge ever-increasing fees for those rights. For example, CBS paid US$375 million for
the rights of the 1998 Nagano Games, while NBC spent US$3.5 billion for the broadcast
rights of all the Olympic Games from 2000 to 2008
Viewership increased exponentially from the 1960s until the end of the century. This
began as a result of the beginning of the usage of satellite in 1964 and the introduction
of color television in 1968. Worldwide audience estimates for the 1968 Mexico City
Games was 600 million, whereas at the Los Angeles Games of 1984, the audience
numbers had increased to 900 million; that number swelled to 3.5 billion by the 1992
Summer Olympics in Barcelona. However, at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, NBC
drew the lowest ratings for any Summer or Winter Olympics since 1968. This was
attributed to two factors: one was the increased competition from cable channels, the
second was the internet, which was able to display results and video in real time.
Television companies were still relying on tape-delayed content, which was becoming
outdated in the information era. A drop in ratings meant that television studios had to
give away free advertising time. With such high costs charged to broadcast the Games,
the added pressure of the internet, and increased competition from cable, the television
lobby demanded concessions from the IOC to boost ratings. The IOC responded by
making a number of changes to the Olympic program. At the Summer Games, the
gymnastics competition was expanded from seven to nine nights, and a Champions
Gala was added to draw greater interest. The IOC also expanded the swimming and
diving programs, both popular sports with a broad base of television viewers. Finally,
54
the American television lobby was able to dictate when certain events were held so that
they could be broadcast live during prime time in the United States. The result of these
efforts was mixed: the ratings for the 2006 Winter Games, held in Torino, Italy, were
significantly lower than those for the 2002 Games, while there was a sharp increase in
viewership for the 2008 Summer Olympics, staged in Beijing.
Controversy
The sale of the Olympic brand has been controversial. The argument is that the Games
have become indistinguishable from any other commercialized sporting spectacle.
Specific criticism was levelled at the IOC for market saturation during the 1996 Atlanta
and 2000 Sydney Games. The cities were awash in corporations and merchants
attempting to sell Olympic-related wares. The IOC indicated that they would address
this to prevent spectacles of over-marketing at future Games. Another criticism is that
the Games are funded by host cities and national governments; the IOC incurs none of
the cost, yet controls all the rights and profits from the Olympic symbols. The IOC also
takes a percentage of all sponsorship and broadcast income. Host cities continue to
compete ardently for the right to host the Games, even though there is no certainty that
they will earn back their investments.
Symbols
The Olympic Movement uses symbols to represent the ideals embodied in the Olympic
Charter. The Olympic symbol, better known as the Olympic rings, consists of five
intertwined rings and represents the unity of the five inhabited continents (America,
Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe). The colored version of the rings—blue, yellow, black,
green, and red—over a white field forms the Olympic flag. These colors were chosen
because every nation had at least one of them on its national flag. The flag was adopted
55
in 1914 but flown for the first time only at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp,
Belgium. It has since been hoisted during each celebration of the Games.
The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius, a Latin expression meaning "Faster, Higher,
Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are further expressed in the Olympic creed:
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as
the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing
is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
Months before each Games, the Olympic flame is lit in Olympia in a ceremony that
reflects ancient Greek rituals. A female performer, acting as a priestess, ignites a torch
by placing it inside a parabolic mirror which focuses the sun's rays; she then lights the
torch of the first relay bearer, thus initiating the Olympic torch relay that will carry the
flame to the host city's Olympic stadium, where it plays an important role in the
opening ceremony. Though the flame has been an Olympic symbol since 1928, the torch
relay was introduced at the 1936 Summer Games, as part of the German government's
attempt to promote its National Socialist ideology.
The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of
the host country, was introduced in 1968. It has played an important part on the Games
identity promotion since the 1980 Summer Olympics, when the Russian bear cub Misha
reached international stardom. The mascots of the most recent Summer Olympics, in
Beijing, were the Fuwa, five creatures that represent the five fengshui elements
important in Chinese culture.
56
Ceremonies
Opening
As mandated by the Olympic Charter, various elements frame the opening ceremony of
the Olympic Games.
Most of these rituals were established at the 1920 Summer
Olympics in Antwerp. The ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host
country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. The host nation then presents
artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theater representative of its culture. The
artistic presentations have grown in scale and complexity as successive hosts attempt to
provide a ceremony that outlasts its predecessor's in terms of memorability. The
opening ceremony of the Beijing Games reportedly cost $100 million, with much of the
cost incurred in the artistic segment.
After the artistic portion of the ceremony, the athletes parade into the stadium grouped
by nation. Greece is traditionally the first nation to enter in order to honor the origins of
the Olympics. Nations then enter the stadium alphabetically according to the host
country's chosen language, with the host country's athletes being the last to enter.
During the 2004 Summer Olympics, which was hosted in Athens, Greece, the Greek flag
entered the stadium first, while the Greek delegation entered last. Speeches are given,
formally opening the Games. Finally, the Olympic torch is brought into the stadium and
passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier—often a well-known and successful
Olympic athlete from the host nation—who lights the Olympic flame in the stadium's
cauldron.
Closing
The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games takes place after all sporting events have
concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by
57
the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction. Three national flags
are hoisted while the corresponding national anthems are played: the flag of Greece, to
honor the birthplace of the Olympic Games; the flag of the current host country, and the
flag of the country hosting the next Summer or Winter Olympic Games. The president
of the organizing committee and the IOC president make their closing speeches, the
Games are officially closed, and the Olympic flame is extinguished. In what is known as
the Antwerp Ceremony, the mayor of the city that organized the Games transfers a
special Olympic flag to the president of the IOC, who then passes it on to the mayor of
the city hosting the next Olympic Games. After these compulsory elements, the next
host nation briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theater
representative of its culture.
Medal presentation
A medal ceremony is held after each Olympic event is concluded. The winner, second
and third-place competitors or teams stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum to be
awarded their respective medals. After the medals are given out by an IOC member, the
national flags of the three medalists are raised while the national anthem of the gold
medalist's country plays. Volunteering citizens of the host country also act as hosts
during the medal ceremonies, as they aid the officials who present the medals and act
as flag-bearers. For every Olympic event, the respective medal ceremony is held, at
most, one day after the event's final. For the men's marathon, the competition is usually
held early in the morning on the last day of Olympic competition and its medal
ceremony is then held in the evening during the closing ceremony.
58
Sports
The Olympic Games program consists of 26 sports, 30 disciplines and nearly 300 events.
For example, wrestling is a Summer Olympic sport, comprising two disciplines: GrecoRoman and Freestyle. It is further broken down into fourteen events for men and four
events for women, each representing a different weight class. The Summer Olympics
program includes 26 sports, while the Winter Olympics program features 15 sports.
Athletics, swimming, fencing, and artistic gymnastics are the only summer sports that
have never been absent from the Olympic program. Cross-country skiing, figure
skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and speed skating have been
featured at every Winter Olympics program since its inception in 1924. Current
Olympic sports, like badminton, basketball, and volleyball, first appeared on the
program as demonstration sports, and were later promoted to full Olympic sports.
Some sports that were featured in earlier Games were later dropped from the program.
Olympic sports are governed by international sports federations (IFs) recognized by the
IOC as the global supervisors of those sports. There are 35 federations represented at
the IOC. There are sports recognized by the IOC that are not included on the Olympic
program. These sports are not considered Olympic sports, but they can be promoted to
this status during a program revision that occurs in the first IOC session following a
celebration of the Olympic Games. During such revisions, sports can be excluded or
included in the program on the basis of a two-thirds majority vote of the members of
the IOC. There are recognized sports that have never been on an Olympic program in
any capacity, including chess and surfing.
In October and November 2004, the IOC established an Olympic Programme
Commission, which was tasked with reviewing the sports on the Olympic program and
all non-Olympic recognized sports. The goal was to apply a systematic approach to
59
establishing the Olympic program for each celebration of the Games. The commission
formulated seven criteria to judge whether a sport should be included on the Olympic
program. These criteria are history and tradition of the sport, universality, popularity of
the sport, image, athletes' health, development of the International Federation that
governs the sport, and costs of holding the sport. From this study five recognized sports
emerged as candidates for inclusion at the 2012 Summer Olympics: golf, karate, rugby
union, roller sports and squash. These sports were reviewed by the IOC Executive
Board and then referred to the General Session in Singapore in July 2005. Of the five
sports recommended for inclusion only two were selected as finalists: karate and
squash. Neither sport attained the required two-thirds vote and consequently they were
not promoted to the Olympic program. In October 2009 the IOC voted to instate golf
and rugby union as Olympic sports for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
The 114th IOC Session, in 2002, limited the Summer Games program to a maximum of
28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. Three years later, at the 117th IOC Session, the
first major program revision was performed, which resulted in the exclusion of baseball
and softball from the official program of the 2012 London Games. Since there was no
agreement in the promotion of two other sports, the 2012 program will feature just 26
sports. The 2016 and 2020 Games will return to the maximum of 28 sports given the
addition of rugby and golf.
Amateurism and professionalism
The ethos of the aristocracy as exemplified in the English Independent school greatly
influenced Pierre de Coubertin. The independent schools subscribed to the belief that
sport formed an important part of education, an attitude summed up in the saying mens
sana in corpore sano, a sound mind in a sound body. In this ethos, a gentleman was one
who became an all-rounder, not the best at one specific thing. There was also a
60
prevailing concept of fairness, in which practicing or training was considered
tantamount to cheating. Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to
have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a hobby.
The exclusion of professionals caused several controversies throughout the history of
the modern Olympics. The 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion Jim
Thorpe was stripped of his medals when it was discovered that he had played semiprofessional baseball before the Olympics. His medals were restored by the IOC in 1983
on compassionate grounds. Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter
Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because
they earned money with their sport and were thus considered professionals.
As class structure evolved through the 20th century, the definition of the amateur
athlete as an aristocratic gentleman became outdated. The advent of the state-sponsored
"full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of
the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a
disadvantage. Nevertheless, the IOC held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism.
Beginning in the 1970s, amateurism requirements were gradually phased out of the
Olympic Charter. After the 1988 Games, the IOC decided to make all professional
athletes eligible for the Olympics, subject to the approval of the IFs. As of 2004, the only
sport in which no professionals compete is boxing, although even this requires a
definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers
receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees. In men's football (soccer),
only three players over the age of 23 are eligible to participate per team in the Olympic
tournament. This is done in order to maintain a level of amateurism, and to ensure the
primacy of the FIFA World Cup.
61
Controversies
Boycotts
The Olympic Council of Ireland boycotted the 1936 Berlin Games, because the IOC
insisted its team needed to be restricted to the Irish Free State rather than representing
the entire island of Ireland. There were three boycotts of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics:
Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland refused to attend because of the repression of the
Hungarian uprising by the Soviet Union; Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon
boycotted the Games because of the Suez Crisis; and China (the "People's Republic of
China") boycotted the Games because Taiwan (the "Republic of China") was allowed to
compete in the games. In 1972 and 1976 a large number of African countries threatened
the IOC with a boycott to force them to ban South Africa and Rhodesia, because of their
segregationist regimes. New Zealand was also one of the African boycott targets,
because its national rugby union team had toured apartheid-ruled South Africa. The
IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused to ban New Zealand on the grounds
that rugby was not an Olympic sport. Fulfilling their threat, twenty African countries
were joined by Guyana and Iraq in a Tanzania-led withdrawal from the Montreal
Games, after a few of their athletes had already competed. Taiwan also decided to
boycott these Games because the People's Republic of China (PRC) exerted pressure on
the Montreal organizing committee to keep the delegation from the Republic of China
(ROC) from competing under that name. The ROC refused a proposed compromise that
would have still allowed them to use the ROC flag and anthem as long as the name was
changed. Taiwan did not participate again until 1984, when it returned under the name
of Chinese Taipei and with a special flag and anthem..
In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War opponents boycotted each other's Games. Sixty-five
nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet
62
invasion of Afghanistan. This boycott reduced the number of nations participating to
81, the lowest number since 1956. The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners
(except Romania) countered by boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984,
contending that they could not guarantee the safety of their athletes. Soviet officials
defended their decision to withdraw from the Games by saying that "chauvinistic
sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in the United States".The
boycotting nations of the Eastern Bloc staged their own alternate event, the Friendship
Games, in July and August.
There had been growing calls for boycotts of Chinese goods and the 2008 Olympics in
Beijing in protest of China's human rights record, and in response to the disturbances in
Tibet and ongoing conflict in Darfur. Ultimately, no nation supported a boycott. In
August 2008, the government of Georgia called for a boycott of the 2014 Winter
Olympics, set to be held in Sochi, Russia, in response to Russia's participation in the
2008 South Ossetia war. The International Olympic Committee responded to concerns
about the status of the 2014 games by stating that it is "premature to make judgments
about how events happening today might sit with an event taking place six years from
now".
Politics
The Olympic Games have been used as a platform to promote political ideologies
almost from its inception. Nazi Germany wished to portray the Nationalist Socialist
Party as benevolent and peace-loving when they hosted the 1936 Games. The Games
were also intended to show the superiority of the Aryan race; a goal that was not met
due in part to the achievements of athletes such as Jesse Owens, who won four gold
medals at this Olympics. The Soviet Union did not participate until the 1952 Summer
Olympics in Helsinki. Instead, starting in 1928, the Soviets organized an international
63
sports event called Spartakiads. Other communist countries organized Workers
Olympics during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. These events were held as
an alternative to the Olympics, which were perceived as a capitalist and aristocratic
event. It was not until the 1956 Summer Games that the Soviets emerged as a sporting
superpower and, in doing so, took full advantage of the publicity that came with
winning at the Olympics.
Individual athletes have also used the Olympic stage to promote their own political
agenda. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, in Mexico City, two American track and field
athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished first and third in the 200 meter
sprint race, performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand. The second place
finisher Peter Norman wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in support of
Smith and Carlos. In response to the protest, IOC President Avery Brundage told the
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to either send the two athletes home or
withdraw the track and field team. The USOC opted for the former.
Currently, the government of Iran has taken steps to avoid any competition between its
athletes and those from Israel. An Iranian judoka did not compete in a match against an
Israeli during the 2004 Summer Olympics. Although he was officially disqualified for
excessive weight, Arash Miresmaeli was awarded US$125,000 in prize money by the
Iranian government, an amount paid to all Iranian gold medal winners. He was
officially cleared of intentionally avoiding the bout, but his receipt of the prize money
raised suspicion.
Use of performance enhancing drugs
In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using drugs to improve their
athletic abilities. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games, Thomas J.
64
Hicks, was given strychnine and brandy by his coach. The only Olympic death linked to
doping occurred at the Rome Games of 1960. During the cycling road race, Danish
cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen fell from his bicycle and later died. A coroner's inquiry
found that he was under the influence of amphetamines. By the mid-1960s, sports
federations were starting to ban the use of performance enhancing drugs; in 1967 the
IOC followed suit.
The first Olympic athlete to test positive for the use of performance enhancing drugs
was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics, who
lost his bronze medal for alcohol use. The most publicized doping-related
disqualification was that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who won the 100 meter
dash at the 1988 Seoul Olympics but tested positive for stanozolol. His gold medal was
subsequently stripped and awarded to runner-up Carl Lewis, who himself had tested
positive for banned substances prior to the Olympics.
In the late 1990s, the IOC took the initiative in a more organized battle against doping,
by forming the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999. There was a sharp
increase in positive drug tests at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics.
Several medalists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified because of
doping offenses. During the 2006 Winter Olympics, only one athlete failed a drug test
and had a medal revoked. The IOC-established drug testing regimen (now known as
the Olympic Standard) has set the worldwide benchmark that other sporting
federations around the world attempt to emulate. During the Beijing games, 3,667
athletes were tested by the IOC under the auspices of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Both urine and blood tests were used to detect banned substances. Several athletes were
barred from competition by their National Olympic Committees prior to the Games;
only three athletes failed drug tests while in competition in Beijing.
65
Violence
The Olympics have not brought lasting peace to the world, even during celebrations of
the Games. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without a celebration of the Games
because of war: the 1916 Games were cancelled because of World War I, and the
summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of World War II.
The South Ossetia War between Georgia and Russia erupted on the opening day of the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Both President Bush and Prime Minister Putin were
attending the Olympics at that time and spoke together about the conflict at a luncheon
hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao. When Nino Salukvadze of Georgia won the
bronze medal in the 10 meter air pistol competition, she stood on the medal podium
with Natalia Paderina, a Russian shooter who had won the silver. In what became a
much-publicized event from the Beijing Games, Salukvadze and Paderina embraced on
the podium after the ceremony had ended.
Terrorism has also threatened the Olympic Games. In 1972, when the Summer Games
were held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team
were taken hostage by the terrorist group Black September in what is now known as the
Munich massacre. The terrorists killed two of the athletes soon after they had taken
them hostage and killed the other nine during a failed liberation attempt. A German
police officer and 5 terrorists also perished. During the Summer Olympics in 1996 in
Atlanta, a bomb was detonated at the Centennial Olympic Park, which killed 2 and
injured 111 others. The bomb was set by Eric Robert Rudolph, an American domestic
terrorist, who is currently serving a life sentence for the bombing. The 2002 Winter
Olympics were the first Olympic Games held since September 11, 2001, which meant
security at every Olympic games since then have been ramped up further to avoid a
terrorist attack.
66
Champions and medalists
The athletes or teams who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The
winners receive gold medals, which were solid gold until 1912, then made of gilded
silver and now gold-plated silver. Every gold medal must contain at least six grams of
pure gold. The runners-up receive silver medals and the third-place athletes are
awarded bronze medals. In events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most
notably boxing), third place might not be determined and both semifinal losers receive
bronze medals. At the 1896 Olympics only the first two received a medal; silver for first
and bronze for second. The current three-medal format was introduced at the 1904
Olympics. From 1948 onward athletes placing fourth, fifth, and sixth have received
certificates, which became officially known as victory diplomas; in 1984 victory
diplomas for seventh- and eighth-place finishers were added. At the 2004 Summer
Olympics in Athens, the gold, silver, and bronze medal winners were also given olive
wreaths. The IOC does not keep statistics of medals won, but National Olympic
Committees and the media record medal statistics as a measure of success.
Host nations and cities
Map of Summer Olympics locations. Countries that have hosted one Summer Olympics
are shaded green, while countries that have hosted two or more are shaded blue.
Map of Winter Olympics locations. Countries that have hosted one Winter Olympics are
shaded green, while countries that have hosted two or more are shaded blue.
The host city for an Olympic Games is usually chosen seven years ahead of their
celebration. The process of selection is carried out in two phases that span a two-year
period. The prospective host city applies to its country's Olympic Committee; if more
than one city from the same country submits a proposal to its NOC, the national
67
committee typically holds an internal selection, since only one city per NOC can be
presented to the International Olympic Committee for consideration. Once the deadline
for submission of proposals by the NOCs is reached, the first phase (Application) begins
with the applicant cities asked to complete a questionnaire regarding several key
criteria related to the organization of the Olympic Games. In this form, the applicants
must give assurances that they will comply with the Olympic Charter and with any
other regulations established by the IOC Executive Committee. The evaluation of the
filled questionnaires by a specialized group provides the IOC with an overview of each
applicant's project and their potential to host the Games. On the basis of this technical
evaluation, the IOC Excutive Board selects the applicants that will proceed to the
candidature stage.
Once the candidate cities are selected, they must submit to the IOC a bigger and more
detailed presentation of their project as part of a candidature file. Each city is
thoroughly analyzed by an evaluation commission. This commission will also visit the
candidate cities, interviewing local officials and inspecting prospective venue sites, and
submit a report on its findings one month prior to the IOC's final decision. During the
interview process the candidate city must also guarantee that it will be able to fund the
Games. After the work of the evaluation commission, a list of candidates is presented to
the General Session of the IOC, which is assembled in a country that must not have a
candidate city in the running. The IOC members gathered in the Session have the final
vote on the host city. Once elected, the host city bid committee (together with the NOC
of the respective country) signs a Host City Contract with the IOC, officially becoming
an Olympic host nation and host city.
By 2016, the Olympic Games will have been hosted by 44 cities in 23 countries, but by
cities outside Europe and North America on only eight occasions. Since the 1988
68
Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Olympics have been held in Asia or
Oceania four times, a sharp increase compared to the previous 92 years of modern
Olympic history. The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro will be the first for a South
American country. No bids from countries in Africa have ever succeeded.
The United States has hosted four Summer and four Winter Olympics, more than any
other nation. Among Summer Olympics host nations, the United Kingdom has been the
host of two Games, and will host its third Olympics in 2012 in London, making London
the only city ever to host three times. Germany, Australia, France, and Greece are the
other nations to have hosted the Summer Olympics twice.
Ancient Olympic Games
The Olympic Games (Ancient Greek: τὰ Ὀλύμπια - ta Olympia; Modern Greek:
Ὀλυμπιακοὶ Ἀγῶνες (Katharevousa), Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες (Dimotiki) - Olympiakoi
Agones) were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various citystates of Ancient Greece held in honor of Zeus. The exact origins of the Games are
shrouded in myth and legend but records indicate that they began in 776 BC in
Olympia in Greece. They were celebrated until 393 AD when they were suppressed by
Theodosius I as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as a state religion. The
Games were usually held every four years, or olympiad, as the unit of time came to be
known. During a celebration of the Games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that
athletes could travel from their countries to the Games in safety. The prizes for the
victors were olive wreaths or crowns.
The Games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their
rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the Games, and in times of war,
priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The Games were also used to help
69
spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured
religious celebrations and artistic competitions. A great statue of Zeus, one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world was erected in Olympia to preside over the Games.
Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to
would-be patrons.
The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games. There were fewer
events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete (although a woman,
Bilistiche is also mentioned as a winner). As long as they met the entrance criteria,
athletes from any country or city-state were allowed to participate. The Games were
always held at Olympia rather than alternating to different locations as is the tradition
with the modern Olympic Games. There is one major commonality between the ancient
and modern Games, the victorious athletes are honored, feted, and praised. Their deeds
were heralded and chronicled so that future generations could appreciate their
accomplishments.
Origins
To the Greeks it was important to root the Olympic Games in mythology. During the
time of the ancient Games their origins were attributed to the gods, and competing
legends persisted as to who actually was responsible for the Games' genesis. These
origin traditions and myths have become nearly impossible to untangle, yet a
chronology and patterns have arisen that help people understand the story behind the
Games. The earliest myths regarding the origin of the Games are recounted by the
Greek historian, Pausanias. According to the story, the dactyl Herakles (not to be
confused with the son of Zeus) and two of his brothers raced at Olympia. He crowned
the victor with an olive wreath, which explains the traditional prize given to Olympic
champions. The other Olympian gods (so named because they lived permanently on
70
Mount Olympus), would also engage in wrestling, jumping and running contests.
Another myth, this one occurring after the aforementioned myth, is attributed to
Pindar. He claims the festival at Olympia involved Pelops, king of Olympia and
eponymous hero of the Peloponnesus, and Herakles, the son of Zeus. The story goes
that after completing his labors, Herakles established an athletic festival to honor his
father. Pelops, using trickery, and the help of Poseidon, won a chariot race against a
local king and claimed the king's daughter, Hippodamia as his prize. A final myth, also
attributed to Pausanias is dated by the historian at 776 BC. For some reason the Games
of previous millennia were discontinued and then revived by Lycurgus of Sparta,
Iphitos of Elis, and Cleoisthenes of Pisa at the behest of the Oracle of Delphi who
claimed that the people had strayed from the gods, which had caused a plague and
constant war. Restoration of the Games would end the plague, usher in a time of peace,
and signal a return to a more traditional lifestyle. The patterns that emerge from these
myths are that the Greeks believed the Games had their roots in religion, that athletic
competition was tied to worship of the gods, and the revival of the ancient Games was
intended to bring peace, harmony and a return to the origins of Greek life. Since these
myths were documented by historians like Pausanias, who lived during the reign of
Marcus Aurelius in the 160s AD, it is likely that these stories are more fable than fact.
History
The games were held to be one of the two central rituals in Ancient Greece, the other
being the much older religious festival, the Eleusinian Mysteries.
The games started in Olympia, Greece, in a sanctuary site for the Greek deities near the
towns of Elis and Pisa (both in Elis on the peninsula of Peloponnesos). The first Games
began as an annual foot race of young women in competition for the position of the
71
priestess for the goddess, Hera and a second race was instituted for a consort for the
priestess who would participate in the religious traditions at the temple.
The Heraea Games, the first recorded competition for women in the Olympic Stadium,
were held as early as the sixth century BC. It originally consisted of foot races only, as
did the competition for males. Some texts, including Pausanias's Description of Greece, c.
AD 175, state that Hippodameia gathered a group known as the "Sixteen Women" and
made them administrators of the Heraea Games, out of gratitude for her marriage to
Pelops. Other texts related to the Elis and Pisa conflict indicate that the "Sixteen
Women" were peacemakers from Pisa and Elis and, because of their political
competence, became administrators of the Heraea Games.
Being the consort of Hera in Classical Greek mythology, Zeus was the father of the
deities in the pantheon of that era. The Sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia housed a 13metre-high statue in ivory and gold of Zeus that had been sculpted by Phidias circa
445 BC. This statue was one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. By the time of
the Classical Greek culture, in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, the games were
restricted to male participants.
The historian Ephorus, who lived in the fourth century BC, is believed to have
established the use of Olympiads to count years. The Olympic Games were held at fouryear intervals, and later, the Greek method of counting the years even referred to these
Games, using the term Olympiad for the period between two Games. Previously, every
Greek state used its own dating system, something that continued for local events,
which led to confusion when trying to determine dates. For example, Diodorus states
that there was a solar eclipse in the third year of the 113th Olympiad, which must be the
eclipse of 316 BC. This gives a date of (mid-summer) 786 BC for the first year of the first
72
Olympiad. Nevertheless, there is disagreement among scholars as to when the Games
began.
The only competition held then was, according to the later Greek traveller Pausanias
who wrote in 175 A.D., the stadion race, a race over about 190 metres, measured after the
feet of Hercules. The word stadium is derived from this foot race.
The Greek tradition of athletic nudity was introduced in 720 BC, either by the Spartans
or by the Megarian Orsippus, and this was adopted early in the Olympics as well.
Several groups fought over control of the sanctuary at Olympia, and hence the Games,
for prestige and political advantage. Pausanias later writes that in 668 BC, Pheidon of
Argos was commissioned by the town of Pisa to capture the sanctuary from the town of
Elis, which he did and then personally controlled the Games for that year. The next
year, Elis regained control.
The Olympic Games were part of the Panhellenic Games, four separate games held at
two- or four-year intervals, but arranged so that there was at least one set of games
every year. The Olympic Games were more important and more prestigious than the
Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games.
Finally, the Olympic Games were suppressed, either by Theodosius I in AD 393 or his
grandson Theodosius II in AD 435,[17] as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as
a state religion. The site of Olympia remained until an earthquake destroyed it in the
sixth century AD.
73
Culture
The ancient Olympics were as much a religious festival as an athletic event. The Games
were held in honor of the Greek god Zeus. On the middle day of the Games 100 oxen
would be sacrificed to Zeus. Over time Olympia, site of the Games, became a central
spot for the worship of head of the Greek pantheon and a temple, built by the Greek
architect Libon was erected on the mountaintop. The temple was one of the largest
Doric temples in Greece.[1] The sculptor Pheidias created a statue of the god made of
gold and ivory. It stood 42 feet (13 m) tall. It was placed on a throne in the temple. The
statue became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.[1] As the historian Strabo
put it,
"... the glory of the temple persisted ... on account both of the festal assembly and of the
Olympian Games, in which the prize was a crown and which were regarded as sacred,
the greatest games in the world. The temple was adorned by its numerous offerings,
which were dedicated there from all parts of Greece."
Artistic expression was a major part of the Games. Sculptors, poets and other artisens
would come to the Games to display their works in what became an artistic
competition. Sculptors created works like Myron's Diskobolos or Discus Thrower. Their
aim was to highlight natural human movement and the shape of muscles and the body.
Poets would be commissioned to write prose in honor of the Olympic victors. These
poems, known as Epinicians, were passed on from generation to generation and many of
them have lasted far longer than any other honor made for the same purpose. Baron
Pierre de Coubertin, one of the founders of the modern Olympic Games, wanted to
fully imitate the ancient Olympics in every way. Included in his vision was to feature an
artistic competition modeled on the ancient Olympics and held every four years, during
74
the celebration of the Olympic Games. His desire came to fruition at the Olympics held
in London in 1908.
Politics
Power in ancient Greece became centered around the city-state in the 8th century BC.
The city-state was a population center that became organized into a self-contained
political entity. These city-states often lived in close proximity to each other, which
created competition for limited resources. Though conflict between the city-states was
ubiquitous, it was also in their self-interest to engage in trade, military alliances and
cultural interaction. The city-states had a dichotomous relationship with each other, on
one hand they relied on their neighbors for political and military alliances, on the other
they competed fiercely with those same neighbors for the resources necessary to sustain
life. The Olympic Games were established in this political context. Representatives of
the city-states would compete against each other at the Games.
In the first two centuries of the Games' existence Olympia had only regional religious
importance. Greeks beyond the area immediately around the mountain did not compete
in these early Games. This is evidenced by the dominance of Peloponnesian athletes in
the victors' rolls. The spread of Greek colonies in the 5th and 6th century BC is
repeatedly linked to successful Olympic athletes. For example, Pausanias recounts that
Cyrene was founded c. 630 BC by settlers from Thera with Spartan support. The
support Sparta gave was primarily the loan of three-time Olympic champion Chionis.
The draw of settling with an Olympic champion helped to populate the colonies and
maintain cultural and political ties with the city-states in proximity to Olympia. Thus
Hellenistic culture and the Games spread while the primacy of Olympia persisted.
75
The Games faced a serious challenge during the Peloponnesian War, which primarily
pitted Athens against Sparta, but in reality touched nearly every Hellenistic city-state.
The Olympics were used during this time to announce alliances and offer sacrifices to
the gods for victory.
During the Olympic Games, a truce, or ekecheiria was observed. Three runners, known
as spondophoroi were sent from Elis to the participant cities at each set of games to
announce the beginning of the truce. During this period, armies were forbidden from
entering Olympia, wars were suspended, and legal disputes and the use of the death
penalty were forbidden. The truce was primarily designed to allow athletes and visitors
to travel safely to the Games and was, for the most part, observed. Thucydides wrote of
a situation when the Spartans were forbidden from attending the Games, and the
violators of the truce were fined 2,000 minae for assaulting the city of Lepreum during
the period of the ekecheiria. The Spartans disputed the fine and claimed that the truce
had not yet taken hold.
While a marshal truce was observed by all participating city-states, no such reprieve
from conflict existed in the political arena. The Olympic Games evolved the most
influential athletic and cultural stage in ancient Greece, and arguably in the ancient
world. As such the Games became a vehicle for city-states to promote themselves. The
result was political intrigue and controversy. For example, Pausanias, a Greek historian,
explains the situation of the athlete Sotades,
"Sotades at the ninety-ninth Festival was victorious in the long race and proclaimed a
Cretan, as in fact he was. But at the next Festival he made himself an Ephesian, being
bribed to do so by the Ephesian people. For this act he was banished by the Cretans."
76
This situation repeated itself at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In what is
becoming a growing trend, many athletes are switching citizenships in order to
compete at the Games. There are an equal number of countries willing to grant
citizenship and monetary considerations to these athletes in exchange for their
representation and the honor that comes with potential Olympic success. In this the
Olympics have changed very little from their roots in antiquity.
Events
Only free men who spoke Greek were allowed to participate in the Ancient Games of
classical times. They were to some extent "international", though, in the sense that they
included athletes from the various Greek city-states. Additionally, participants
eventually came from Greek colonies as well, extending the range of the games to far
shores of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea.
To be in the Games, the athletes had to qualify and have their names written in the lists.
It seems that only young people were allowed to participate, as the Greek writer
Plutarch relates that one young man was rejected for seeming overmature, and only
after his lover interceded with the King of Sparta, who presumably vouched for his
youth, was he permitted to participate. Before being able to participate, every
participant had to take an oath in front of the statue of Zeus, saying that he had been in
training for ten months.
At first, the Olympic Games lasted only one day, but eventually grew to five days. The
Olympic Games originally contained one event: the stadion (or "stade") race, a short
sprint measuring between 180 and 240 metres, or the length of the stadium. The length
of the race is uncertain, since tracks found at archeological sites, as well as literary
evidence, provide conflicting measurements. Runners had to pass five stakes that
77
divided the lanes: one stake at the start, another at the finish, and three stakes in
between.
The diaulos, or two-stade race, was introduced in 724 BC, during the 14th Olympic
games. The race was a single lap of the stadium, approximately 400 metres, and
scholars debate whether or not the runners had individual "turning" posts for the return
leg of the race, or whether all the runners approached a common post, turned, and then
raced back to the starting line.
A third foot race, the dolichos, was introduced in 720 BC. Accounts of the race present
conflicting evidence as to the length of the dolichos; however, the length of the race was
18-24 laps, or about three miles (5 km). The event was run similarly to modern
marathons—the runners would begin and end their event in the stadium proper, but
the race course would wind its way through the Olympic grounds. The course often
would flank important shrines and statues in the sanctuary, passing by the Nike statue
by the temple of Zeus before returning to the stadium.
The last running event added to the Olympic program was the hoplitodromos, or
"Hoplite race", introduced in 520 BC and traditionally run as the last race of the
Olympic Games. The runners would run either a single or double diaulos
(approximately 400 or 800 yards) in full or partial armour, carrying a shield and
additionally equipped either with greaves or a helmet. As the armour weighed between
50 and 60 lb (27 kg), the hoplitodromos emulated the speed and stamina needed for
warfare. Due to the weight of the armour, it was easy for runners to drop their shields
or trip over fallen competitors. In a vase painting depicting the event, some runners are
shown leaping over fallen shields. The course they used for these runs were made out
of clay, with sand over the clay.
78
Over the years, more events were added: boxing (pygme/pygmachia), wrestling (pale), a
very bloody pankration (regulated full-contact fighting, similar to today's mixed martial
arts), chariot racing, and several other running events (the diaulos, hippios, dolichos, and
hoplitodromos), as well as a pentathlon, consisting of wrestling, stadion, long jump,
javelin throw, and discus throw (the latter three were not separate events).
Boxing became increasingly brutal over the centuries. Initially, soft leather covered their
fingers, but eventually, hard leather weighted with metal sometimes was used. The
fights had no rest periods and no rules against hitting a man while he was down. Bouts
continued until one man either surrendered or died- however, killing an opponent
wasn't a good thing, as the dead boxer was automatically declared the winner.
In the chariot racing event, it was not the rider, but the owner of the chariot and team
who was considered to be the competitor, so one owner could win more than one of the
top spots. The addition of events meant the festival grew from one day to five days,
three of which were used for competition. The other two days were dedicated to
religious rituals. On the final day, there was a banquet for all the participants, consisting
of 100 oxen that had been sacrificed to Zeus on the first day.
The winner of an Olympic event was awarded an olive branch and often was received
with much honour throughout Greece, especially in his home town, where he was often
granted large sums of money (in Athens, 500 drachma, a small fortune) and prizes
including vats of olive oil. (See Milo of Croton.) Sculptors would create statues of
Olympic victors, and poets would sing odes in their praise for money.
Archaeologists believe that wars were halted between the city-states of Greece so that
the athletes as well as the spectators of the Olympics could get there safely. However,
79
some archaeologists argue that the wars were not halted, but that the athletes who were
in the army were allowed to leave and participate in the Olympics.
Participation in the classical games was limited to male athletes except for women who
were allowed to take part by entering horses in the equestrian events. In 396 BC, and
again in 392 BC, the horses of a Spartan princess named Cynisca won her the four-horse
race. It is thought that single women (not betrothed or married) were allowed to watch
the races. Also priestesses in the temple of Zeus who lit the candles were permitted.
The athletes usually competed naked, not only as the weather was appropriate, but also
as the festival was meant to celebrate, in part, the achievements of the human body.
Olive oil was occasionally used by the competitors, not only to keep skin smooth, but
also to provide an appealing look for the participants.
Famous athletes
•
from Athens:
o
•
•
Aurelios Zopyros (junior boxing)
from Sparta:
o
Acanthus of Sparta (running: diaulos)
o
Chionis of Sparta (running: stadion, diaulos, long and triple jump)
o
Cynisca of Sparta (first woman to be listed as an Olympic victor)
from Rhodes:
o
Diagoras of Rhodes (boxing 79th Olympiad, 464 BC) and his sons
Akusilaos and Damagetos (boxing and pankration)
o
•
Leonidas of Rhodes (running: stadion, diaulos and hoplitodromos)
from Croton:
o
Astylos of Croton (running: stadion, diaulos and hoplitodromos)
80
•
•
o
Milo of Croton (wrestling)
o
Timasitheos of Croton (wrestling)
from other cities:
o
Koroibos of Elis (stadion, the very first Olympic champion)
o
Orsippus of Megara (running: diaulos)
o
Theagenes of Thasos (pankration)
non-Greek:
o
Tiberius (steerer of a four-horse chariot)
o
Nero (steerer of a ten-horse chariot)
o
Varastades, Prince and future King of Armenia, last known Ancient
Olympic victor (boxing) during the 291st Olympic Games in the fourth
century
Festivals in other places
Athletic festivals under the name of "Olympic games", named in imitation of the
original festival at Olympia, were established over time in various places all over the
Greek world. Some of these are only known to us by inscriptions and coins; but others,
as the Olympic festival at Antioch, obtained great celebrity. After these Olympic
festivals had been established in several places, the great Olympic festival itself was
sometimes designated in inscriptions by the addition of Pisa.
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of
the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.
81
Coaching professional teams
All major U.S. collegiate sports have associations for their coaches to engage in
professional development activities, but professional coaches tend to have less formal
associations, and have never developed into a group resembling a union in the way that
athletic players in many leagues have.
Many coaching contracts allow the termination of the coach with little notice and
without specific cause, usually in the case of high-profile coaches with the payment of a
financial settlement. U.S. collegiate coaching contracts require termination without the
payment of a settlement if the coach is found to be in serious violation of named rules,
usually with regard to the recruiting or retention of players in violation of amateur
status.
Coaching is a very fickle profession, and a reversal of the team's fortune often finds last
year's "Coach of the Year" to be seeking employment in the next.
Many coaches are former players of the sport themselves, and coaches of professional
sports teams are sometimes retired players.
On some teams, the principal coach (usually referred to as the head coach) has little to do
with the development of details such as techniques of play or placement of players on
the playing surface, leaving this to assistants while concentrating on larger issues such
as recruitment and organizational development.
Successful coaches often become as well or even better-known than the athletes they
coach, and in recent years have come to command high salaries and have agents of their
own to negotiate their contracts with the teams. Often the head coach of a well-known
82
team has his or her own radio and television programs and becomes the primary "face"
associated with the team.
Preparation for coaching
Coaching courses and training seminars are increasingly available. One important role
of coaches, especially youth coaches, is establishing safety for school-age athletes. This
requires knowledge of CPR, prevention of dehydration, and following current
concussion management guidelines
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with
a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities,
amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic
Games, which are held immediately following their respective Olympic Games. All
Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Paralympics have grown from a small collection of British World War II veterans in
1948 to the second-largest international sport event in 2008. Paralympians strive for
equal treatment with able-bodied Olympic athletes, but there is a large funding gap
between Olympic and Paralympic athletes. There are also sports, such as track and field
athletics, that are resistant to Paralympians who wish to compete equally with ablebodied athletes, though there have been Paralympians who have participated in the
Olympic Games.
The Paralympic Games include athletes with physical disabilities, and are run in
parallel with the Olympic Games, while the IOC recognized Special Olympics World
83
Games include athletes with intellectual disabilities, and the Deaflympics include deaf
athletes.
The present formal explanation for the name "Paralympic" is that it derives from the
Greek preposition παρά, pará ("beside" or "alongside") and thus refers to a competition
held in parallel with the Olympic Games.[3] The Summer Games of 1988 held in Seoul
was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.
Given the wide variety of disabilities that paralympic athletes have, there are several
categories in which the athletes compete. The allowable disabilities are broken down
into six broad categories. The categories are amputee, Cerebral Palsy, intellectual
disability, wheelchair, visually impaired, and Les Autres (literally "The Others", which
are athletes with disabilities that don't fall into the other five categories; these include
dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, and congenital deformities). These categories are further
broken down into classifications, which vary from sport to sport. The classification
system has led to cheating controversies revolving around athletes who over-stated
their disabilities in addition to the use of performance-enhancing drugs seen in other
events.
History
Forerunners
Athletes with disabilities did compete in the Olympic Games prior to the advent of the
Paralympics. The first athlete to do so was Hungarian Karoly Takacs, who competed in
shooting events in both the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. He was a right-arm
amputee and was able to shoot left-handed. The only other disabled athlete to appear in
the Olympics prior to the Paralympic Games was Liz Hartel, a Danish equestrian
athlete. She had contracted polio in 1943 and yet was able to win a silver medal in the
84
dressage event. The first organized athletic event for disabled athletes that coincided
with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer
Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville
Hospital hosted a sports competition for British World War II veteran patients with
spinal cord injuries. The first Games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair
Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics.[6] Dr. Guttman's aim
was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be
equivalent to the Olympic Games. The Games were held again at the same location in
1952, and Dutch veterans took part alongside the British, making it the first
international competition of its kind. These early competitions, also known as the Stoke
Mandeville Games, have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games.
Milestones
There have been several milestones in the Paralympic movement. The first official
Paralympic Games, no longer open solely to war veterans, was held in Rome in 1960.
400 athletes from 23 countries competed at the 1960 Games. The Games were open only
to athletes in wheelchairs. At the 1976 Summer Games, athletes with different
disabilities were included for the first time at a Summer Paralympics. With the
inclusion of more disability classifications the 1976 Summer Games expanded to 1,600
athletes from 40 countries. The 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea, was
another milestone for the Paralympic movement. It was in Seoul that the Paralympic
Summer Games were held directly after the Olympic Summer Games, in the same host
city, and using the same facilities. This set a precedent that was followed in 1992 and
1996. It was eventually formalized in an agreement between the International
Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001.
The 1992 Winter Paralympics were the first Winter Games to use the same facilities as
85
the Winter Olympics. Since 1960, the Paralympic Games have taken place in the same
year as the Olympic Games.
Winter Games
The first Winter Paralympic Games were held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. This
was the first Paralympics in which multiple categories of athletes with disabilities could
compete. The Winter Games were celebrated every four years on the same year as their
summer counterpart, just as the Olympics were. This tradition was upheld until the
1992 Games in Albertville, France; after that, beginning with the 1994 Games, the
Winter Paralympics and the Winter Olympics have been held in those even numbered
years separate from the Summer Games.
Recent games
The Paralympic Games were designed to emphasize the participants' athletic
achievements, not their disability. The movement has grown dramatically since its early
days – for example the number of athletes participating in the Summer Paralympic
Games has increased from 400 athletes in Rome in 1960 to over 3,900 athletes from 146
countries in Beijing in 2008. Both the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games are
recognized on the world stage. The Paralympics is now the world’s largest sporting
events after the Olympics and is the fastest growing movement in international sports.
It is no longer held solely for British war veterans or just for athletes in wheelchairs, but
for elite athletes with a wide variety of disabilities from all over the world.
86
International Paralympic Committee
Forerunners 1964–1989
The first organization dedicated to advancement of athletic opportunities for disabled
people was the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), founded in
1964. The founders of this organization intended it to be a governing body to disabled
sports what the IOC was to the Olympic Games. This committee eventually became the
International Coordinating Committee of World Sports Organizations for the Disabled
(ICC), which was established in 1982. The ICC was tasked with advocating for the
rights of disabled athletes in front of the IOC. After the success of the cooperative effort
between the ICC and the IOC, which resulted in the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul,
the ICC determined the need to expand and include representatives from all nations
that had disabled sports programs. They also deemed it necessary to include athletes in
the decisions of the Paralympic governing body. Consequently this body was
reorganized as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989.
IPC 1989 – current
The IPC is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. It comprises 165
National Paralympic Committees (NPC) and four disability-specific international sports
federations. The president of the IPC is Philip Craven, a former Paralympian from Great
Britain. In his capacity as head of the IPC, Craven is also a member of the International
Olympic Committee. The IPC's international headquarters are in Bonn, Germany. The
IPC is responsible for organizing the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. It also
serves as the International Federation for nine sports. This requires the IPC to supervise
and coordinate the World Championships and other competitions for each of the nine
sports it regulates. Subsumed under the authority of the IPC are a large number of
87
national and international sporting organizations and federations. The IPC also
recognizes media partners, certifies officials, judges, and is responsible for enforcing the
bylaws of the Paralympic Charter.
The IPC has a cooperative relationship with the International Olympic Committee
(IOC). Delegates of the IPC are also members of the IOC and participate on IOC
committees and commissions. The two governing bodies remain distinct, with separate
Games, despite the close working relationship.
Name and symbols
The source of the term "Paralympic" is unclear. The name was originally coined as a
portmanteau combining "paraplegic" and "Olympic".The inclusion of other disability
groups rendered this explanation inappropriate. The present formal explanation for the
name is that it derives from the Greek preposition παρά, pará ("beside" or "alongside")
and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games. The Summer
Games of 1988 held in Seoul was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official
use.
“Spirit in Motion” is the motto for the Paralympic movement. The symbol for the
Paralympics contains three colors, red, blue, and green, which are the colors most
widely represented in the flags of nations. The colors are each in the shape of an Agito
(which is Latin for "I move"). The three Agitos circle a central point, which is a symbol
for the athletes congregating from all points of the globe. The motto and symbol of the
IPC were changed in 2003 to their current versions. The change was intended to convey
the idea that Paralympians have a spirit of competition and that the IPC as an
organization realizes its potential and is moving forward to achieve it. The vision of the
IPC is, "To enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to inspire and
88
excite the world." The Paralympic anthem is "Hymn de l'Avenir" or "Anthem of the
Future". It was composed by Thierry Darnis and adopted as the official anthem in
March 1996.
Ceremonies
Opening
As mandated by the Paralympic Charter, various elements frame the opening ceremony
of the Paralympic Games. Most of these rituals were established at the 1920 Summer
Olympics in Antwerp. The ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host
country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. The host nation then presents
artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theater representative of its culture.
After the artistic portion of the ceremony, the athletes parade into the stadium grouped
by nation. Nations enter the stadium alphabetically according to the host country's
chosen language, with the host country's athletes being the last to enter. Speeches are
given, formally opening the Games. Finally, the Paralympic torch is brought into the
stadium and passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier—often a Paralympic
athlete from the host nation—who lights the Paralympic flame in the stadium's
cauldron.
Closing
The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games takes place after all sporting events
have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter, followed by the
athletes who enter together, without any national distinction. The Paralympic flag is
taken down. The national flag of the country hosting the next Summer or Winter
Olympic Games is hoisted while the corresponding national anthem is played. The
89
Games are officially closed, and the Paralympic flame is extinguished. After these
compulsory elements, the next host nation briefly introduces itself with artistic displays
of dance and theater representative of its culture.
Medal presentation
A medal ceremony is held after each Paralympic event is concluded. The winner,
second and third-place competitors or teams stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum to
be awarded their respective medals. After the medals are given out by an IPC member,
the national flags of the three medalists are raised while the national anthem of the gold
medalist's country plays. Volunteering citizens of the host country also act as hosts
during the medal ceremonies, as they aid the officials who present the medals and act
as flag-bearers. For every Paralympic event, the respective medal ceremony is held, at
most, one day after the event's final.
Equality
Relationship with the Olympics
In 2001 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic
Committee (IPC) signed an agreement which guaranteed that host cities would be
contracted to manage both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This agreement will
remain in effect until the 2012 Summer Olympics. The agreement will be extended to
the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics.
The IOC has written its commitment to equal access to athletics for all people into its
charter, which states,
90
“
The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the
possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the
Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of
friendship, solidarity and fair play....Any form of discrimination with regard
to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or
otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.
”
While the Charter is silent on discrimination specifically related to disability; given the
language in the Charter regarding discrimination it is reasonable to infer that
discrimination on the basis of disability would be against the ideals of the Olympic
Charter and the IOC. This is also consistent with the Paralympic Charter, which forbids
discrimination on the basis of political, religious, economic, disability, gender, sexual
orientation or racial reasons.
Paralympians at the Olympics
Paralympic athletes have sought equal opportunities to compete at the Olympic Games.
The precedent was set by Neroli Fairhall, a Paralympic archer from New Zealand, who
competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 2008 Oscar Pistorius, a
South African sprinter, attempted to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Pistorius
had both his legs amputated below the knee and races with two carbon fiber blades. He
holds Paralympic records in the 100, 200, and 400 meter events. In 2007 he competed in
his first international able-bodied track meet, after which the International Association
of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Track and Field's governing body, banned the use of
any technical device that employs "...springs, wheels or any other element that provides
a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device." The concern
amongst athletes and the IAAF was that Pistorius' blades gave him an unfair advantage.
91
The IAAF then ruled that Pistorius was ineligible for the 2008 Summer Games. This
ruling was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport who contended that the
IAAF had not provided sufficient scientific evidence that Pistorius' prostheses gave him
undue advantages. Consequently, if he could achieve an Olympic-qualifying time, he
would be allowed to compete. His best opportunity to qualify was in the 400 meter race.
Pistorius missed the Olympic-qualifying time at this distance by .70 seconds. He did
compete in the 2008 Summer Paralympics where he won gold medals in the 100, 200,
and 400 meter sprints.
Athletes without a disability also compete at the Paralympics: The sighted guides for
athletes with a visual impairment, are such a close and essential part of the competition,
that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team, and both
athletes are medal candidates.
Funding
There have been criticism for not providing equal funding to Paralympic athletes as
compared to Olympic athletes. An example of this criticism was a law suit filed by
Paralympic athletes Tony Iniguez, Scot Hollonbeck and Jacob Heilveil of the United
States, in 2003. They alleged that the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), which
also include the USOC Paralympic Division (the National Paralympic Committee), was
underfunding American Paralympic athletes. Iniguez cited the fact that the USOC made
health care benefits available to a smaller percentage of Paralympians, the USOC
provided smaller quarterly training stipends and payed smaller financial awards for
medals won at a Paralympics. US Paralympians saw this as a disadvantage for the US
Paralympic athletes, as nations such as Canada and Britain supported Paralympians
and Olympians virtually equally. The USOC did not deny the discrepancy in funding
and contended that this was due to the fact that it did not receive any government
92
financial support. As a result it had to rely on revenue generated by the media exposure
of its athletes. Olympic athletic success resulted in greater exposure for the USOC than
Paralympic athletic achievements. The case was heard by lower courts, who ruled that
the USOC has the right to allocate it's finances to athletes at different rates. The case was
appealed to the Supreme Court, who on September 6, 2008 announced that it would not
hear the appeal. However, during the time the lawsuit had lasted (from 2003 to 2008),
the funding from the USOC had nearly tripled. In 2008 $11.4 million was earmarked for
Paralympic athletes, up from $3 million in 2004.[37]
Media coverage
While the Olympic Games have experienced tremendous growth in global media
coverage since the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Paralympics have been unable to
maintain an consistent international media presence.
Television broadcasts of Paralympic Games began in 1976, but this early coverage was
confined to taped-delay releases to one nation or region. At the 1992 Summer
Paralympics there was 45 hours of live coverage but it was available only in Europe.
Other countries broadcasted highlight packages during the Games. No meaningful
improvements in coverage occurred until the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.
The 2000 Paralympics represented a significant increase in global media exposure for
the Paralympic Games. A deal was reached between the Sydney Paralympic Organizing
Committee (SPOC) and All Media Sports (AMS) to broadcast the Games internationally.
Deals were reached with Asian, South American, and European broadcast companies to
distribute coverage to as many markets as possible. The Games were also webcast for
the first time. Because of these efforts the Sydney Paralympics reached a global
audience estimated at 300 million people. Also significant was the fact that the
93
organizers did not have to pay networks to televise the Games as had been done at the
1992 and 1996 Games. Despite these advances consistent media attention has been a
challenge, which was evidenced in the coverage in Great Britain of the 2010 Winter
Paralympics.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was criticized for its minimal coverage of
the 2010 Winter Paralympics as compared to its coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The BBC announced it would stream some content on its website and show a one-hour
highlight program after the Games ended. For the Winter Olympics the BBC aired
160 hours of coverage. The response from the BBC was that budget constraints and the
"time zone factor" necessitated a limited broadcast schedule. The reduction in coverage
was done in spite of increased ratings for the 2008 Summer Paralympics, which was
watched by 23% of the population of Great Britain. In Norway, the Norwegian
Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) broadcast 30 hours of the 2010 Winter Games live.
NRK-sport were critical to parts of the TV production from Vancouver, an issue they
notified to the EBU. Issues such as showing biathlon without showing the shooting, and
in cross-country skiing with skiers in the distance, making it hard to follow the progress
of the competition. NRK were far more pleased with the production of the ice sledge
hockey and wheelchair curling events, which they felt reached the same level as the
Olympic Games.
Outside the Games
A 2010 study by the University of British Columbia (UBC) on the Olympic Games
Impact (OGI), showed that of roughly 1,600 Canadian respondents, 41–50 percent
believed the 2010 Paralympic and Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada triggered
additional accessibility of buildings, sidewalks and public spaces. 23 percent of
94
employers, said the Games had increased their willingness to hire people with
disabilities.
Classification
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has established six disability categories.
Within the six disability categories, athletes are divided according to their level of
impairment, in a functional classification system which differ from sport to sport.
Categories
The IPC has established six disability categories. Athletes with one of these physical
disabilities are able to compete in the Paralympics though not every sport can allow for
every disability category. These categories apply to both Summer and Winter
Paralympics.
•
Amputee: Athletes with a partial or total loss of at least one limb.
•
Cerebral Palsy: Athletes with non-progressive brain damage, for example
Cerebral Palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke or similar disabilities affecting
muscle control, balance or coordination.
•
Intellectual Disability: Athletes with a significant impairment in intellectual
functioning and associated limitations in adaptive behavior. The IPC primarily
serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual
Disabilaty have been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite
athletes with intellectual disabilites, where few qualify. The IOC recognized
Special Olympics World Games however, are open to all persons with
intellectual disabilities, also persons with severe and profound levels of
intellectual disabilities.
95
•
Wheelchair: Athletes with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities which
require them to compete in a wheelchair.
•
Visually Impaired: Athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision,
sufficient to be judged legally blind, to total blindness. The sighted guides for
athletes with a visual impairment, are such a close and essential part of the
competition, that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are
considered a team, and both athletes are medal candidates.
•
Les Autres: Athletes with a physical disability that does not fall strictly under one
of the other five categories, such as dwarfism, multiple sclerosis or congenital
deformities of the limbs such as that caused by thalidomide (the name for this
category is the French for "the others").
Classification system
Within the six disability categories the athletes still need to be divided according to
their level of impairment. The classification systems differ from sport to sport, and are
intended to open up sports to as many athletes as possible, who can participate in fair
competitions against athletes with similar levels of ability. The biggest challenge in the
classification system is how to account for the wide variety and severity of disabilities.
Consequently within most classifications there is a range of impairment.
Medical classification: beginning – 80s
From its inception until the 1980s the Paralympic system for classifying athletes
consisted of a medical evaluation and diagnosis of impairment. An athlete's medical
condition was the only factor used to determine what class they competed in. For
example an athlete who had a spinal cord injury that resulted in lower limb paresis,
would not compete in the same wheelchair race as an athlete with a double above-knee
96
amputation. The fact that their disability caused the same impairment did not factor
into classification determination, the only consideration was their medical diagnosis. It
was not until views on disabled athletics shifted from just a form of rehabilitation to an
end in itself, that the classification system changed from medical diagnosis to a focus on
the functional abilities of the athlete.
Functional classification: 80s – present
While there is no clear date when the shift occurred, a functional classification system
became the norm for disabled athletic classification in the 1980s. In a functional system
the focus is on what impact the athlete's impairment has on their athletic performance.
Under this system athletes with total loss of function in their legs will compete together
in most sports, because their function loss is the same and the reason for the loss is
immaterial. The only exception to the functional system is the classification format used
by International Blind Sport Federation (IBSF0), which still uses a medically-based
system.
Some sports are only held for certain disability types. For example, goalball is only for
visually impaired athletes. The Paralympics recognizes three different grades of visual
impairment, consequently all competitors in goalball must wear a visor or "black out
mask" so that athletes with less visual impairment will not have an advantage. Other
sports, like athletics, are open to athletes with a wide variety of impairments. In
athletics participants are broken down into a range of classes based on the disability
they have and then they are placed in a classification within that range based on their
level of impairment. For example: classes 11–13 are for visually impaired athletes,
which class they are in depends on their level of visual impairment. Finally there are
team competitions such as wheelchair rugby. In team competitions the members of the
team are each given a point value based on their level of impairment. The higher the
97
value the higher the athlete's level of function. The team has a point cap that all the
competitors in play at a given time must fit under. For example: in wheelchair rugby
the five players' combined disability number must total no more than eight points.
Sports
There are twenty paralympic sports on the Summer Paralympic program and there are
five paralympic sports on the Winter Paralympics program. Within some of the sports
are several events. For example, alpine skiing has a slalom and giant slalom. The IPC
has governance over several of the sports but not all of them. Other international
organizations, known as International Sports Federations (IF), notably the International
Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), the International Blind Sports
Federation (IBSA), and the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation
Association (CP-ISRA), govern some sports that are specific to certain disability groups.
There are national chapters for these International Sport Federations including National
Paralympic Committees, which are responsible for recruitment of athletes and
governance of sports at the national level.
Controversy
Cheating
The Paralympic Games have been damaged by cheating scandals. After the 2000
Sydney Games, a Spanish basketball player alleged that several members of the goldmedal winning Spanish basketball intellectually disabled (ID) team were not disabled.
He claimed that only two athletes out of the twelve-member team met the qualifications
of an intellectually disabled athlete. A controversy ensued and the IPC called on the
Spanish National Paralympic Committee to launch an investigation. The investigation
uncovered several Spanish athletes who had flouted the ID rules. In an interview with
98
the president of the federation that oversees ID competition, Fernando Martin Vicente
admitted that athletes around the world were breaking the ID eligibility rules. The IPC
responded by starting an investigation of its own. The results of the IPC's investigation
confirmed the Spanish athlete's allegations and also determined that the incident was
not isolated to the basketball ID event or to Spanish athletes.
As a result all ID
competitions were suspended indefinitely. The ban was lifted after the 2008 Games
after work had been done to tighten the criteria and controls governing admission of
athletes with intellectual disabilities. Four sports, swimming, athletics, table tennis and
rowing, are anticipated to hold competitions for ID athletes at the 2012 Summer
Paralympics.
The Paralympics have also been tainted by steroid use. At the 2008 Games in Beijing,
three powerlifters and a German basketball player were banned after having tested
positive for banned substances. This was a decrease in comparison to the ten
powerlifters and one track athlete who were banned from the 2000 Games. German
skier, Thomas Oelsner, became the first Winter Paralympian to test positive for steroids.
He had won two gold medals at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, but his medals were
stripped after his positive drug test. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver,
Swedish curler Glenn Ikonen tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended
for two years by the IPC. He was removed from the rest of the curling competition but
his team was allowed to continue. The 54-year-old curler blamed his doctor for
prescribing a medication on the banned substances list. Sweden beat the United States
to win the bronze medal.
Another concern now facing Paralympic officials is the technique of boosting blood
pressure, known as autonomic dysreflexia. The increase in blood pressure has been
shown to improve performance by 15%. This is most effective in the endurances sports
99
such as cross-country skiing. To increase blood pressure athletes will deliberately cause
trauma to limbs below a spinal injury. This trauma can include breaking bones,
strapping extremities in too tightly, and using high-pressured compression stockings.
The injury is painless but it does have an impact on the athlete's blood pressure.
Notable champions and achievements
Trischa Zorn of the United States is the most decorated Paralympian in history. She
competed in the blind swimming events and won a total of 55 medals, 41 of which are
gold. Her Paralympic career spanned 24 years from 1980 to 2004. She was also an
alternate on the 1980 American Olympic swim team, but did not go to the Olympics due
to a boycott by the United States and several of its allies. Ragnhild Myklebust of
Norway holds the record for the most medals ever won at the Winter Paralympic
Games. Competing in a variety of events in 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2002, she won a total of
22 medals, of which 17 were gold. After winning five gold medals at the 2002 Games
she retired at the age of 58. Neroli Fairhall, a paraplegic archer from New Zealand, was
the first paraplegic competitor, and the first Paralympian, to participate in the Olympic
Games, when she competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She placed
thirty-fourth in the Olympic archery competition, and won a Paralympic gold medal in
the same event.
Physical Education
Since ancient times, people in India believed that the human body is indeed an
instrument of dharma (shareeramevādya hi khalu dharmasādhanam). Hence the body is to be
properly nourished, and maintained. In medieval Karnataka people gave as much
importance to physical exercise as to literary education. The principle of “a sound mind
in a sound body” was not only accepted but also faithfully practiced. The system of yoga
100
was the first step in spiritual training. Yoga comprises full-fledged toning of the body
and mind. It includes the use of various body postures to control breathing and muscle
movements, and to help gain control over human passions as well. It was the general
belief that this balancing of the body and mind led to intellectual strength.
Village schools were usually situated in the temple premises or in the courtyard of
mathas, where children played after daytime lessons. Besides this, every village had one
or two playgrounds, where sporting events and games were held during the annual fair
of the village deity. These involved wrestling, boxing, mallakhambha (pillar acrobatics),
the shooting of arrows, and demonstrations of strength such as weight lifting. Bigger
grounds were reserved for ram-fights, buffalo fights, fencing and duelling. Various ball
games, and the indigenous sports of kho-kho and kabaddi were common. Most childrens'
sports in medieval India ensured body-development. The economy and variety of
indigenous games were greatly admired by visiting foreign travelers.
The game of ālinerike involved riding on one another; boys were lifted on shoulders in
pairs, and the raised youngsters tried to knock each other down to the sand below.
Haruguppe was a native form of hop-step-jump, wherein boys had to jump from one
sand heap to another (arranged at equal distances), and try to be the fastest to reach the
goal. It is interesting to note that young women played this game as well. >Dānd (also
Sāmu ) involves stretching the body while lying flat on one's stomach, and raising it
slowly on the strength of one's arms while simultaneously controlling the breathing. It
was a difficult exercise, but the whole body received the toning it required. Some
youngsters performed dānds
in the hundreds. Chinikolu (also called
gillidāndu)
>consisted of hitting a wooden ball with a wooden stick. Hitting one another with balls
of cloth, hide and seek, and the game of pillars ( khambada gadane) were popular among
children. Khambada gadane resembles the game of musical chairs: players clutched
101
available pillars in temples or large mansions as soon as the song ended or a cue was
given. Kabaddi was formerly known as gudugu. Kuntahalipe was a one-legged game.
Many of these sports are mentioned by the poet Kumara Vyasa in his classic, while
describing the childhood games of the mythological Kauravas and Pandavas that had
come down to his times1. Ball games were popular with boys and girls alike.
Board games of cowries and pebbles were common among girls. Fugadi (holding hands
and whirling around) and kuntāta, the one-legged version of ‘tag', were other games
played by girls
A garadimane or gymnasium was a must in every village, to which youngsters thronged
every morning. There they played with lōdu, dumbbells, clubs, metal balls, discs and
javelins (see picture no. 44). Akhādās (wrestling houses) were well equipped, and
received state-patronage. From Chalukyan times (c.10th century) to the reign of the
Wodeyars of Mysore (20th century), wrestling received special royal attention, besides
being a very popular pastime among the laity till the date.
Wrestling
Manasollasa mentions special coaching provided to wrestlers. To warm up, the wouldbe-wrestlers had to do jog three miles early morning. This was followed by dands and
sit-ups. Weight lifting was also undertaken (see picture no. 42) by the wrestlers in order
to strengthen the body. After resting for a while, wrestlers descended into the wrestling
pit filled with finely sieved sand. They saluted each other in traditional style and began
the joust when a signal was given. Various grips (pēchu) were practiced and had
Kannada names. Youngsters flocked to these bouts to cheer and to mimic the gestures
of grown-ups (see picture no. 75). The wrestler's body was well massaged before the
bout began, and dust was applied to wrestlers' hands in order to prevent them from
102
slipping over the opponent's oiled body. Bhavishnu or future-wrestlers were fed on a
special diet of black gram, meat, curds, flour mixed with milk, and clarified butter. They
were specially guarded and prevented from spending time in the company of women2.
Special officers (mallādhyakhsha) kept a constant watch over mallas or wrestlers, who
were divided into three categories: jyeshthaka, antarjyeshthaka, and govala, somewhat
along the lines of modern-day heavy, middle and bantamweight wrestlers. The king
personally selected wrestlers for bouts, ensuring contests among equals, and inspected
the oath-taking and saluting ceremonies. Monetary allowances were given to wrestlers
and they were permitted to wrestle up to the age of thirty. In smaller towns, wrestlers
were arranged into two parties, before the bouts were held. Winners were paraded
through the streets. It was the dream of winners to receive a royal invitation to
wrestling bouts held in Vijayanagar during themahānavami festival. These festivities
lasted nearly a month, according to Domingo Paes. Some female wrestlers were also
known. The wrestling motif was popular among sculptors of the period.
There appears to have been two types in wrestling, as observed by Paes. One
emphasized the game of strength while the second was violent and resembled modern
boxing. Nunez had seen that in some instances wrestlers struck and wounded each
other with circlets and with points, which they were allowed to conceal in their hands.
We have sculptural representations of both types of these martial sports
Archery and other Martial Arts
Garadis or village gymnasiums were the training ground for future soldiers, as these
were equipped with lāthis, spears, clubs, maces, and shields3. Prince Kumara Rama
received martial training in such a garadi.
103
Archery occupied an important place in the physical training of youngsters. Visual
concentration and the coordination of hands, eyes, and feet were basic essentials in
military training. Contests such as the matsyavēdha involved shooting an arrow into a
revolving ball or a fish placed overhead, while looking at its reflection in the water
below. “Drawing” the sketch of a date-tree with the help of rapidly-shot arrows was
another feat4. Shooting arrows and throwing rocks from Doddabetta to Chikkabetta,
two hillocks in Shravanabelagola, was popular in the 11th and 12th centuries and
considered as acts of valor, as indicated by local inscriptions. Fights with a buffalo, a
bull and an elephant were considered dangerous, but were highly applauded.
Dueling or anka was a common sport. Duels were fought with fists like in boxing, and
also with weapons such as swords, daggers and knifes. There was strict state control
over dueling. These were fought as a result of rivalries arising over competition for
women, over land and property disputes, for the exhibition of bravery, or in revenge
and retribution for a crime committed. The strongest of ankas mentioned in the
Manasollasa involved a swaggering desperado, who rode a buffalo and carried a torch
in broad daylight, and threw a birudanka or a challenge to duel. The king was advised to
discourage such combats and allow them only in exceptional cases5.
Gladiatorial games were known in medieval Karnataka. Races between elephants and
men were one such sport. A proclamation was issued by beating a drum (dindima) that
old men, pregnant women, children, and the crippled were not to move out in public
thoroughfares, due to grave danger from excited and inebriated race-elephants. Drugs
were administrated to make the elephants agitated. Runners were invited to participate
in the race with infuriated elephants. Hardened criminals were also employed in these
sports.
104
The race took place in a specially constructed arena. The audience was well-protected
with the help of fortifications. The arena measured 400 cubits in length and 240 cubits in
breadth and was divided into three parts including the elephant-zone (dvipabhumi), the
king's zone (nripabhumi) and the runner's zone (parikārabhumi). The runner who could
maintain his place in front of the elephant in all three parts of the arena was considered
to have won the race. But if he went off the track, or ran zigzag, he was considered to
have been defeated. The furious elephant was likely to trample and kill the parikāra or
runner. Horse riders usually stood by to be to control the elephant and save the runner6.
Polo Games
We now turn to the history of organized sports played in specially constructed stadia,
which resemble modern ones. Ball sports on horseback are believed to have been
introduced in India through central Asia during the Mughal period. However, a
description of vāji vāhyalivinoda (amusement of the ballgame) in the Manasollasa prove
that indigenous sports resembling golf and horseback-polo were common even earlier,
during Rashtrakuta and Chalukya times.
A Shravanabelagola inscription of 982 C.E. describes the excellence of king Indra IV in
the science of the ballgame ( kandukāgama) 7. By this time, various ballgames including
those played on horseback were so popular, that the science of the ballgame came to be
developed. By reconstructing and interpreting meager details in the old Kannada
inscription, the sport can be compared to golf of modern times, but was played on
horseback. The arena was circular, and the game was played between individuals. The
player on horseback hit the ball with a stick, and after hitting it around the circular
arena, he would send it inside, probably towards a hole in the center of the field. This
completed one round. Whoever could complete more rounds at a stretch was
105
presumably the winner. It is said of Indra Raja that he would not rest satisfied until he
made eight or ten rounds at a stretch.
In the polo sport of Chalukyan times (c.12th century) the field was four hundred hands
square and the game was played between two teams consisting of eight members each.
The ball (kanduka) and bat ( geddikā) were made of wood and covered with red leather.
The attire of the players included a tight coat and a belt. Players initially stood near the
goals. Putting the horse into trot, one player moved the ball towards the goal of the
opposing team, followed by the other members. The members of the opposite team
would try to intercept the ball and attempt to move it in the opposite direction. The ball
thus rolled from one end of the field to the other. Instead of one goalpost as in the
modern game, there were two, one behind the other, and the ball had to pass through
both8. The popularity of the sport of polo in Chalukyan times indicates the level of
perfection attained in the art of riding.
Hayavāhali or Ashvavāhali , mentioned in Kannada classics, were practiced by princes
and nobles. This referred to a popular ballgame on horseback. The history of polo or
games on horse as described in this section takes the history of this sport in India at
least five centuries further back than suggested by Prof. A.L. Basham who places its
origin in Mughal times.
Hunting and other sports
Hunting was another important pastime indulged in by the royalty and the commoners
alike. Mastery attained by youngsters in wielding various weapons such as the bow and
arrow, spears, clubs and the chitbil (catapult) were put to the test during hunting
expeditions. Indiscriminate killing of animals was avoided and expeditions were
106
organized only when wild animals overbred, resulting in a scarcity of food for all
animals in the forest.
An eco-balance was thus maintained and in this regard the expertise of forest dwellers,
who were well acquainted with the terrain and the movement of animals, was utilized.
A huge party of shooters, dogs and decoy animals such as the cheetah, deer and hawks
was organized. Tigers, lions, boars, bears, wild buffaloes, deer, sāmbar, and a number of
birds were killed or young ones (cubs) were caught alive in nets. Women also
participated in such expeditions. Hunting scenes figure in contemporary sculptures of
those times. Heroes who fell while fighting wild animals were gratefully remembered
in hero-stones.
The hunting sport for women was generally less strenuous, although we often find the
huntress-motifs in artwork. Back at home, kōlāta(game of sticks) was very popular and
involved many feats such as the touching of the hair knot with the foot, performing
tricks while simultaneously keeping the music and the beat in mind. Feats with sticks
were common. Women acrobats were well known. A hero-stone from the 17th century
refers to the tragic death of Yellakka, who while performing a feat on the pole, fell
down and died on the spot.
Physical exercises undertaken by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya included
body massage, wrestling, weight lifting and horse riding. These were undertaken daily,
as documented by Domingo Paes. Krishnadevaraya's portrait in bronze at Tirupati
shows the suppleness of his body maintained through regular exercise.
Father Du Jarric, who visited a gymnasium at Chandragiri in the 17th century, has left
an interesting account of nobles who exercised through boxing, jumping, fencing and
wrestling. He observed that these exercises were undertaken almost daily before dinner
107
in order to be fit and healthy; "thus men as old as seventy years look only thirty". Perhaps
such daily exercises were not common in contemporary Europe. Pietro della Valle who
visited Ikkeri in 1623 C.E. has left a vivid description of kōlāta by women. He has also
stated that among Indians it is the custom for everyone to manage and use one sort of
arms wherein he "accustomed himself."
Physical education
Physical education (often abbreviated Phys. Ed. or P.E.) or gymnastics (gym or gym
class) is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages
psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting.
Trends
Physical Education trends have developed recently to incorporate a greater variety of
activities. Introducing students to lifetime activities like bowling, walking/hiking, or
Frisbee at an early age can help students develop good activity habits that will carry
over into adulthood. Some teachers have even begun to incorporate stress-reduction
techniques such as yoga and deep-breathing. Teaching non-traditional sports to
students may also provide the necessary motivation for students to increase their
activity, and can help students learn about different cultures. For example, while
teaching a unit about Lacrosse (in say Arizona), students can also learn a little bit about
the Native American cultures of the Northeast and Eastern Canada, where Lacrosse
originated. Teaching non-traditional (or non-native) sports provides a great opportunity
to integrate academic concepts from other subjects as well (social studies from the
example above), which is required of every P.E. teacher these days.
There are also many different models that have been created as of late that change the
face of P.E. One example of this is the Health Club Model. Teaching with this model is
108
very different from the "Organized Recess" of 20 or 30 years ago. Spun off the boom in
the health club industry, a P.E. class provides many of the same "classes" that are found
at a health club. Monday a student could be doing kickboxing, the next day is yoga,
Wednesday the student is doing DOTA. This type of program provides a great variety
of activity for students, a lot a high intensity exercise, and helps introduce these
activities for use later in life. The Sports Education model is another example of a new
model were the class is run like a sports league, with students taking the role of
coaches, scorers, referees, and reporters as well as players. Using this model, students
practice management skills, mathematics skills, and writing skill all while learning
sports skills and being active.
Another trend is the incorporation of Health and Nutrition to the physical education
curriculum. The Child Nutrition and WIC Re-authorization Act of 2004 required that all
school districts with a federally funded school meal program develop wellness policies
that address nutrition and physical activity. While teaching students sports and
movement skills, P.E. teachers are now incorporating short health and nutrition lessons
into the curriculum. This is more prevalent at the elementary school level, where
students do not have a specific Health class.
Today many states require Physical Education teachers to be certified to teach Health
also. Many colleges and Universities offer both Physical Education and Health as one
certification. This push towards Health education, is beginning in the intermediate
level, including lessons on bullying, self esteem and stress and anger management.
In the United States, the physical education curriculum is designed to allow school
pupils a full range of modern opportunities, dozens of sports and hundreds of carefully
reviewed drills and exercises, including exposure to the education with the use of
pedometer, GPS, and heart rate monitors, as well as state-of-the-art exercise machines in
109
the upper grades. Some martial arts classes, like wrestling in the United States, and
Pencak Silat in France, Indonesia and Malaysia, are taught to teach children self-defense
and to feel good about themselves. The physical education curriculum is designed to
allow students to experience at least a minimum exposure to the following categories of
activities: aquatics, conditioning activities, gymnastics, individual/dual sports, team
sports, rhythms, and dance. Students are encouraged to continue to explore those
activities in which they have a primary interest by effectively managing their
community resources.
In these areas, a planned sequence of learning experiences is designed to support a
progression of student development. This allows kids through 6th grade to be
introduced to sports, fitness, and teamwork in order to be better prepared for the
middle and high school age. In 1975, the United States House of Representatives voted
to require school physical education classes include both genders. Some high school
and some middle school PE classes are single-sex. Requiring individuals to participate
in physical education activities, such as dodge ball, flag football, and other competitive
sports remains a controversial subject because of the social impact these have on young
children. It is, however, important to note that many school budgets have seen cutbacks
and in some cases physical education programs have been cut - leaving educators and
students to address these needs in other ways.
Worldwide
In Singapore, pupils from primary school through junior colleges are required to have 2
hours of PE every school week, except during examination seasons. Pupils are able to
play games like football, badminton, 'captain's ball' and basketball during most
sessions. Unorthodox sports such as tchoukball, fencing and skateboarding are
occasionally played. In more prestigious secondary schools and in junior colleges,
110
sports such as golf, tennis, shooting, squash are played. A compulsory fitness exam,
NAPFA, is conducted in every school once every year to assess the physical fitness of
the pupils. Pupils are given a series of fitness tests (Pull-ups/ Inclined pull-ups for girls,
standing broad jump, sit-ups, sit-and-reach and 1.2 km for secondary/2.4 km for junior
colleges run). Students are graded by gold, silver, bronze and fail. NAPFA for Year 2
males in junior colleges serves as an indicator for an additional 2 months in the
country's compulsory national service if they attain bronze or fail.
In Malaysia, pupils from primary schools to secondary schools are expected to do 2
periods or 1 hour of PE throughout the year except a week before examination. In most
secondary schools, games like badminton, sepak takraw, football, basketball and tennis
are available. Pupils are allowed to bring their own sports equipment to the school with
the authorization of the teacher. In most secondary school, physical exams are rarely
done, schools records on pupil's height, weight and how many push-up they can do.
In Scotland, pupils are expected to do two periods of PE in first year, one in second year
and two in third and fourth year. In fifth and sixth year, PE is voluntary.
In the Philippines, some schools have integrated martial arts training into their Physical
Education curriculum.
In England, pupils are expected to do two hours of PE a week in Year 7, 8 and 9 and at
least 1 in year 10 and 11.
In Wales, pupils are expected to do only one hour of PE per fortnight.
In Nepal, physical education is poor and poorly organized because the educational
system has only been recently established and is still adjusting to recent changes and
updates. Nepal has not gone very far in the sector of education because the educational
111
history of Nepal is very short. Before 1951, Nepal was under a monarchy. The
monarchy did not wish to provide education to the citizens as it did not want them to
be educated and therefore politically aware. Institution of democracy did not result in a
modern educational system; what education there was little better. After 10 years of
democracy the country again plunged into an autocratic monarchy. In 1990 democracy
was restored and the education sector started to flourish. Since then, Physical Education
became part of the school curriculum. At the primary level (1-5), some minor and local
games are now taught, like hide and seek and some athletic based local events. In lower
secondary level (6-8), the students are taught general concepts on major games like
football, volleyball, basket ball, Kho-Kho and Kabaddi. They also learn some athletics
like 100m race 100*4m relay race and some other minor and lead up games. In class
Nine and ten it is an optional subject where they specialize in some games like
volleyball, basketball, handball, cricket, Kho Kho Kabaddi, Badminton, table tennis and
some athletics are also taught. In college it is taught in the education stream. Even
though it is included in school curriculum, Nepal is not able to produce any worthwhile
products of games and sports for reasons ranging from poverty to decentralized
government.
Adapted Physical Education
Adapted Physical Education (APE) is a sub-discipline of physical education. It is an
individualized program created for students with disabilities in order to ensure safe
and successful physical education opportunities. Physical education involves physical
fitness, motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns, aquatics skills, dance
skills, individual, group games, and sports (including lifetime sports). Adapted Physical
Education is a direct service, not a related service.
Laws
112
Created in 2001, this act puts significant federal support behind the improvement of
reading and mathematics scores and compromises other critical curricular areas,
including physical education, health, history, art, computer science, and music (Auxter,
Pyfer, Zittel, Roth, 2010). Additionally, schools and teachers are held to higher
standards in the areas of accountability, assessment, and transparency. These higher
standards are achieved by: 1. Annual Testing 2. Monitoring Academic Progress 3. Filing
District Report Cards 4. Hiring Highly Qualified Teachers 5. Creating a Measurable
'Reading First' Program 6. Funding Poorer Schools
Americans with Disabilities Act (P.L. 101-336)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was created in 1990 to prohibit the
discrimination of individual's with disabilities in the public and private sectors. The
ADA outlaws discrimination against a person with a disability in the five titles:
employment,
public
services,
transportation,
public
accommodations,
and
telecommunications. To be protected by the ADA, the individual must have a disability
or be associated with an individual with a disability. In 2008, effective January 1, 2009,
congress passed a law to restore ADA back to its original intent of defining a disability,
looking at the effects of the disability in at least one major life activity. This change
helped companies and employers follow the rules of ADA. The ADA requires
accessibility in federal and private sectors, including physical education facilities. For
example, weight rooms should have accommodate wheelchair users, gym lockers
should have key locks instead of combination locks for those who need it, and gyms
with stairs should also have ramps.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
113
Created in 1990 (and reauthorized in 1997 and 2004), IDEA was the reauthorization of
PL 94-142 and continued the emphasis upon FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public
Education), IEP (Individual Education Program), LRE (Least Restrictive Environment),
and Physical Education as a direct, educational service. With this reauthorization,
person-first terminology was instituted, and emphasis was placed on the education of
students with disabilities within the general curriculum and parent involvement in
educational programming. Under Federal Law, students must have one of thirteen
named disabilities in order to qualify for this special programming.
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142)
Created in 1975, this act mandated: (a) a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for
all children and adults with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 years; (b) an
Individualized Education Program; (c) an education in the Least Restrictive
Environment; and (d) Physical Education as a direct, educational service.
To ensure that every child with a disability receives an appropriate education, the
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 mandated that an Individual
Education Program (IEP) be developed for each student with a disability that requires
specialized instruction. The IEP should be the cornerstone of the student's education
and should be the living, working document that teachers and parents use as the basis
for the instructional process.
The Rehabilitation Act (P.L. 93-112, Section 504)
Created in 1973, this act mandated that individuals with disabilities cannot be excluded
from any program or activity receiving federal funds solely on the basis of the
disability. Students with disabilities who do not qualify for services under IDEA, yet
require reasonable accommodations to benefit from their education must have a written
114
504 plan. A 504 plan is a written document that states modifications and
accommodations that the student will be needing to be given the same program as
those individuals who do not have a disability. The student's disability and
corresponding need for reasonable accommodation are identified and documented in
the plan. All school staff involved in the provision of accommodations should be
contacted by the 504 coordinator and made aware of their duties and responsibilities.
Individual Education Program or IEP
An Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) can be defined as a plan for each student,
ages 3 to 21, who qualifies for adapted physical education based on an evaluation. All
IEPs are outcome-oriented giving assurance that the student will benefit from special
education and have real opportunities, full participation, independent living, and
economic self-efficiency. IEPs are revised once a year by an IEP team. IEPs are
developed by the IEP team and based on comprehensive assessment as outlined by
guidelines established in IDEA.
Information in an IEP Includes
•
Student name, date of birth, duration of IEP
•
Student strengths and concerns of the parent
•
Student
present
level
of
academic
achievement
and
performance
•
Level of participation in the general education curriculum
•
Annual academic or functional goals
•
o
Goals must have an action, condition, and criteria
o
Goals must be measurable, observable, and attainable
Procedures for measuring student progress
115
functional
•
Any alternate assessments
•
Frequency of reports on student progress
•
Who are the implementers responsible for short term objectives
•
Transition plan for students age 14 or older
Additional information on the IEP include, but are not limited to, specialized
transportation, related services, testing accommodations, and transition services.
Purpose
Federal law mandates that each student receiving special education and related services
must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed for them. An IEP
must be designed and written specifically for one student, outlining individualized
needs, and used to establish an appropriate educational placement. Some consider the
IEP to be a “management” program to guide appropriate service delivery, which
includes the area of physical education. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers,
parents, school administrators, related services personnel and students (when
appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for learners with
disabilities.
Who Must be Present at an IEP for Physical Education Meeting
•
The student when appropriate
•
The parent(s) or guardian(s), or a family advocate
•
Special Education teacher(s)
•
General Education teacher(s)
•
A member of the evaluation team or a professional able to interpret
assessment data.
•
DIS/Related service personnel
116
•
Other Agencies
•
Psychologist
Steps in the Assessment and IEP Processes
•
1. Referral: A student can be referred by several sources including a teacher,
parent, or administrator.
2. Parent Permission: Prior to assessment parent permission is required.
15 days to get the parents permission after the referral.
3. Screening: A non-required preliminary step to determine if a full
evaluation is necessary.
4. Assessments: Comprehensive assessment should include formal tests,
observations, and conversations with individuals involved in the student's
education.
Examples of Formal Tests (norm and standardized): TGMD-2, BOT2, APEAS-II, CTAPE.
Conversations: general physical educator, parent, classroom
teacher, OT, PT, special educator, and student.
Observations: in the natural setting, student and teacher.
Informal Tests (criterion): checklists, rubrics.
IEP Timeline
1. 60 days from when parent permission is received, the evaluation should
be completed.
2. Revisit the IEP once per year.
117
3. Re-evaluate the IEP every 3 years unless an IEP team member requests
otherwise.
Who is qualified/responsible/or should provide the assessment?
•
The manner in which assessments are implemented are determined by
state guidelines. Contact your state department of education for further
guidance.
•
IDEA guidelines state assessment must be administered by trained and
knowledgeable
personnel
knowledgeable
are
not
([614(3)(a)(iv)]).
clearly
defined.
However,
Best
trained
practice
and
involves
administration of adapted physical education assessment by a physical
educator who has training and knowledge of the general physical
education curriculum, the nature of the student's disability, underlying
bases of motor control, behavioral evaluation as applied to the physical
education environment, and a variety of adapted physical education
evaluation tools.
Role of the Regular Physical Educator in maintaining the IEP
•
Be an active member of the IEP team.
•
Be in constant communication with members of the IEP team
•
Document progress and achievement of IEP goals.
•
Provide students with appropriate learning opportunities and modify
teaching strategies
•
Assess the student in the areas of motor skills, sports skills, and physical
fitness
118
•
Work closely with the related service providers, such as the physical
therapist, occupational therapist, and speech therapist
•
Talk with administration and make sure he/she understands the
importance of your participation in all phases of the IEP process
(assessment, team meetings, goal writing, updates, etc.)
IEP Tips
1. Be positive
2. State strengths and progress first
3. State growth needs, not weaknesses
4. Make parents feel comfortable (chat, eye-contact, smile, care)
5. Bring documentation of results and progress
6. Allow conversation, but move forward if needed
7. Propose pertinent, measurable, and attainable goals
8. Don’t expect perfection
9. Communicate well
10. Explain the results of the test
11. Bring video documentation to back up your data
Do all students with disabilities need an IEP for physical education?
No, IDEA 2004 mandates each individual with a disability have an IEP developed if
necessary to benefit their education. If an appropriate assessment is completed and the
IEP team decides the student is not safe and/or successful in general physical education
without supplementary aids and services, then an IEP is developed and services
provided. A student can have IEP goals related to physical education needs regardless
of their educational placement.
119
What happens at the end of the year?
The IEP team must meet to reexamine and change a child's IEP at least once a year. The
IEP team must decied if the child's annual goals are being met. The IEP team needs to
bring sufficient evidence of progress including all written assessments demonstrating
the progress made throughout the year (IEP checklist, written observations) and visual
evidence (pictures or videos).
Placement Options
What is the relationship between placement and the IEP?
Decisions based on IDEA qualifications are generally discussed and determined
during and Individual Education Plan(IEP) meeting. IEP recommendations for
services and supports must consider a student's unique needs, the most
appropriate
environment
(Least
Restrictive
Environment)."."
The
Least
Restrictive Environment will be based upon the assessment process and where
the IEP goals can best be met. There are a variety of placement option which
should be considered including:
•
Full-time General PE (GPE)
•
General PE with a younger class
•
Part-time Adapted PE (GPE for some units or parts of a lesson)
•
Reverse Mainstreaming
•
Small Group or One on One PE
•
Separate School
•
Home/Hospital
120
Adaptations
APE teachers do not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to adapting games for
their students. You can use the regular physical education curriculum, but modify it for
your students so they are safe and successful.
The four areas of modification are;
Rules – By changing the rules you will provide students with the opportunity to be
successful. For example a student who uses a wheelchair may only get out if others tag
them on a certain area of the chair, ex: right foot rest. Provide students with an
alternative to the rules so they can be included and successful in activities.
Equipment- Objects should vary in size, shape, color, weight, and texture. For example,
a student with a visual impairment could use a ball with bells inside so they can use
auditory tracking. A catapult works great for students who may have cerebral palsy or
limb limitations during throwing and aiming activities. Students with autism respond
well to color cueing. For example when playing a game involving running the bases
you can make each one a different color and tell them to run their a lot easier than
saying the name of the base.
For any activity it is easy to increase the size of the ball, replacing balls with balloons,
providing larger rackets, lowering the net, providing manipulatives with different
textures, colors, etc.
Environment- Vary the size of the playing area (larger or smaller) depending on your
students' ability. If you are planning on changing equipment throughout the lesson
place a mat or sheet around it. This will eliminate distractions for the students.
121
Instruction – Examples include using a variety of different instructional strategies such
as verbal, visual, guided discovery and peer teaching. Your instruction may be different
for every individual. A great tool for students with autism is using picture schedules.
Explanation provided:
General Adaptation Suggestions from PE Central
ADAPT-A-BAG
•
An adapt-a-bag is a bag with quick helpful objects to aid in modifications of
activities for individuals with disabilities.
•
Possible adapt-a-bag items include: Tape, Velcro, String, Dry Erase Board, Bells,
Balloons, PVC Pipe, Straws, Bubbles, Bubble Wrap, Cards, Rubber Bands,
Bungee Cord, Milk Jug, Football Tee, Zip Ties, Twist Ties, Cue Cards, Poker
Chips, Magnets, Cardboard Tube, and Plastic Cups.
Transition
Transition is defined as movement, passage, or change from one stage to another .In
adapted physical education, this process occurs when a student moves from early
childhood programs to elementary school, middle school, and high school, and lastly
into the community (TWU). Postsecondary transition planning must be included in the
first Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that will be in effect when the child turns 16
years of age .
Transition, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004
(IDEA), is “...a coordinated set of activities for a student, designed within a resultsoriented plan, which promotes movement from school to post-school activities,
122
including post secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment
(including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services,
independent living, or community participation. Not every transition program will be
the same; it is dependent upon the individual’s strengths, preferences, and interests). It
is important for physical educators to provide transition programming to help students
with disabilities move toward active community involvement and to promote healthy
and independent lifestyles.
Physical educators can address transition by identifying accessible community
resources in which students with disabilities ca participate. An ecological analysis can
be completed to assess student independence and necessary levels of support for
successful participation. Best practice involves including physical recreation transition
goals on the student's individual transition plan.
When completing assessment for transition, it is important to identify activities the
family enjoys. This is done so the student can be taught the essential skills required to
be able to participate with the family. Leisure interest surveys can be completed with
the student and the family. Sample leisure activities may include the following:
•
Water Sports
•
Bowling
•
Rock Climbing
•
Gymnastics
•
Golf
•
Canoeing
•
Horseshoes
•
Bicycling
•
Equestrianism
123
Once assessment is complete, and Individual Transition Plan can be developed with
goals and objectives written in person first language, specific to the individual student
to ensure their abilities to function in the community when they graduate. The members
involved in developing the Individual Transition Plan should be the IEP team members.
The IEP team members should have the following questions in mind:
1. What interests or hobbies do the students and his or her family enjoy
doing?
2. What knowledge and competencies does the student need in order to
move from school-based to community based living in their particular
community.
3. What knowledge and prior experience does the student already have?
4. What knowledge and experience will the student need to be successful?
5. What will the student's living situation be like after high school?
6. Will the student be employed in the area? Will working interfere with
recreation/leisure time? If so, how will the student stay active?
As is true in most aspects of adapted physical education, the skills practiced during the
transition process tend to be most successful when the students have an opportunity to
contribute to the decision making process. Also, providing sufficient amounts of
repeated trials will drastically improve the students' level of success.
While teaching students leisure activities, it is critical to provide information of
appropriate facilities. Community clubs, organizations, and parks provide many
opportunities for students to remain active. Many community resources have programs
specifically designed for individuals with disabilities. The adapted physical education
teacher should be familiar with these programs and utilize them as a regular part of the
students' transition program. The APE teacher should also stress functional transition
124
skills, such as the proper use of fitness equipment or how to use an electronic
identification card to sign in at a fitness center. Individuals with disabilities who have
greater access to, and actively participate in recreation and leisure activities are more
satisfied with their lives. In addition, when engaged in recreation and leisure activities,
opportunities of success in communities increases for individuals with disabilities. The
formation of a reverse mainstreaming physical education program will also help in the
transition of the student with a disability. This program can benefit both the student
with a disability and the peer mentor as together they will attempt to achieve better
physical fitness skills, improved social skills, and higher standards of social and
personal responsibilities.
Additional transition programming should empower the student how to:
•
Find information about the activity
•
Find hours of operation for facilities
•
Figure out transportation
•
Know how to perform the activity independently
•
Find a way to fit the activity into the individual's weekly schedule.
Example of a Transition Plan
Making a Leisure Transition Plan (LTP) is a great way to help and aid an individual
with a disability during the transition process. The purpose of the LTP is to develop the
student's ability to select and participate in activities in the community during his or her
free time. Specialists from the APE field must be aware of physical recreation
opportunities available in the community; determine the student's activity interests,
preferences, and needs: and then include these activities in the student's physical
education curricula and LTP. Here is an example of a LTP:
125
Transition Goal #1
Cindy will increase her awareness and use of public transportation.
Transition Activities
•
Cindy will meet with a representative from public transportation to
discuss bus routes.
•
Cindy will experience getting on and off a bus with the use of a lift, while
in her wheelchair.
•
Cindy will verbally demonstrate her understanding of the proper way to
anchor a wheelchair inside the bus.
•
Cindy will map out a schedule to and from a destination (field trip),
identifying bus routes, departure, and arrival times.
•
Cindy will use public transportation as a means of transportation for a
field trip.
•
Cindy will meet with a representative of public transportation to receive
information on rules and regulations, cost, and how to schedule trips.
•
Cindy will experience getting in and out of a public transportation while
in her wheelchair.
•
Cindy will receive information to share with her parents on the procedure
for obtaining an ADA card (use with public transportation).
•
Cindy will call to schedule transportation for a field trip using public
transportation.
•
Cindy will travel on a field trip using public transportation for
transportation.
•
Cindy will meet with a representative from public transportation to
discuss how to schedule trips.
126
•
Cindy will schedule transportation for a field trip with Public
Transportation.
•
Cindy will use public transportation as a means of transportation for a
field trip.
Transition Goal #2
Cindy will increase her awareness of local recreational areas.
Transition Activities
•
Cindy will identify areas in her community she would like to recreate at.
•
Cindy will learn specific activities she would like to participate in
throughout her community.
•
Cindy will plan a time frame and route to visit these areas.
•
Cindy will visit these recreational areas with a family member or
supervising adult to see what she can participate in.
•
Cindy will reflect on these experiences and decide if she would like to
return.
•
Cindy will gradually work to visit these locations on her own or with
other friends.
Transition Goal #3
Cindy will plan and take field trips into the community to visit sites that offer
physical activities that she has indicated are of interest to her. She will observe or
127
participate in these activities while on the field trip. Cindy will evaluate each
experience.
Transition Activities
•
Cindy will identify locations and activities she would like to explore in the
community.
•
Cindy will discuss with the APE specialist and/or community resource
person what preparations and arrangements need to be made prior to
going on the field trip (i.e. time schedules, transportation, clothing,
equipment, accommodations/adaptations, and money).
•
Cindy will make arrangements for the field trip with the APE specialist
and/ or community resource personnel.
•
Cindy will fill out a critique form after each community experience.
Critique
will
address
accessibility,
effectiveness
of
accommodations/adaptations, atmosphere of community setting (i.e.
friendly, helpful), and personal reactions on enjoyment and possible
future participation.
Many of the activities done in adapted physical education are also done in competition.
As part of transitioning to life after school an adapted physical education teacher can let
the students know about athletic competitions and associations for the activities done in
adapted physical education. Some organizations include: the National Beep Baseball
Association, the National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA), Special Olympics
International (SOI), the American Wheelchair Bowling Association (AWBA), the United
States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), and the Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA).
These and other organizations like them can also introduce the students to new
activities such as beep baseball, which is a baseball game played by individuals with
128
visual impairments and others using blindfolds. As the name suggests they use a ball
that beeps as well as bases that beep. These organizations and competitions can help
students get interested in an activity that will keep them active for a lifetime.
There are also Guides that help individuals and their parents write their own transition
plans.
Example of a Checklist that a family or individual may use to see their progress in
developing their transition plan.
People Involved in Individual Transition Plan
These people may be involved
Direct Service Providers
•
Special Educators
•
Hospital/Home bound Instructors
•
Instructors in Institutions and other settings
•
Adapted Physical Educators
•
General Physical Educators
•
Vision, Orientation and Mobility Specialists
Related Service Providers
•
Audiologists
•
Counseling Services
•
Medical Diagnostic Service Personnel
•
Occupational, Speech, Recreation and Physical Therapists
•
Parent Counselors and Trainers
129
•
Psychologists
•
Rehabilitation Counselors
•
Assistive Technology Service Personnel
•
School Health Service Personnel
•
Social Workers
•
Transportation Specialists
•
Transition Service Personnel.
Related services under IDEA
Advocacy for Transition
With respect to transition, adapted physical educators should first and foremost
advocate that their own involvement in the post-school transition process be indicated
on their students' Individualized Education Program (IEP). Some other areas in
transition which should be brought to the attention of administrators and community
officials are implementing ways in which physical activity sites can become more
accessible, advocating that students with disabilities be able to participate in the entire
continuum of sports programs (integrate and segregated) sponsored by the school and
community; and helping parents rally for appropriate community recreation and sport
opportunities for their children with disabilities.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EI), often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ),
describes a concept that involves the ability, capacity, skill or (in the case of the trait EI
model) a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's
self, of others, and of groups Because it is a relatively new area of psychological
research, the concept is constantly changing.
130
Origins of the concept
The most distant roots of emotional intelligence can be traced to Darwin’s early work
on the importance of emotional expression for survival and second adaptation. In the
1900s, even though traditional definitions of intelligence emphasized cognitive aspects
such as memory and problem-solving, several influential researchers in the intelligence
field of study had begun to recognize the importance of the non-cognitive aspects. For
instance, as early as 1920, E. L. Thorndike, used the term social intelligence to describe
the skill of understanding and managing other people.
Intelligence
Intelligence (also called intellect) is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the
mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan,
to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to
learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may
include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom.
However, most psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of
intelligence.
Theories of intelligence can be divided into those based on a unilinear construct of
general intelligence and those based on multiple intelligences. Francis Galton,
influenced by Charles Darwin, was first to advance a theory of general intelligence. For
Galton, intelligence was a real faculty with a biological basis that could be studied by
measuring reaction times to certain cognitive tasks.
Alfred Binet and the French school of intelligence believed that intelligence quotient
(IQ) was an average of numerous dissimilar abilities, rather than a real thing with
specific identifiable properties. The Stanford-Binet intelligence test has been used by
131
both theorists of general intelligence and multiple intelligence. It is, however, the basis
for the development of various theories of multiple intelligence.
Definitions
Intelligence comes from the Latin verb Intelligence which means "to understand". By
this rationale, intelligence (as understanding) is arguably different from being "smart"
(able to adapt to one's environment). At least two major "consensus" definitions of
intelligence have been proposed. First, from Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns, a
report of a task force convened by the American Psychological Association in 1995:
Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to
adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various
forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought. Although these individual
differences can be substantial, they are never entirely consistent: a given person’s
intellectual performance will vary on different occasions, in different domains, as
judged by different criteria. Concepts of "intelligence" are attempts to clarify and
organize this complex set of phenomena. Although considerable clarity has been
achieved in some areas, no such conceptualization has yet answered all the important
questions and none commands universal assent. Indeed, when two dozen prominent
theorists were recently asked to define intelligence, they gave two dozen somewhat
different definitions.
A second definition of intelligence comes from "Mainstream Science on Intelligence",
which was signed by 52 intelligence researchers in 1994:
A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to
reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly
and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or
132
test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for
comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring
out" what to do.
Another simple and efficient definition is : the ability to apply knowledge in order to
perform better in an environment
Researchers in the fields of psychology and learning have also defined human
intelligence:
Researcher
Quotation
Judgment, otherwise called good sense, practical sense,
Alfred Binet
initiative,
the
faculty
of
adapting
one's
self
to
circumstances...auto-critique.
The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act
David Wechsler
purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with
his environment.
Cyril Burt
Innate general cognitive ability
133
To my mind, a human intellectual competence must entail a set
of skills of problem solving—enabling the individual to resolve
genuine problems or difficulties that he or she encounters and,
Howard Gardner
when appropriate, to create an effective product—and must
also entail the potential for finding or creating problems—and
thereby laying the groundwork for the acquisition of new
knowledge.
Linda Gottfredson
The ability to deal with cognitive complexity
Sternberg & Salter
Goal-directed adaptive behavior
Theories of intelligence
The most widely accepted theory of intelligence is based on psychometrics testing or
intelligence quotient (IQ) tests
However, dissatisfaction with traditional IQ tests has led to the development of a
number of alternative theories, all of which suggest that intelligence is the result of a
number of independent abilities that uniquely contribute to human performance.
Psychometric approach
Despite the variety of concepts of intelligence, the approach to understanding
intelligence with the most supporters and published research over the longest period of
time is based on psychometrics testing. Such intelligence quotient (IQ) tests include the
Stanford-Binet, Raven's Progressive Matrices, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and
the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children.
134
All forms of IQ tests correlate highly with one another. The traditional view is that these
tests measure g, or "general intelligence factor". However, this is by no means
universally accepted. Charles Spearman is credited with having developed the concept
of g. g can be derived as the principal factor using the mathematical method of factor
analysis. One common view is that these abilities are hierarchically arranged with g at
the vertex (or top, overlaying all other cognitive abilities). g itself is sometimes
considered to be a two part construct, gF and gC, which stand for fluid and crystallized
intelligence.
Carroll expanded this hierarchy into a Three-Stratum theory, also known as the CattellHorn-Carroll theory of cognitive abilities (or simply CHC Theory). Intelligence, as
measured by IQ and other aptitude tests, is widely used in educational, business, and
military settings due to its efficacy in predicting behavior. g is highly correlated with
many important social outcomes - individuals with low IQs are more likely to be
divorced, have a child out of marriage, be incarcerated, and need long term welfare
support, while individuals with high IQs are associated with more years of education,
higher status jobs and higher income. Intelligence is significantly correlated with
successful training and performance outcomes, and g is the single best predictor of
successful job performance.
Controversies
IQ tests were originally devised specifically to predict educational achievement,
The inventors of the IQ did not believe they were measuring fixed intelligence. Despite
this, critics argue that intelligence tests have been used to support nativistic theories in
which intelligence is viewed as a qualitatively unique faculty with a relatively fixed
quantity.
135
Critics of the psychometric approach point out that people in the general population
have a somewhat different and broader conception of intelligence than what is
measured in IQ tests. In turn, they argue that the psychometric approach measures only
a part of what is commonly understood as intelligence. Furthermore, skeptics argue that
even though tests of mental abilities are correlated, people still have unique strengths
and weaknesses in specific areas. Consequently they argue that psychometric theorists
over-emphasize g.
Researchers in the field of human intelligence have encountered a considerable amount
of public concern and criticism — much more than scientists in other areas normally
receive. A number of critics have challenged the relevance of psychometric intelligence
in the context of everyday life. There have also been controversies over genetic factors
in intelligence, particularly questions regarding the relationship between race and
intelligence and sex and intelligence. Another controversy in the field is how to
interpret the increases in test scores that have occurred over time, the so-called Flynn
effect.
Stephen Jay Gould was one of the most vocal critics of intelligence testing. In his book,
The Misfeasor of Man, Gould argued that intelligence is not truly measurable, and also
challenged the hereditarianism viewpoint on intelligence. Many of Gould's criticisms
were aimed at Arthur Jensen, who responded that his work had been misrepresented,
also stating that making conclusions about modern IQ tests by criticizing the flaws of
early intelligence research is like condemning the auto industry by criticizing the
performance of the Model T.
136
Multiple intelligences
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is based on studies not only on
normal children and adults but also by studies of gifted individuals (including so-called
"savants"), of persons who have suffered brain damage, of experts and virtuosos, and of
individuals from diverse cultures. This led Gardner to break intelligence down into at
least eight different components: logical, linguistic, spatial, musical, kinesthetic,
naturalist, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences. He argues that psychometric
tests address only linguistic and logical plus some aspects of spatial intelligence; other
forms have been entirely ignored. Moreover, the paper and-pencil format of most tests
rules out many kinds of intelligent performance that matter in everyday life, as social
intelligence.
Most of theories of multiple intelligences are relatively recent in origin, though Louis
Thurstone proposed a theory of multiple "primary abilities" in the early 20th Century.
Triarchic theory of intelligence
Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence proposes three fundamental aspects of
intelligence — analytic, creative, and practical — of which only the first is measured to
any significant extent by mainstream tests. His investigations suggest the need for a
balance between analytic intelligence, on the one hand, and creative and especially
practical intelligence on the other.
Emotional intelligence
Daniel Goleman and several other researchers have developed the concept of emotional
intelligence and claim it is at least as "important" as more traditional sorts of
intelligence. These theories grew from observations of human development and of
137
brain injury victims who demonstrate an acute loss of a particular cognitive function —
e.g. the ability to think numerically, or the ability to understand written language —
without showing any loss in other cognitive areas.
Empirical evidence
IQ proponents have pointed out that IQ's predictive validity has been repeatedly
demonstrated, for example in predicting important non-academic outcomes such as job
performance (see IQ), whereas the various multiple intelligence theories have little or
no such support. Meanwhile, the relevance and even the existence of multiple
intelligences have not been borne out when actually tested. A set of ability tests that do
not correlate together would support the claim that multiple intelligences are
independent of each other.
Evolution of intelligence
Our hominid and human ancestors evolved large and complex brains exhibiting an
ever-increasing intelligence through a long and mostly unknown evolutionary process.
This process was either driven by the direct adaptive benefits of intelligence
Or − alternatively − driven by its indirect benefits within the context of sexual selection
as a reliable signal of genetic resistance against pathogens.
Factors affecting intelligence
Intelligence is an ill-defined, difficult to quantify concept. Accordingly, the IQ tests used
to measure intelligence provide only approximations of the posited 'real' intelligence. In
addition, a number of theoretically unrelated properties are known to correlate with IQ
such as race, gender and height but since correlation does not imply causation the true
138
relationship between these factors is uncertain. Factors affecting IQ may be divided into
biological and environmental.
Biological
Evidence suggests that genetic variation has a significant impact on IQ, accounting for
three fourths in adults. Despite the high heritability of IQ, few genes have been found to
have a substantial effect on IQ, suggesting that IQ is the product of interaction between
multiple genes.
Other biological factors correlating with IQ include ratio of brain weight to body weight
and the volume and location of gray matter tissue in the brain.
Because intelligence appears to be at least partly dependent on brain structure and the
genes shaping brain development, it has been proposed that genetic engineering could
be used to enhance the intelligence of animals, a process sometimes called biological
uplift in science fiction. Experiments on mice have demonstrated superior ability in
learning and memory in various behavioral tasks.
Environmental
Evidence suggests that family environmental factors may have an effect upon
childhood IQ, accounting for up to a quarter of the variance. On the other hand, by late
adolescence this correlation disappears, such that adoptive siblings are no more similar
in IQ than strangers. Moreover, adoption studies indicate that, by adulthood, adoptive
siblings are no more similar in IQ than strangers, while twins and full siblings show an
IQ correlation.
139
Consequently, in the context of the nature versus nurture debate, the "nature"
component appears to be much more important than the "nurture" component in
explaining IQ variance in the general population.
Cultural factors also play a role in intelligence. For example, on a sorting task to
measure intelligence, Westerners tend to take a taxonomic approach while the Kpelle
people take a more functional approach. For example, instead of grouping food and
tools into separate categories, a Kpelle participant stated "the knife goes with the orange
because it cuts it"
Ethical issues
Since intelligence is susceptible to modification through the manipulation of
environment, the ability to influence intelligence raises ethical issues. Transhumanist
theorists study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using techniques
to enhance human abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable
and unnecessary aspects of the human condition; eugenics is a social philosophy which
advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of
intervention.[24] The perception of eugenics has varied throughout history, from a social
responsibility required of society, to an immoral, racist stance.
Neuroethics considers the ethical, legal and social implications of neuroscience, and
deals with issues such as difference between treating a human neurological disease and
enhancing the human brain, and how wealth impacts access to neurotechnology.
Neuroethical issues interact with the ethics of human genetic engineering.
Other species
140
Although humans have been the primary focus of intelligence researchers, scientists
have also attempted to investigate animal intelligence, or more broadly, animal
cognition. These researchers are interested in studying both mental ability in a
particular species, and comparing abilities between species. They study various
measures of problem solving, as well as mathematical and language abilities. Some
challenges in this area are defining intelligence so that it means the same thing across
species (eg. comparing intelligence between literate humans and illiterate animals), and
then operationalizing a measure that accurately compares mental ability across different
species and contexts.
Wolfgang Köhler's pioneering research on the intelligence of apes is a classic example of
research in this area. Stanley Coren's book, The Intelligence of Dogs] is a notable
popular book on the topic. Nonhuman animals particularly noted and studied for their
intelligence include chimpanzees, bonobos (notably the language-using Kanzi) and
other great apes, dolphins, elephants and to some extent parrots and ravens.
Controversy exists over the extent to which these judgments of intelligence are accurate.
Cephalopod intelligence also provides important comparative study. Cephalopods
appear to exhibit characteristics of significant intelligence, yet their nervous systems
differ radically from those of most other notably intelligent life-forms (mammals and
birds).
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (or AI) is both the intelligence of machines and the branch of
computer science which aims to create it, through "the study and design of intelligent
agents" or "rational agents", where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its
environment and takes actions which maximize its chances of success. General
141
intelligence or strong AI has not yet been achieved and is a long-term goal of AI
research.
Among the traits that researchers hope machines will exhibit are reasoning, knowledge,
planning, learning, communication, perception and the ability to move and manipulate
objects.
Social intelligence
Social intelligence according to the original definition of Edward Thorndike, is "the
ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls, to act wisely in
human relations"
[1]
. It is equivalent to interpersonal intelligence, one of the types of
intelligences identified in Howard Gardner's Theory of multiple intelligences, and
closely related to Emotional intelligence. Some authors have restricted the definition to
deal only with knowledge of social situations, perhaps more properly called social
cognition.
Scientific studies
There are various types of intelligence. As society became more complex, intellectual
competences became more sophisticated. This competence is social intelligence and can
be defined as the intelligence that lies behind group interactions and behaviours.
This type of intelligence is closely related to cognition and emotional intelligence, and
can also be seen as a first level in developing systems intelligence. One specific interest
in studying social intelligence is in applying it to robotic systems and artificial animals
(commonly known as 'animats' and 'agents'). The discipline of social intelligence
enhances the field of artificial intelligence with a variety of theories from system theory,
adaptive systems, simulation, game theory, biologically inspired algorithms, software
142
agents, etc. Application examples of social intelligence are social robots, the swarm
intelligence paradigm, action selection and the foraging procedure.
Research psychologists studying social cognition and social neuroscience have
discovered many principles which human social intelligence operates. In early work on
this topic, psychologists Nancy Cantor and John Kihlstrom outlined the kinds of
concepts people use to make sense of their social relations (e.g., “What situation am I in
and what kind of person is this who is talking to me?”), and the rules they use to draw
inferences (“What did he mean by that?”) and plan actions (“What am I going to do
about it?”)
In 2005, business writer Karl Albrecht proposed a five-part model of social intelligence
in his book Social Intelligence: the New Science of Success, presented with the acronym
"S.P.A.C.E." - 1) Situational Awareness, 2) Presence, 3) Authenticity, 4) Clarity, and 5)
Empathy.
More recently, popular science writer Daniel Goleman has drawn on social
neuroscience research to propose that social intelligence is made up of Social Awareness
(including empathy, attunement, empathic accuracy, and social cognition) and Social
Facility (including synchrony, self-presentation, influence, and concern).
Measuring social intelligence
Social IQ is a measure of social intelligence compared to other people of their age. Like
IQ, Social IQ is based on the "100 point" scale, in which 100 is the average score. Scores
of 140 or above are considered to be very high.
Social IQ has until recently been measured by techniques such as question and answer
sessions. These sessions assess the person's pragmatic abilities to test eligibility in
143
certain special education courses, however some tests have been developed to measure
social intelligence. One of these is the EQ Test, which stands for Emotional Intelligence.
This test is often useful in diagnosing autism spectrum disorders, including autism and
Asperger's Syndrome. Other, non-autistic or semi-autistic conditions such as Semantic
Pragmatic Disorder or SPD, Schizophrenia, dyssemia and ADHD, are also of relevance.
People with low social IQ will be considered "child like" and immature, even at the
adult age group. This test could also be used to assess people that might have some sort
of a personality disorder such as Schizophrenia or ADHD.
A good way to measure Social IQ is to use the basic IQ system, adapted for social skills.
Most people have social IQ's from 85-115, but many exceed these limits. People with
social IQ's below 80 may show symptoms of autism spectrum disorders such as
Asperger's Syndrome and have trouble with making friends, and with communication,
and might need some social skill training or extra support from specialists. People with
social IQ's over 120 are considered very socially skilled and well adjusted and will work
well with very social jobs such as social work, education, and law enforcement.
The following example chart shows (assuming a person aged 17 is being tested, with an
average social IQ of 100 for that age) how a person's social age can be higher or lower
based on scores in the social IQ test.:
Social IQ
Social Age
120 (above average - socially mature for age)
20.4
110
18.7
100 (average)
17
144
90
15.3
80
13.6
70 (below this level, help is recommended)
11.9
60
10.2
50
8.5
40
6.8
30
5.1
20
3.4
Theory of multiple intelligences
The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983, to more
accurately define the concept of intelligence and address whether methods which claim
to measure intelligence (or aspects thereof) are truly scientific.
Gardner's theory argues that intelligence, as it is traditionally defined, does not
sufficiently encompass the wide variety of abilities humans display. In his conception, a
child who masters multiplication easily is not necessarily more intelligent overall than a
child who struggles to do so. The second child may be stronger in another kind of
intelligence, and therefore may best learn the given material through a different
approach, may excel in a field outsidse of mathematics, or may even be looking through
the multiplication learning process at a fundamentally deeper level that hides a
145
potentially higher mathematical intelligence than in the one who memorizes the
concept easily. "The theory suggests that, rather than relying on a uniform curriculum,
schools should offer "individual-centered education", with curriculum tailored to the
needs of each child." "(This includes working to help students develop the intelligences
in which they are weaker.)"
Development of the theory
"Howard Gardner, multiple intelligences and education"] by {{cite book| given field
(child prodigies, autistic savants);
•
Neurological evidence for areas of the brain that are specialized for particular
capacities (often including studies of people who have suffered brain damage
affecting a specific capacity);
•
The evolutionary relevance of the various capacities;
•
Psychometric studies; and
•
Susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system or notation (e.g. written language,
musical notation, choreography).
•
An identifiable core operation or set of operations.
•
A distinctive development history, along with a definable set of 'end-state'
performances.
Gardner originally identified seven core intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical,
spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. In 1997 at the
symposium "MIND 97" (Multiple Intelligences New Directions) he added an eighth, the
"Naturalist" Intelligence. Investigation continues on whether there are Existentialist
(existential) and Spiritualist (spiritual) Intelligences.
146
The theory has been widely criticized in the psychology and educational theory
communities. The most common criticisms argue that Gardner's theory is based on his
own intuition rather than empirical data and that the intelligences are just other names
for talents or personality types. Despite these criticisms, the theory has enjoyed a great
deal of popularity amongst educators over the past twenty years. There are several
schools which espouse MI as a pedagogy, and many individual teachers who
incorporate some or all of the theory into their methodology. Many books and
educational materials exist which explain the theory and how it may be applied to the
classroom.
Gardner's categories of intelligence
Bodily-kinesthetic
This area has to do with bodily movement. People who have this intelligence usually
learn better by getting up and moving around, and are generally good at physical
activities such as sports or dance. They may enjoy acting or performing, and in general
they are good at building and making things. They often learn best by doing something
physically, rather than reading or hearing about it. Those with strong bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence seem to use what might be termed muscle memory - they remember things
through their body such as verbal memory or images.
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include athletes, dancers, actors,
surgeons,docters,builders, and soldiers. Although these careers can be duplicated
through virtual simulation they will not produce the actual physical learning that is
needed in this intelligence.They tend to be more active.
147
Interpersonal
This area has to do with interaction with others. People who have a high interpersonal
intelligence tend to be extroverts, characterized by their sensitivity to others' moods,
feelings, temperaments and motivations, and their ability to cooperate in order to work
as part of a group. They communicate effectively and empathize easily with others, and
may be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by working with others and
often enjoy discussion and debate.
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include politicians, managers, teachers, and
social workers.
Verbal-linguistic
This area has to do with words, spoken or written. People with high verbal-linguistic
intelligence display a facility with words and languages. They are typically good at
reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words along with dates. They tend to
learn best by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and discussion and debate.
They are also frequently skilled at explaining, teaching and oration or persuasive
speaking. Those with verbal-linguistic intelligence learn foreign languages very easily
as they have high verbal memory and recall, and an ability to understand and
manipulate syntax and structure.
This intelligence is highest in writers, lawyers, philosophers, journalists, politicians and
teachers.
148
Logical-mathematical
This area has to do with logic, abstractions, reasoning, and numbers. While it is often
assumed that those with this intelligence naturally excel in mathematics, chess,
computer programming and other logical or numerical activities, a more accurate
definition places emphasis on traditional mathematical ability and more reasoning
capabilities, abstract patterns of recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and
the ability to perform complex calculations. It correlates strongly with traditional
concepts of "intelligence" or IQ.
Many scientists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors and economists function in this
level of intelligences.
Naturalistic
This area has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to one's natural
surroundings. This type of intelligence was not part of Gardner's original theory of
Multiple Intelligences, but was added to the theory in 1997. Those with it are said to
have greater sensitivity to nature and their place within it, the ability to nurture and
grow things, and greater ease in caring for, taming and interacting with animals. They
may also be able to discern changes in weather or similar fluctuations in their natural
surroundings. They are also good at recognizing and classifying different species.
"Naturalists" learn best when the subject involves collecting and analyzing, or is closely
related to something prominent in nature; they also don't enjoy learning unfamiliar or
seemingly useless subjects with little or no connections to nature. It is advised that
naturalistic learners would learn more through being outside or in a kinesthetic way.
149
The theory behind this intelligence is often criticized, much like the spiritual or
existential intelligence (see below), as it is seen by many as not indicative of an
intelligence but rather an interest.
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include scientists, naturalists,
conservationists, gardeners and farmers.
Intrapersonal
This area has to do with introspective and self-reflective capacities. Those who are
strongest in this intelligence are typically introverts and prefer to work alone. They are
usually highly self-aware and capable of understanding their own emotions, goals and
motivations. They often have an affinity for thought-based pursuits such as philosophy.
They learn best when allowed to concentrate on the subject by themselves. There is
often a high level of perfectionism associated with this intelligence.
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include philosophers, psychologists,
theologians, writers and scientists.
Visual-spatial
This area has to do with vision and spatial judgment. People with strong visual-spatial
intelligence are typically very good at visualizing and mentally manipulating objects.
Those with strong spatial intelligence are often proficient at solving puzzles. They have
a strong visual memory and are often artistically inclined. Those with visual-spatial
intelligence also generally have a very good sense of direction and may also have very
good hand-eye coordination, although this is normally seen as a characteristic of the
bodily-kinesthetic intelligence..........
150
Some critics point out the high correlation between the spatial and mathematical
abilities, which seems to disprove the clear separation of the intelligences as Gardner
theorized. Since solving a mathematical problem involves reassuringly manipulating
symbols and numbers, spatial intelligence is involved in visually changing the reality. A
thorough understanding of the two intelligences precludes this criticism, however, as
the two intelligences do not precisely conform to the definitions of visual and
mathematical abilities. Although they may share certain characteristics, they are easily
distinguished by several factors, and there are many with strong logical-mathematical
intelligence
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include artists, engineers, and architects.
Musical
This area has to do with rhythm, music, and hearing. Those who have a high level of
musical-rhythmic intelligence display greater sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones, and
music. They normally have good pitch and may even have absolute pitch, and are able
to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. Since there is a strong auditory
component to this intelligence, those who are strongest in it may learn best via lecture.
In addition, they will often use songs or rhythms to learn and memorize information,
and may work best with music playing in the background.
Careers that suit those with this intelligence include instrumentalists, singers,
conductors, disc-jockeys, and composers.
Other intelligences
Other intelligences have been suggested or explored by Gardner and his colleagues,
including spiritual, existential and moral intelligence. Gardner excluded spiritual
151
intelligence due to what he perceived as the inability to codify criteria comparable to
the other "intelligences". Existential intelligence (the capacity to raise and reflect on
philosophical questions about life, death, and ultimate realities) meets most of the
criteria with the exception of identifiable areas of the brain that specialize for this
faculty. Moral capacities were excluded because they are normative rather than
descriptive.
Savant Syndrome
Gardner used case studies of autistic savants as part of his theory on multiple
intelligences. On one hand they have severe mental disabilities and thus impaired social
skills, but on the other they have some extraordinary mental abilities not found in most
people. The Savant Syndrome skills involve striking feats of memory and often include
arithmetic calculation and sometimes unusual abilities in art or music. There is actually
a disproportionate regularity with which the triad of blindness, mental disability and
musical genius occurs in savant syndrome. Examples include Derek Paravicini who has
severe learning disability but can remember every song he has ever heard.
Others with savant syndrome are not autistic, but develop these abilities later on in life
usually as a result of some accident, illness or trauma. For example Alonzo Clemons
was a regular child until he suffered brain damage as a result of a fall. Afterwards he
learned to create accurate animal sculptures from clay using his photographic memory.
Some scientists thus believe that the potential to be a genius is latent in all people but is
obscured by normal functioning intellect. In the case of savants, the damage to the brain
has somehow disrupted normal functioning and has allowed the brain to access these
latent skills. Savants are generally viewed as having exceptional spatial intelligence but
verbal defects.
152
Use to education
Traditionally schools have emphasized the development of logical intelligence and
linguistic intelligence (mainly reading and writing). While many students function well
in this environment, there are those who do not. Gardner's theory argues that students
will be better served by a broader vision of education, wherein teachers use different
methodologies, exercises and activities to reach all students, not just those who excel at
linguistic and logical intelligence.
Many teachers see the theory as simple common sense. Some say that it validates what
they already know: that students learn in different ways. On the other hand, James
Traub's article in The New Republic notes that Gardner's system has not been accepted
by most academics in intelligence or teaching.
George Miller, the esteemed psychologist credited with discovering the mechanisms by
which short term memory operates, wrote in The New York Times Book Review that
Gardner's argument boiled down to "hunch and opinion" (p. 20). And Gardner's
subsequent work has done very little to shift the balance of opinion. A recent issue of
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law devoted to the study of intelligence contained
virtually no reference to Gardner's work. Most people who study intelligence view M.I.
theory as rhetoric rather than science, and they're divided on the virtues of the rhetoric.
The application of the theory of multiple intelligences varies widely. It runs the gamut
from a teacher who, when confronted with a student having difficulties, uses a different
approach to teach the material, to an entire school using MI as a framework. In general,
those who subscribe to the theory strive to provide opportunities for their students to
use and develop all the different intelligences, not just the few at which they naturally
excel.
153
A Harvard-led study of 41 schools using the theory came to the conclusion that in these
schools there was "a culture of hard work, respect, and caring; a faculty that
collaborated and learned from each other; classrooms that engaged students through
constrained but meaningful choices, and a sharp focus on enabling students to produce
high-quality work."
Of the schools implementing Gardner's theory, the most well-known is New City
School, in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been using the theory since 1988. The school's
teachers have produced two books for teachers, Celebrating Multiple Intelligences and
Succeeding With Multiple Intelligences and the principal, Thomas Hoerr, has written
Becoming a Multiple Intelligences School as well as many articles on the practical
applications of the theory. The school has also hosted four conferences, each attracting
over 200 educators from around the world and remains a valuable resource for teachers
interested in implementing the theory in their own classrooms.
Thomas Armstrong considers that Waldorf education organically engages all of
Gardner's seven intelligences.
Criticism
Criticisms of the theory's application in schools come in four major forms. First,
opponents argue that the theory may lead to a sort of intellectual relativism, wherein
students' failures are explained away as being an example of a different kind of
intelligence, not a lesser one. As a result, there are those in the Gifted and Talented
community who have criticized Gardner's theory, because any support of the idea that
all children are equally gifted, just in different ways, might lead to the reduction or
broadening of Gifted and Talented programs. Gardner himself has said that he does not
believe his theory will have this type of consequence for gifted programs, and that he
154
never intended his theory to affirm that all people are equally gifted, but rather that the
definition of intelligence was too narrow to encompass all types of intelligence.
The second major problem with Gardener's theory is that in his denial that there is any
real statistical factor (such as "g") contributing to many intellectual tasks, he does not
account for that correlation in the empirical data. That is, every multiple domain IQ test
ever normed (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Stanford-Binet IQ test, Ronald K.
Hoeflin's Mega test) has shown that all the areas tested are correlated. This trend is also
shown in tests like the Graduate Record Examination, the SAT, the PSAT, the ACT, etc.,
on every one of which each section correlates to a high degree with the others; the
correlation rarely drops below 0.6 on the -1 to 1 scale. In fact, Gardener has downplayed
the correlation between his intelligences.
The third major criticism of multiple intelligences as an application in schools is that
there is a risk of teachers excusing students from doing well in an area in which they are
weak. Students who may not "naturally" learn to read and write well nevertheless need
to read and write well. Similarly, the goal is for students to succeed in all areas defined
as intelligence by Gardner, and not default to their strengths.
There is an inherent risk of students developing a sense of inferiority in given areas.
Students who are identified as not being "musical" learners may have less incentive to
become musical learners.
A methodological criticism is that the assessment of one's form of intelligence is usually
determined via a self-administered test. The usual form asks the respondent 40-60
questions such as "Do you prefer to stand when working?" This sort of question leaves
much room for assessment error, and does not conform to survey techniques and
methodology such as double-blind testing.
155
Another criticism is that the distinction between developmental stage and "intelligence"
is not sufficiently well accounted for. For example, the average five-year-old is more
likely to answer "yes" to the question "Do you like to move about a lot?" than the
average forty-year-old. Conversely, the older person is more likely to seem to have
interpersonal "intelligence," which might be better labeled as a developed skill -- solving
problems with others or speaking in public, for example.
Opposing views
The definition of intelligence
As one would expect from a theory that redefines intelligence, one of the major
criticisms of the theory is that it is ad hoc. The criticism is that Gardner is not expanding
the definition of the word "intelligence"; rather, he denies the existence of intelligence,
as is traditionally understood, and instead uses the word "intelligence" whenever other
people have traditionally used words like "ability". This practice has been criticized by
Robert J. Sternberg (1983, 1991), Eysenck (1994), and Scarr (1985). Defenders of MI
theory argue that the traditional definition of intelligence is too narrow, and thus
broader definition more accurately reflects the differing ways in which humans think
and learn. They would state that the traditional interpretation of intelligence collapses
under the weight of its own logic and definition, noting that intelligence is usually
defined as the cognitive or mental capacity of an individual, which by logical necessity
would include all forms of mental qualities, not simply the ones most transparent to
standardized I.Q. tests.
Some of these criticisms arise from the fact that Gardner has not settled on a single
definition of intelligence. He originally defined it as the ability to solve problems that
have value in at least one culture, or as something that a student is interested in.
156
However, he added a disclaimer that he has no fixed definition, and his classification is
more of an artistic judgment than fact:
Ultimately, it would certainly be desirable to have an algorithm for the selection of an
intelligence, such that any trained researcher could determine whether a candidate's
intelligence met the appropriate criteria. At present, however, it must be admitted that
the selection (or rejection) of a candidate's intelligence is reminiscent more of an artistic
judgment than of a scientific assessment. (Gardner, Frames of Mind: The Theory of
Multiple Intelligences, 1985)
Gardner argues that by calling linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities intelligences,
but not artistic, musical, athletic, etc. abilities, the former are needlessly aggrandized.
Many critics balk at this widening of the definition, saying that it ignores "the
connotation of intelligence...[which] has always connoted the kind of thinking skills that
makes one successful in school."
Gardner writes "I balk at the unwarranted assumption that certain human abilities can
be arbitrarily singled out as intelligence while others cannot"Critics hold that given this
statement, any interest or ability is now redefined as "intelligence". Thus, by adopting
this theory, studying intelligence becomes difficult, because it diffuses into the broader
concept of ability or talent. Gardner's addition of the naturalistic intelligence and
conceptions of the existential and moral intelligences are seen as fruits of this diffusion.
Defenders of the MI theory would argue that this is simply a recognition of the broad
scope of inherent mental abilities, and that such an exhaustive scope by nature defies a
simple, one-dimensional classification such as an assigned IQ value. They would claim
that such one-dimensional values are typically of limited value in predicting the real
world application of unique mental abilities.
157
Intellectual relativism
Many critics argue that the theory's definition of intelligence leads to the belief that all
human beings are equally intelligent but in large part this is based on
misunderstanding. Gardner argues that there are many different kinds of intelligence
and that none is better or more important. However, people have differing abilities
within these types of intelligences. Albert Einstein and a person who is good at
mathematics both display logical-mathematical intelligence, but at no point does the
theory say that all people with the logical-mathematical intelligence are equally
intelligent.
Lack of empirical evidence
Some critics argue that many of Gardner's "intelligences" actually correlate with the g
factor, supporting the idea of single dominant type of intelligence. For example, Carroll
(1993) argued that verbal comprehension, auditory processing, visual perception and
ability in logic and mathematics all correlate with each other and are actually subsets of
global intelligence. This gives further support for a theory of a single type intelligence.
A critical review of MI theory argues that there is little empirical evidence to support it:
"To date there have been no published studies that offer evidence of the validity of the
multiple intelligences. In 1994 Sternberg reported finding no empirical studies. In 2000
Allix reported finding no empirical validating studies, and at that time Gardner and
Connell conceded that there was "little hard evidence for MI theory" (2000, p. 292). In
2004 Sternberg and Grigerenko stated that there were no validating studies for multiple
intelligences, and in 2004 Gardner asserted that he would be "delighted were such
evidence to accrue" (p. 214), and he admitted that "MI theory has few enthusiasts
among psychometricians or others of a traditional psychological background" because
158
they require "psychometric or experimental evidence that allows one to prove the
existence of the several intelligences" (2004, p. 214)." (Waterhouse, 2006a, p. 208).
Supporters of the MI theory would counter that such dependency is to be expected as
this point, as scientific methodology aimed at uncovering intelligence was created
under the traditional theory of intelligence, thus leaving a new theory the necessity of
initially having to utilize the methodology of the old theory until new modes of
scientific inquiry can be developed.
The same review presents evidence to demonstrate that cognitive neuroscience research
does not support the theory of Multiple Intelligences:
"the human brain is unlikely to function via Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Taken
together the evidence for the intercorrelations of subskills of IQ measures, the evidence
for a shared set of genes associated with mathematics, reading, and g, and the evidence
for shared and overlapping “what is it?” and “where is it?” neural processing
pathways, and shared neural pathways for language, music, motor skills, and emotions
suggest that it is unlikely that that each of Gardner’s intelligences could operate “via a
different set of neural mechanisms” (1999, p. 99). Equally important, the evidence for
the “what is it?” and “where is it?” processing pathways, for Kahneman’s two decisionmaking systems, and for adapted cognition modules suggests that these cognitive brain
specializations have evolved to address very specific problems in our environment.
Because Gardner claimed that that the intelligences are innate potentialities related to a
general content area, MI theory lacks a rationale for the phylogenetic emergence of the
intelligences." (From Waterhouse, 2006a, p. 213).
159
A number of articles have surveyed the use of Gardner's ideas and conclude that there
is no evidence that his ideas work in practice. Steven A. Stahl found that most of the
previous studies which claimed to show positive results had major flaws:
Among others, Marie Carbo claims that her learning styles work is based on
research. {I discuss Carbo because she publishes extensively on her model and is
very prominent in the workshop circuit...} But given the overwhelmingly
negative findings in the published research, I wondered what she was citing, and
about a decade ago, I thought it would be interesting to take a look. Reviewing
her articles, I found that out of 17 studies she had cited, only one was published.
Fifteen were doctoral dissertations and 13 of these came out of one university—
St. John’s University in New York, Carbo’s alma mater. None of these had been
in a peer-refereed journal. When I looked closely at the dissertations and other
materials, I found that 13 of the 17 studies that supposedly support her claim had
to do with learning styles based on something other than modality.
However, the continuing evolution of scientific understanding about the brain and its
function suggest further insight into alternative neural pathways and cognitive sources
will be likely. (Time, Jan 29, 2007).
Similarly, in 1940 David Wechsler described the influence of non-intellective factors on
intelligent behavior, and further argued that our models of intelligence would not be
complete until we can adequately describe these factors. In 1983, Howard Gardner's
Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences introduced the idea of Multiple
Intelligences which included both Interpersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand
the intentions, motivations and desires of other people) and Intrapersonal intelligence
(the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations).
In Gardner's view, traditional types of intelligence, such as IQ, fail to fully explain
160
cognitive ability. Thus, even though the names given to the concept varied, there was a
common belief that traditional definitions of intelligence are lacking in ability to fully
explain performance outcomes.
The first use of the term "Emotional Intelligence" is usually attributed to Wayne Payne's
doctoral thesis, A Study of Emotion: Developing Emotional Intelligence from 1985.
However, prior to this, the term "emotional intelligence" had appeared in Leuner (1966).
Greenspan (1989) also put forward an EI model, followed by Salovey and Mayer (1990),
and Goleman (1995).
As a result of the growing acknowledgement of professionals for the importance and
relevance of emotions to work outcomes, the research on the topic continued to gain
momentum, but it wasn’t until the publication of Daniel Goleman's best seller
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ that the term became widely
popularized. Nancy Gibbs' 1995 Time magazine article highlighted Goleman's book and
was the first in a string of mainstream media interest in EI. Thereafter, articles on EI
began to appear with increasing frequency across a wide range of academic and
popular outlets.
Defining emotional intelligence
There are a lot of arguments about the definition of EI, arguments that regard both
terminology and operationalizations. One attempt toward a definition was made by
Salovey and Mayer (1990) who defined EI as “the ability to monitor one's own and
others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information
to guide one's thinking and actions.”
161
Operationalization
Operationalization is the process of defining a fuzzy concept so as to make the concept
measurable in form of variables consisting of specific observations.
Theory
Even the most basic concepts in science, such as "length," are defined through the
operations by which we measure them. This derives from the discovery of Percy
Williams Bridgman, whose methodological position is called operationalism. The fact
that we in practice measure "length" in different ways (it's impossible to use a
measuring rod if we want to measure the distance to the Moon, for example) must
mean that "length" logically isn't one concept but many. Each concept is defined by the
measuring operations used.
Bridgman notes that in the theory of relativity we see how concepts like "length" and
"duration" split into actually different concepts. As part of the process of refining a
physical theory, it may be found that what was one concept is, in fact, two or more
distinct concepts. However, Bridgman proposes that if we only stick to operationally
defined concepts, this will never happen.
The concept can perhaps be more clearly seen in the development of General Relativity.
Einstein discerned that there were two operational definitions of "mass": accelerational,
defined by applying a force and observing the acceleration, from Newton's Second Law
of Motion; and gravitic, defined by putting the object on a scale or balance. Previously,
people had not paid attention to the different operations used because they always
produced the same results, but the key insight of Einstein was to posit the Principle of
Equivalence that the two operations would always produce the same result because
they were equivalent at a deep level, and work out the implications of that assumption,
162
which is the General Theory of Relativity. Thus, a breakthrough in science was achieved
by examining the operational definitions of scientific measurements.
To operationally define basic concepts has now become central to all sciences, not only
to physics.
Operationalization in the social sciences
Operationalization is often used in the social sciences as part of the scientific method
and psychometrics. For example, a researcher may wish to measure "anger." Its
presence, and the depth of the emotion, cannot be directly measured by an outside
observer because anger is intangible. Rather, other measures are used by outside
observers, such as facial expression, choice of vocabulary, loudness and tone of voice.
If a researcher wants to measure the depth of "anger" in various persons, the most direct
operation would be to ask them a question, such as "are you angry", or "how angry are
you?". This operation is problematic, however, because it depends upon the definition
of the individual. One person might be subjected to a mild annoyance, and become
slightly angry, but describe himself as "extremely angry," whereas another might be
subjected to a severe provocation, and become very angry, but describe himself as
"slightly angry." In addition, in many circumstances it is impractical to ask subjects
whether they are angry.
Since one of the measures of anger is loudness, the researcher can operationalize the
concept of anger by measuring how loudly the subject speaks compared to his normal
tone. However, this must assume that loudness is uniform measure. Some might
respond verbally while other might respond physically. This makes anger a non
operational variable.
163
One of the main critics of operationalism in social science argue that "the original goal
was to eliminate the subjective mentalistic concepts that had dominated earlier
psychological theory and to replace them with a more operationally meaningful
account of human behavior. But, as in economics, the supporters ultimately ended up
"turning operationalism inside out" (Green 2001, 49). "Instead of replacing
'metaphysical' terms such as 'desire' and 'purpose'" they "used it to legitimize them by
giving them operational definitions." Thus in psychology, as in economics, the initial,
quite radical operationalist ideas eventually came to serve as little more than a
"reassurance fetish" (Koch 1992, 275) for mainstream methodological practice."
Tying operationalization to conceptual frameworks
The above discussion links operationalization to measurement of concepts. Many
brilliant scholars have worked to operationalize concepts like job satisfaction, prejudice,
anger etc. Scale and index construction are forms of operationalization.
Operationalizaton is part of the empirical research process. Take for example an
empirical research question: Does job satisfaction influence job turnover? Both job
satisfaction and job turnover need to be measured. The concepts and their relationship
are important - operationalization occurs within a larger framework of concepts. When
there is a large empirical research question or purpose the conceptual framework that
organizes the response to the question must be operationalized before the data
collection can begin. If a scholar constructs a questionnaire based on a conceptual
framework, they have operationalized the framework. Most serious empirical research
should involve operationalization that is transparent and linked to a conceptual
framework.
164
To use an oversimplified example, the hypothesis Job Satisfaction reduces job turnover
is one way to connect (or frame) two concepts - job satisfaction and job turnover. The
process of moving from the idea job satisfaction to the set of questionnaire items that
form a job satisfaction scale is operationalization. For most of us, operationalization
outside the larger issue of a research question and conceptual framework is just not
very interesting.
In the field of Public Administration Shields and Tajalli (2006) have identified five kinds
of conceptual frameworks (Working Hypotheses, descriptive categories. practical ideal
type. operations research and formal hypotheses). They explain and illustrate how each
of these frameworks can be operationalized. They also show how to make
conceptualization and operationalization more concrete by demonstrating how to form
conceptual framework tables that are tied to the literature and tables that lay out the
specifics of how to operationalize the conceptual framework
Despite this early definition, there has been confusion regarding the exact meaning of
this construct. The definitions are so varied, and the field is growing so rapidly, that
researchers are constantly amending even their own definitions of the construct. Up to
the present day, there are three main models of EI:
•
Ability EI models
•
Mixed models of EI
•
Trait EI model
The ability-based model
Salovey and Mayer's conception of EI strives to define EI within the confines of the
standard criteria for a new intelligence. Following their continuing research, their initial
definition of EI was revised to: "The ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion to
165
facilitate thought, understand emotions and to regulate emotions to promote personal
growth."
The ability based model views emotions as useful sources of information that help one
to make sense of and navigate the social environment. The model proposes that
individuals vary in their ability to process information of an emotional nature and in
their ability to relate emotional processing to a wider cognition.
Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines, but is generally
accepted to mean the process of thought. For example, in psychology and cognitive
science it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological
functions. Other interpretations of the meaning of cognition link it to the development
of concepts; individual minds, groups, organizations, and even larger coalitions of
entities, can be modelled as societies which cooperate to form concepts. The
autonomous elements of each 'society' would have the opportunity to demonstrate
emergent behavior in the face of some crisis or opportunity. Cognition can also be
interpreted as "understanding and trying to make sense of the world".
Introduction
The term cognition (Latin: cognoscere, "to know" or "to recognize") refers to a faculty
for the processing of information, applying knowledge, and changing preferences.
Cognition, or cognitive processes, can be natural or artificial, conscious or unconscious.
These processes are analyzed from different perspectives within different contexts,
notably in the fields of linguistics, anesthesia, neurology, psychology, philosophy,
systemics and computer science. Within psychology or philosophy, the concept of
cognition is closely related to abstract concepts such as mind, reasoning, perception,
intelligence, learning, and many others that describe capabilities of the mind and
166
expected properties of an artificial or synthetic “mind”. Cognition is considered an
abstract property of advanced living organisms and is studied as a direct property of a
brain (or of an abstract mind) on at the factual and symbolic levels.
In psychology and in artificial intelligence, cognition is used to refer to the mental
functions, mental processes (thoughts) and states of intelligent entities (humans, human
organizations, highly autonomous machines). In particular, the field focuses toward the
study of specific mental processes such as comprehension, inference, decision-making,
planning and learning (see also cognitive science and cognitivism). Recently, advanced
cognitive research has been especially focused on the capacities of abstraction,
generalization, concretization/specialization and meta-reasoning. This involves such
concepts as beliefs, knowledge, desires, preferences and intentions of intelligent
individuals/objects/agents/systems.
The term “cognition” is also used in a broader sense to define the act of knowing, or
knowledge, and may be interpreted in a social or cultural sense to describe the
emergent development of knowledge and concepts within a group, culminating in both
thought and action.
Influence and Influences
Because it is such a broad concept, the field of cognition is applicable within a wide
range of areas. The majority of its influence is present within psychology (as cognitive
psychology, cognitive science and psychophysics); philosophy, particularly philosophy
of mind, epistemology and ontology (with a special significance within moral
philosophy, which deals with the problem of ignorance, often seen as the opposite of
cognition); neuroscience as cognitive neuroscience, neurology and neuropsychology;
artificial intelligence (as well as cybernetics).
167
Importantly, an area that deeply involves cognitive concepts is the field of economics,
used as part of the theories behind behavioral economics and behavioral finance, and
additionally throughout experimental economics. Also within the industrial sciences,
involved areas include ergonomics and user interface design. Within human
development, common applications of cognitive theory are in linguistics, especially
psycholinguistics and cognitive linguistics; learning and learning styles.
In its most modern aspect, cognition has become thoroughly integrated within
computer science and information theory, where attempts at artificial intelligence,
collective intelligence and robotics focus on mimicking living beings' capacities for
cognition; or applying the experience gathered in one place by one being to actions by
another being elsewhere. More contemporary influence is seen within theoretical
mathematics and probability, as well as physics, where observer effects are studied in
depth mathematically.
Psychology
The sort of mental processes described as cognitive are largely influenced by research
which has successfully used this paradigm in the past, likely starting with Thomas
Aquinas, who divided the study of behavior into two broad categories: cognitive (how
we know the world), and affect (feelings and emotions). Consequently, this description
tends to apply to processes such as memory, association, concept formation, language,
attention, perception, action, problem solving and mental imagery.[4] Traditionally,
emotion was not thought of as a cognitive process. This division is now regarded as
largely artificial, and much research is currently being undertaken to examine the
cognitive psychology of emotion; research also includes one's awareness of strategies
and methods of cognition, known as metacognition.
168
Empirical research into cognition is usually scientific and quantitative, or involves
creating models to describe or explain certain behaviors.
While few people would deny that cognitive processes are a function of the brain, a
cognitive theory will not necessarily make reference to the brain or other biological
process (compare neurocognitive). It may purely describe behaviour in terms of
information flow or function. Relatively recent fields of study such as cognitive science
and neuropsychology aim to bridge this gap, using cognitive paradigms to understand
how the brain implements these information-processing functions (see also cognitive
neuroscience), or how pure information-processing systems (e.g., computers) can
simulate cognition (see also artificial intelligence). The branch of psychology that
studies brain injury to infer normal cognitive function is called cognitive
neuropsychology. The links of cognition to evolutionary demands are studied through
the investigation of animal cognition. And conversely, evolutionary-based perspectives
can inform hypotheses about cognitive functional systems evolutionary psychology.
The theoretical school of thought derived from the cognitive approach is often called
cognitivism.
The phenomenal success of the cognitive approach can be seen by its current
dominance as the core model in contemporary psychology (usurping behaviorism in
the late 1950s).
Ontology
On an individual being level, these questions are studied by the separate fields above,
but are also more integrated into cognitive ontology of various kinds. This challenges
the older linguistically dependent views of ontology, wherein one could debate being,
perceiving, and doing, with no cognizance of innate human limits, varying human
169
lifeways, and loyalties that may let a being "know" something (see qualia) that for
others remains very much in doubt.
On the level of an individual mind, an emergent behavior might be the formation of a
new concept, 'bubbling up' from below the conscious level of the mind. A simple way of
stating this is that beings preserve their own attention and are at every level concerned
with avoiding interruption and distraction. Such cognitive specialization can be
observed in particular in language, with adults markedly less able to hear or say
distinctions made in languages to which they were not exposed in youth.
As compression
By the 1980s, researchers in the Engineering departments of the University of Leeds, UK
hypothesized that 'Cognition is a form of compression', i.e., cognition was an economic,
not just a philosophical or a psychological, process; in other words, skill in the process
of cognition confers a competitive advantage. An implication of this view is that choices
about what to cognize are being made at all levels from the neurological expression up
to species-wide priority setting; in other words, the compression process is a form of
optimization. This is a force for self-organizing behavior; thus we have the opportunity
to see samples of emergent behavior at each successive level, from individual, to groups
of individuals, to formal organizations.
Cognition as social process and cognition in a social process
It has been observed since antiquity that language acquisition in human children fails to
emerge unless the children are exposed to language. Thus, language acquisition is an
example of an emergent behavior. In this case, the individual is made up of a set of
mechanisms 'expecting' such input from the social world.
170
In education, for instance, which has the explicit task in society of developing child
cognition, choices are made regarding the environment and permitted action that lead
to a formed experience. In social cognition, face perception in human babies emerges by
the age of two months. This is in turn affected by the risk or cost of providing these, for
instance, those associated with a playground or swimming pool or field trip. On the
other hand, the macro-choices made by the teachers are extremely influential on the
micro-choices made by children.
In a large systemic perspective, cognition is considered closely related to the social and
human organization functioning and constrains. Managerial decision making processes
can be erroneous in politics, economy and industry for the reason of different
reciprocally dependent socio-cognitive factors. This domain became the field of interest
of emergent socio-cognitive engineering
This ability is seen to manifest itself in certain adaptive behaviors. The model proposes
that EI includes 4 types of abilities:
1. Perceiving emotions — the ability to detect and decipher emotions in faces,
pictures, voices, and cultural artifacts- including the ability to identify one’s own
emotions. Perceiving emotions represents a basic aspect of emotional
intelligence, as it makes all other processing of emotional information possible.
2. Using emotions — the ability to harness emotions to facilitate various cognitive
activities, such as thinking and problem solving. The emotionally intelligent
person can capitalize fully upon his or her changing moods in order to best fit
the task at hand.
3. Understanding emotions — the ability to comprehend emotion language and to
appreciate
complicated
relationships
among
emotions.
For
example,
understanding emotions encompasses the ability to be sensitive to slight
171
variations between emotions, and the ability to recognize and describe how
emotions evolve over time.
4. Managing emotions — the ability to regulate emotions in both ourselves and in
others. Therefore, the emotionally intelligent person can harness emotions, even
negative ones, and manage them to achieve intended goals.
The ability-based model has been criticized in the research for lacking face and
predictive validity in the workplace.
Measurement of the ability-based model
Different models of EI have led to the development of various instruments for the
assessment of the construct. While some of these measures may overlap, most
researchers agree that they tap slightly different constructs. The current measure of
Mayer and Salovey’s model of EI, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence
Test (MSCEIT) is based on a series of emotion-based problem-solving items. Consistent
with the model's claim of EI as a type of intelligence, the test is modeled on abilitybased IQ tests. By testing a person’s abilities on each of the four branches of emotional
intelligence, it generates scores for each of the branches as well as a total score.
Central to the four-branch model is the idea that EI requires attunement to social norms.
Therefore, the MSCEIT is scored in a consensus fashion, with higher scores indicating
higher overlap between an individual’s answers and those provided by a worldwide
sample of respondents. The MSCEIT can also be expert-scored, so that the amount of
overlap is calculated between an individual’s answers and those provided by a group of
21 emotion researchers.
172
Emotion
An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of
feelings, thoughts, and behavior.Emotions are subjective experiences, or experienced
from an individual point of view. Emotion is often associated with mood, temperament,
personality, and disposition. The English word 'emotion' is derived from the French
word émouvoir. This is based on the Latin emovere, where e- (variant of ex-) means
'out' and movere means 'move'. The related term "motivation" is also derived from
movere.
No definitive taxonomy of emotions exists, though numerous taxonomies have been
proposed. Some categorizations include:
•
'Cognitive' versus 'non-cognitive' emotions
•
Instinctual emotions (from the amygdala), versus cognitive emotions (from the
prefrontal cortex).
•
Basic versus complex: where base emotions lead to more complex ones.
•
Categorization based on duration: Some emotions occur over a period of seconds
(e.g. surprise) where others can last years (e.g. love).
A related distinction is between the emotion and the results of the emotion, principally
behaviours and emotional expressions. People often behave in certain ways as a direct
result of their emotional state, such as crying, fighting or fleeing. Yet again, if one can
have the emotion without the corresponding behaviour then we may consider the
behaviour not to be essential to the emotion. The James-Lange theory posits that
emotional experience is largely due to the experience of bodily changes. The
functionalist approach to emotions (e.g. Nico Frijda) holds that emotions have evolved
for a particular function, such as to keep the subject safe.
173
Classification
There has been considerable debate concerning how emotions should be classified.
Firstly, are emotions distinctive discrete states or do they vary more smoothly along one
or more underlying dimensions? The circumplex model of James Russell (1979) is an
example of the latter, placing emotions along bi-polar dimensions of valence and
arousal.
Another popular option is to divide emotions into basic and complex categories, where
some basic emotions are modified in some way to form complex emotions (e.g. Paul
Ekman). In one model, the complex emotions could arise from cultural conditioning or
association combined with the basic emotions. Alternatively, analogous to the way
primary colors combine, primary emotions could blend to form the full spectrum of
human emotional experience. For example interpersonal anger and disgust could blend
to form contempt.
Robert Plutchik proposed a three-dimensional "circumplex model" which describes the
relations among emotions. This model is similar to a color wheel. The vertical
dimension represents intensity, and the circle represents degrees of similarity among
the emotions. He posited eight primary emotion dimensions arranged as four pairs of
opposites. Some have also argued for the existence of meta-emotions which are
emotions about emotions. In general discussion centres around which emotions or
dimensions should be considered foundational. Combined views are also available.
Another important means of distinguishing emotions concerns their occurrence in time.
Some emotions occur over a period of seconds (e.g. surprise) where others can last years
(e.g. love). The latter could be regarded as a long term tendency to have an emotion
regarding a certain object rather than an emotion proper (though this is disputed). A
174
distinction is then made between emotion episodes and emotional dispositions.
Dispositions are also comparable to character traits, where someone may be said to be
generally disposed to experience certain emotions, though about different objects. For
example an irritable person is generally disposed to feel irritation more easily or quickly
than others do. Finally, some theorists (e.g. Klaus Scherer, 2005) place emotions within a
more general category of 'affective states' where affective states can also include
emotion-related phenomena such as pleasure and pain, motivational states (e.g. hunger
or curiosity), moods, dispositions and traits.
Theories
Theories about emotions stretch back at least as far as the Ancient Greek Stoics, as well
as Plato and Aristotle. We also see sophisticated theories in the works of philosophers
such as René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza and David Hume. Later theories of emotions
tend to be informed by advances in empirical research. Often theories are not mutually
exclusive and many researchers incorporate multiple perspectives in their work.
Somatic theories
Somatic theories of emotion claim that bodily responses rather than judgements are
essential to emotions. The first modern version of such theories comes from William
James in the 1880s. The theory lost favour in the 20th Century, but has regained
popularity more recently due largely to theorists such as António Damásio, Joseph E.
LeDoux and Robert Zajonc who are able to appeal to neurological evidence.
James-Lange theory
William James,in the article 'What is an Emotion?' (Mind, 9, 1884: 188-205), argued that
emotional experience is largely due to the experience of bodily changes, the Danish
175
psychologist Carl Lange also proposed a similar theory at around the same time, so this
position is known as the James-Lange theory. This theory and its derivatives state that a
changed situation leads to a changed bodily state. As James says 'the perception of
bodily changes as they occur IS the emotion.' James further claims that 'we feel sorry
because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and neither we cry,
strike, nor tremble because we are sorry, angry, or fearful, as the case may be.'
This theory is supported by experiments in which by manipulating the bodily state, a
desired emotion is induced. Such experiments also have therapeutic implications (e.g.
in laughter therapy, dance therapy). The James-Lange theory is often misunderstood
because it seems counter-intuitive. Most people believe that emotions give rise to
emotion-specific actions: i.e. "I'm crying because I'm sad," or "I ran away because I was
scared." The James-Lange theory, conversely, asserts that first we react to a situation
(running away and crying happen before the emotion), and then we interpret our
actions into an emotional response. In this way, emotions serve to explain and organize
our own actions to us.
Neurobiological theories
Based on discoveries made through neural mapping of the limbic system, the
neurobiological explanation of human emotion is that emotion is a pleasant or
unpleasant mental state organized in the limbic system of the mammalian brain. If
distinguished from reactive responses of reptiles, emotions would then be mammalian
elaborations of general vertebrate arousal patterns, in which neurochemicals (e.g.,
dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin) step-up or step-down the brain's activity level,
as visible in body movements, gestures, and postures. In mammals, primates, and
human beings, feelings are displayed as emotion cues.
176
For example, the human emotion of love is proposed to have evolved from paleocircuits
of the mammalian brain (specifically, modules of the cingulated gyrus) designed for the
care, feeding, and grooming of offspring. Paleocircuits are neural platforms for bodily
expression configured millions of years before the advent of cortical circuits for speech.
They consist of pre-configured pathways or networks of nerve cells in the forebrain,
brain stem and spinal cord. They evolved prior to the earliest mammalian ancestors, as
far back as the jawless fishes, to control motor function.
Presumably, before the mammalian brain, life in the non-verbal world was automatic,
preconscious, and predictable. The motor centers of reptiles react to sensory cues of
vision, sound, touch, chemical, gravity, and motion with pre-set body movements and
programmed postures. With the arrival of night-active mammals, circa 180 million
years ago, smell replaced vision as the dominant sense, and a different way of
responding arose from the olfactory sense, which is proposed to have developed into
mammalian emotion and emotional memory. In the Jurassic Period, the mammalian
brain invested heavily in olfaction to succeed at night as reptiles slept — one
explanation for why olfactory lobes in mammalian brains are proportionally larger than
in the reptiles. These odor pathways gradually formed the neural blueprint for what
was later to become our limbic brain.
Emotions are thought to be related to activity in brain areas that direct our attention,
motivate our behavior, and determine the significance of what is going on around us.
Pioneering work by Broca (1878), Papez (1937), and MacLean (1952) suggested that
emotion is related to a group of structures in the center of the brain called the limbic
system, which includes the hypothalamus, cingulate cortex, hippocampi, and other
structures. More recent research has shown that some of these limbic structures are not
177
as directly related to emotion as others are, while some non-limbic structures have been
found to be of greater emotional relevance.
Cognitive theories
There are a number of theories of emotions that argue that cognitive activity in the form
of judgements, evaluations, or thoughts are necessary in order for an emotion to occur.
This, it is argued,is necessary to capture the fact that emotions are about something or
have intentionality. Such cognitive activity may be conscious or unconscious and may
or may not take the form of conceptual processing. An influential theory here is that of
Richard Lazarus (1991). A prominent philosophical exponent is Robert C. Solomon (e.g.
The Passions, Emotions and the Meaning of Life, 1993). The theory proposed by Nico
Frijda where appraisal leads to action tendencies is another example.
Perceptual theory
A recent hybrid of the somatic and cognitive theories of emotion is the perceptual
theory. This theory is neo-Jamesian in arguing that bodily responses are central to
emotions, yet it emphasises the meaningfulness of emotions or the idea that emotions
are about something, as is recognised by cognitive theories. The novel claim of this
theory is that conceptually based cognition is unnecessary for such meaning. Rather the
bodily changes themselves perceive the meaningful content of the emotion as a result of
being causally triggered by certain situations. In this respect emotions are held to be
analogous to faculties such as vision or touch, which provide information about the
relation between the subject and the world in various ways. A sophisticated defense of
this view is found in philosopher Jesse Prinz's book Gut Reactions (2004) and
psychologist James Laird's book Feelings: The Perception of Self (2007). Related views
are also found in the work of Peter Goldie and Ronald de Sousa.
178
Affective Events Theory
The Affective Events Theory is a communication-based theory developed by Howard
M. Weiss and Russell Cropanzano (1996), that looks at the causes, structures, and
consequences of emotional experience (especially in work contexts.) This theory
suggests that emotions are influenced and caused by events which in turn influence
attitudes and behaviors. This theoretical frame also emphasizes time in that human
beings experience what they call emotion episodes - a “series of emotional states
extended over time and organized around an underlying theme” (Weiss & Beal, 2005, p.
6). This theory has been utilized by numerous researchers to better understand emotion
from a communicative lens, and was reviewed further by Howard M. Weiss and Daniel
J. Beal in their article, Reflections on Affective Events Theory published in Research on
Emotion in Organizations in 2005.
Cannon-Bard theory
In the Cannon-Bard theory, Walter Bradford Cannon argued against the dominance of
the James-Lange theory regarding the physiological aspects of emotions in the second
edition of Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage. Where James argued that
emotional behaviour often precedes or defines the emotion, Cannon and Bard argued
that the emotion arises first and then stimulates typical behaviour.
Two-factor theory
Another cognitive theory is the Singer-Schachter theory. This is based on experiments
purportedly showing that subjects can have different emotional reactions despite being
placed into the same physiological state with an injection of adrenaline. Subjects were
179
observed to express either anger or amusement depending on whether another person
in the situation displayed that emotion. Hence the combination of the appraisal of the
situation (cognitive) and whether participants received adrenaline or a placebo together
determined the response. This experiment has been criticized in Jesse Prinz (2004) Gut
Reactions.
Component process model
A recent version of the cognitive theory comes from Klaus Scherer which regards
emotions more broadly as the synchronization of many different bodily and cognitive
components. Emotions are identified with the overall process whereby low level
cognitive appraisals, in particular the processing of relevance, trigger bodily reactions,
behaviors, feelings, and actions.
Disciplinary approaches
Many different disciplines have produced work on the emotions. Human sciences study
the role of emotions in mental processes, disorders, and neural mechanisms. In
psychiatry, emotions are examined as part of the discipline's study and treatment of
mental disorders in humans. Psychology examines emotions from a scientific
perspective by treating them as mental processes and behavior and they explore the
underlying physiological and neurological processes. In neuroscience sub-fields such as
affective neuroscience, scientists study the neural mechanisms of emotion by combining
neuroscience with the psychological study of personality, emotion, and mood. In
linguistics, the expression of emotion may change to the meaning of sounds. In
education, the role of emotions in relation to learning are examined.
Social sciences often examine emotion for the role that it plays in human culture and
social interactions. In sociology, emotions are examined for the role they play in human
180
society, social patterns and interactions, and culture. In anthropology, the study of
humanity, scholars use ethnography to undertake contextual analyses and crosscultural comparisons of a range of human activities; some anthropology studies
examine the role of emotions in human activities. In the field of communication
sciences, critical organizational scholars have examined the role of emotions in
organizations, from the perspectives of managers, employees, and even customers. A
focus on emotions in organizations can be credited to Arlie Russell Hochschild's
concept of emotional labor. The University of Queensland host's EmoNet, an email
distribution list comprised of a network of academics that facilitates scholarly
discussion of all matters relating to the study of emotion in organizational settings. The
list was established in January, 1997 and has over 700 members from across the globe.
In economics, the social science that studies the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services, emotions are analyzed in some sub-fields of
microeconomics, in order to assess the role of emotions on purchase decision-making
and risk perception. In criminology, a social science approach to the study of crime,
scholars often draw on behavioral sciences, sociology, and psychology; emotions are
examined in criminology issues such as anomie theory and studies of "toughness",
aggressive behavior, and hooliganism. In law, which underpins civil obedience, politics,
economics and society, evidence about people's emotions is often raised in tort law
claims for compensation and in criminal law prosecutions against alleged lawbreakers
(as evidence of the defendant's state of mind during trials, sentencing, and parole
hearings). In political science, emotions are examined in a number of sub-fields, such as
the analysis of voter decision-making.
In philosophy, emotions are studied in sub-fields such as ethics, the philosophy of art
(e.g., sensory-emotional values, and matters of taste and sentiment), and the philosophy
181
of music. In history, scholars examine documents and other sources to interpret and
analyze past activities; speculation on the emotional state of the authors of historical
documents is one of the tools of interpretation. In literature and film-making, the
expression of emotion is the cornerstone of genres such as drama, melodrama, and
romance. In communication studies, scholars study the role that emotion plays in the
dissemination of ideas and messages. Emotion is also studied in non-human animals in
ethology, a branch of zoology which focuses on the scientific study of animal behavior.
Ethology is a combination of laboratory and field science, with strong ties to ecology
and evolution. Ethologists often study one type of behavior (e.g. aggression) in a
number of unrelated animals.
Evolutionary biology
Perspectives on emotions from evolution theory were initiated in the late 19th century
with Charles Darwin's book The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals. Darwin's
original thesis was that emotions evolved via natural selection and therefore have crossculturally universal counterparts. Furthermore animals undergo emotions comparable
to our own (see emotion in animals). Evidence of universality in the human case has
been provided by Paul Ekman's seminal research on facial expression. Other research in
this area focuses on physical displays of emotion including body language of animals
and humans (see affect display). The increased potential in neuroimaging has also
allowed investigation into evolutionarily ancient parts of the brain. Important
neurological advances were made from this perspectives in the 1990s by, for example,
Joseph E. LeDoux and António Damásio.
American evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers argues that moral emotions are based
on the principal of reciprocal altruism. The notion of group selection is of particular
relevance. This theory posits the different emotions have different reciprocal effects.
182
Sympathy prompts a person to offer the first favor, particularly to someone in need for
whom the help would go the furthest. Anger protects a person against cheaters who
accept a favor without reciprocating, by making him want to punish the ingrate or sever
the relationship. Gratitude impels a beneficiary to reward those who helped him in the
past. Finally, guilt prompts a cheater who is in danger of being found out, by making
them want to repair the relationship by redressing the misdeed. As well, guilty feelings
encourage a cheater who has been caught to advertise or promise that he will behave
better in the future.
Sociology
We try to regulate our emotions to fit in with the norms of the situation, based on many
- sometimes conflicting - demands upon us which originate from various entities
studied by sociology on a micro level -- such as social roles and 'feeling rules' the
everyday social interactions and situations are shaped by -- and, on a macro level, by
social institutions, discourses, ideologies etc. For example, (post-)modern marriage is,
on one hand, based on the emotion of love and on the other hand the very emotion is to
be worked on and regulated by it. The sociology of emotions also focuses on general
attitude changes in a population. Emotional appeals are commonly found in
advertising, health campaigns and political messages. Recent examples include nosmoking health campaigns and political campaign advertising emphasizing the fear of
terrorism.
Psychotherapy
Depending on the particular school's general emphasis either on cognitive component
of emotion, physical energy discharging, or on symbolic movement and facial
expression components of emotion, different schools of psychotherapy approach
183
human emotions differently. While, for example, the school of Re-evaluation
Counseling propose that distressing emotions are to be relieved by "discharging" them hence crying, laughing, sweating, shaking, and trembling. Other more cognitively
oriented schools approach them via their cognitive components, such as rational
emotive behavior therapy. Yet other approach emotions via symbolic movement and
facial expression components (like in contemporary gestalt therapy.
Computer science
In the 2000s, in research in computer science, engineering, psychology and neuroscience
has been aimed at developing devices that recognize human affect display and model
emotions (Fellous, Armony & LeDoux, 2002). In computer science, affective computing
is a branch of the study and development of artificial intelligence that deals with the
design of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, and process human
emotions. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer sciences, psychology, and
cognitive science. While the origins of the field may be traced as far back as to early
philosophical enquiries into emotion, the more modern branch of computer science
originated with Rosalind Picard's 1995 paperon affective computing. Detecting
emotional information begins with passive sensors which capture data about the user's
physical state or behavior without interpreting the input. The data gathered is
analogous to the cues humans use to perceive emotions in others. Another area within
affective computing is the design of computational devices proposed to exhibit either
innate emotional capabilities or that are capable of convincingly simulating emotions.
Emotional speech processing recognizes the user's emotional state by analyzing speech
patterns. The detection and processing of facial expression or body gestures is achieved
through detectors and sensors
184
Although promoted as an ability test, the MSCEIT is most unlike standard IQ tests in
that its items do not have objectively correct responses. Among other problems, the
consensus scoring criterion means that it is impossible to create items (questions) that
only a minority of respondents can solve, because, by definition, responses are deemed
emotionally 'intelligent' only if the majority of the sample has endorsed them. This and
other similar problems have led cognitive ability experts to question the definition of EI
as a genuine intelligence.
In a study by Føllesdal the MSCEIT test results of 111 business leaders were compared
with how their employees described their leader. It was found that there were no
correlations between a leader's test results and how he or she was rated by the
employees, with regard to empathy, ability to motivate, and leader effectiveness.
Føllesdal also criticized the Canadian company Multi-Health Systems, which
administers the MSCEIT test. The test contains 141 questions but it was found after
publishing the test that 19 of these did not give the expected answers. This has led
Multi-Health Systems to remove answers to these 19 questions before scoring, but
without stating this officially.
Mixed models of EI
The Emotional Competencies (Goleman) model
The model introduced by Daniel Goleman
focuses on EI as a wide array of
competencies and skills that drive leadership performance.
185
Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an author, psychologist, and science journalist.
For twelve years, he wrote for the New York Times, specializing in psychology and
brain sciences.
Life
His parents were college professors in Stockton, California, where his father taught
world literature at what is now San Joaquin Delta College, while his mother taught in
the sociology department of the University of the Pacific. Goleman received his Ph.D.
from Harvard, where he has also been a visiting lecturer. Daniel Goleman currently
resides in the Berkshires. He is a co-chairman of The Consortium for Research on
Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, based in the Graduate School of Applied and
Professional Psychology at Rutgers University, which recommends best practices for
developing emotional intelligence abilities, and promotes rigorous research on the
contribution of emotional intelligence to workplace effectiveness.
In addition, Goleman was a co-founder of at the Yale University Child Studies Center
(now at the University of Illinois at Chicago) which has a mission to help schools
introduce emotional literacy courses. One mark of the Collaborative's—and book’s—
impact is that thousands of schools around the world have begun to implement such
programs. Goleman is also a member of the board of directors of the Mind and Life
Institute, which fosters dialogues between scientists and contemplatives. His book, "
Destructive Emotions" contains an edited selection of dialogues from The 8th Mind &
Life Conference (Dharamsala, India from March 20-24, 2000} between the Dalai Lama
and neuroscientists. The same with his book which is an edited selection of dialogues
186
from The 3rd Mind & Life Conference (Dharamsala, India, November 5-9, 1990). In both
of these conferences Goleman has been the Scientific Coordinator.
Goleman authored the internationally best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence (1995,
Bantam Books), that spent more than one-and-a-half years on the New York Times Best
Seller list. Goleman developed the argument that non-cognitive skills can matter as
much as I.Q. for workplace success in "Working with Emotional Intelligence" (1998,
Bantam Books), and for leadership effectiveness in "Primal Leadership" (2001, Harvard
Business School Press). Goleman's most recent best-seller is Social Intelligence: The New
Science of Human Relationships (2006, Bantam Books).
The following quote is widely misattributed to R.D. Laing but appears in Goleman’s
(1985) book Vital Lies, Simple Truths: "The range of what we think and do is limited by
what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little
we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and
deeds." The following introduction prefaces the quote: “To put it in the form of one of
R.D. Laing’s ‘knots’:” (p. 24): “Knots” being a reference to an earlier text by Laing
(1972):. So it is in the form of Laing but not by Laing. It is informed by Goleman's
clinical psychotherapeutic experiences, but it speaks to the field of conflict psychology
and facilitation as well. Goleman's most recent book, "Transparency: How Leaders
Create a Culture of Candor," (2008, Jossey-Bass), co-authored with Warren Bennis and
James O'Tool, argues for the benefits of transparency in organizations.
Educational innovations
Goleman has published a series of dialogues with More Than Sound Productions
entitled "Wired to Connect" on the applications of Social Intelligence. Those already
published include conversations with Psychologist Daniel J. Siegel, renowned brain
187
researcher Richard Davidson, Clay Shirky, an expert on the social and economic effects
of Internet technologies, film director and Educational innovator, George Lucas, and
Paul Ekman, world renown psychologist on emotions. A topic of his discussion with
Ekman was how to empathize with others, and how we can understand other's
emotions as well as our own. Goleman suggests that in light of tragedies like Hurricane
Katrina, we must learn how to empathize with others in order to help them. Goleman
and Ekman are both contributors to Greater Good magazine, Greater Good Science
Center, University of California, Berkeley.
Emotional competence
Emotional competence refers to a person's ability in expressing or releasing their inner
feelings (emotions). It implies an ease around others and determines our ability to
effectively and successfully lead and express.
Description
The concept of emotional competence is rooted in the understanding of emotions as
being normal, useful aspects of being human. Anger is a reaction to aggression and
gives a person the strength to repel the aggression. Grief is a reaction to abandonment
or feeling unloved and it has the effect of eliciting sympathetic responses from others.
Fear is a response to danger and has a clear physiological effect of heightening our
senses and speeding up our reactions.
From this it can be seen that the suppression of emotion is not useful and that teaching
people to suppress their emotions is part of trying to control them. Emotionally
competent people will express emotion appropriate to the situation and their needs and
they will not seek to suppress emotions in others.
188
It is fairly widely believed that if appropriate emotions are not expressed some sort of
memory of them becomes stored.Later events may trigger off the old emotions resulting
in inappropriate emotional responses. This particularly applies to emotions that
children are prevented from expressing. Releasing these old emotions is a key feature of
co-counselling.
Emotional competence can lead to improved health through avoiding stress that would
otherwise result from suppressing emotions. It can also lead to improved relationships
since inappropriate emotions are less likely to be expressed and appropriate behaviour
is not avoided through fear of triggering some emotion.
The concept is distinct from emotional intelligence which, while recognising the
importance of emotions, gives emphasis to controlling or manipulating them.
Assertiveness and emotional competence
Humanistic approaches to assertiveness, as for instance outlined by Anne Dickson
emphasise the importance of working with emotions. In particular it recognises the
need to address manipulative or passive (the person does not say what they want) –
aggressive (they try to force the other person to do what they want) behaviour in which
the manipulator exploits the feelings of the other to try to get what they want. Building
up emotional competence is a way of learning to handle such behaviour.
Another aspect is learning to be assertive when feeling emotional. Assertiveness
training involves learning a range of ways to handle any situation so that a person is
able to choose a way which seems appropriate for them on each occasion. With respect
to emotions, people are encouraged to notice and accept what they feel. They then have
choices from handling the situation calmly through doing so and saying how they feel
to letting the emotion out, all of which involve emotional competence.
189
This also would encompass the realm of where the emotionally competent response
would have judicial consequences. eg. competence to stand trial. Some researchers feel
the role of emotion has been neglected, both in traditional accounts of decision-making
and in assessments of adjudicative competence, and further attention and study.
Emotional competencies are not innate talents, but rather learned capabilities that must
be worked on and developed to achieve outstanding performance. Goleman posits that
individuals are born with a general emotional intelligence that determines their
potential for learning emotional competencies. Goleman's model of EI has been
criticized in the research literature as mere pop-psychology (Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade,
2008).
Measurement of the Emotional Competencies (Goleman) model
Two measurement tools are based on the Goleman model:
1) The Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI), which was created in 1999 and the
Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), which was created in 2007.
2) The Emotional Intelligence Appraisal, which was created in 2001 and which can be
taken as a self-report or 360-degree assessment.
The Bar-On model of Emotional-Social Intelligence (ESI)
Bar-On (2006) developed one of the first measures of EI that used the term Emotion
Quotient. He defines emotional intelligence as being concerned with effectively
understanding oneself and others, relating well to people, and adapting to and coping
with the immediate surroundings to be more successful in dealing with environmental
demands. Bar-On posits that EI develops over time and that it can be improved through
190
training, programming, and therapy. Bar-On hypothesizes that those individuals with
higher than average E.Q.’s are in general more successful in meeting environmental
demands and pressures. He also notes that a deficiency in EI can mean a lack of success
and the existence of emotional problems. Problems in coping with one’s environment
are thought, by Bar-On, to be especially common among those individuals lacking in
the subscales of reality testing, problem solving, stress tolerance, and impulse control.
In general, Bar-On considers emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence to
contribute equally to a person’s general intelligence, which then offers an indication of
one’s potential to succeed in life.[2] However, doubts have been expressed about this
model in the research literature (in particular about the validity of self-report as an
index of emotional intelligence) and in scientific settings (see, e.g., Kluemper, 2008). it is
being replaced by the trait EI model discussed below.
Measurement of the ESI Model
The Bar-On Emotion Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), is a self-report measure of EI developed
as a measure of emotionally and socially competent behavior that provides an estimate
of one's emotional and social intelligence. The EQ-i is not meant to measure personality
traits or cognitive capacity, but rather the mental ability to be successful in dealing with
environmental demands and pressures. One hundred and thirty three items (questions
or factors) are used to obtain a Total EQ (Total Emotional Quotient) and to produce five
composite scale scores, corresponding to the five main components of the Bar-On
model. A limitation of this model is that it claims to measure some kind of ability
through self-report items (for a discussion, see Matthews, Zeidner, & Roberts, 2007).
The EQ-i has been found to be highly susceptible to faking (Day & Carroll, 2008; Grubb
& McDaniel, 2007)
191
The Trait EI model
Petrides et al. (2000a, 2004, 2007) proposed a conceptual distinction between the ability
based model and a trait based model of EI. Trait EI is "a constellation of emotion-related
self-perceptions located at the lower levels of personality". In lay terms, trait EI refers to
an individual's self-perceptions of their emotional abilities. This definition of EI
encompasses behavioral dispositions and self perceived abilities and is measured by
self report, as opposed to the ability based model which refers to actual abilities, which
have proven highly resistant to scientific measurement. Trait EI should be investigated
within a personality framework. An alternative label for the same construct is trait
emotional self-efficacy.
The trait EI model is general and subsumes the Goleman and Bar-On models discussed
above. Petrides et al. are major critics of the ability-based model and the MSCEIT
arguing that they are based on "psychometrically meaningless" scoring procedures (e.g.,
Petrides, Furnham, & Mavroveli, 2007).
The conceptualization of EI as a personality trait leads to a construct that lies outside
the taxonomy of human cognitive ability. This is an important distinction in as much as
it bears directly on the operationalization of the construct and the theories and
hypotheses that are formulated about it.
Measurement of the Trait EI model
There are many self-report measures of EI, including the EQi, the Swinburne University
Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT),the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test
(SSEIT), a measure by Tett, Fox, and Wang (2005). From the perspective of the trait EI
model, none of these assess intelligence, abilities, or skills (as their authors often claim),
but rather, they are limited measures of trait emotional intelligence (Petrides, Furnham,
192
& Mavroveli, 2007). The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) is an
open-access measure that was specifically designed to measure the construct
comprehensively and is currently available in 15 languages.
The TEIQue provides an operationalization for Petrides and colleagues' model that
conceptualizes EI in terms of personality. The test encompasses 15 subscales organized
under four factors: Well-Being, Self-Control, Emotionality, and Sociability. The
psychometric properties of the TEIQue were investigated in a recent study on a FrenchSpeaking Population, where it was reported that TEIQue scores were globally normally
distributed and reliable.
The researchers also found TEIQue scores were unrelated to nonverbal reasoning
(Raven’s matrices), which they interpreted as support for the personality trait view of EI
(as opposed to a form of intelligence). As expected, TEIQue scores were positively
related to some of the Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness,
conscientiousness) as well as inversely related to others(alexithymia, neuroticism).
Alexithymia and EI
Alexithymia from the Greek words λέξις and θυμός (literally "lack of words for
emotions") is a term coined by Peter Sifneos in 1973 to describe people who appeared
to have deficiencies in understanding, processing, or describing their emotions. Viewed
as a spectrum between high and low EI, the alexithymia construct is strongly inversely
related to EI, representing its lower range. The individual's level of alexithymia can be
measured with self-scored questionnaires such as the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS20) or the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) or by observer rated
measures such as the Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS).
193
Criticism of the theoretical foundation of EI
EI is too broadly defined and the definitions are unstable
One of the arguments against the theoretical soundness of the concept suggests that the
constant changing and broadening of its definition- which has come to encompass
many unrelated elements — had rendered it an unintelligible concept:
"What is the common or integrating element in a concept that includes: introspection
about emotions, Emotional expression, non-verbal communication with others,
empathy, self-regulation, planning, creative thinking and the direction of attention?
There is none."
Other critics mention that without some stabilization of the concepts and the
measurement instruments, meta-analyses are difficult to implement, and the theory
coherence is likely to be adversely impacted by this instability.
EI cannot be recognized as a form of intelligence
Goleman's early work has been criticized for assuming from the beginning that EI is a
type of intelligence. Eysenck (2000) writes that Goleman's description of EI contains
assumptions about intelligence in general, and that it even runs contrary to what
researchers have come to expect when studying types of intelligence:
"Goleman exemplifies more clearly than most the fundamental absurdity of the
tendency to class almost any type of behaviour as an 'intelligence'... If these five
'abilities' define 'emotional intelligence', we would expect some evidence that they are
highly correlated; Goleman admits that they might be quite uncorrelated, and in any
194
case if we cannot measure them, how do we know they are related? So the whole theory
is built on quicksand: there is no sound scientific basis".
Similarly, Locke (2005) claims that the concept of EI in itself is a misinterpretation of the
intelligence construct, and he offers an alternative interpretation: it is not another form
or type of intelligence, but intelligence--the ability to grasp abstractions--applied to a
particular life domain: emotions. He suggests the concept should be re-labeled and
referred to as a skill.
EI has no substantial predictive value
Landy (2005) has claimed that the few incremental validity studies conducted on EI
have demonstrated that it adds little or nothing to the explanation or prediction of some
common outcomes (most notably academic and work success). Landy proposes that the
reason some studies have found a small increase in predictive validity is in fact a
methodological fallacy — incomplete consideration of alternative explanations:
"EI is compared and contrasted with a measure of abstract intelligence but not with a
personality measure, or with a personality measure but not with a measure of academic
intelligence." Landy (2005)
In accordance with this suggestion, other researchers have raised concerns about the
extent to which self-report EI measures correlate with established personality
dimensions. Generally, self-report EI measures and personality measures have been
said to converge because they both purport to measure traits, and because they are both
measured in the self-report form. Specifically, there appear to be two dimensions of the
Big Five that stand out as most related to self-report EI – neuroticism and extraversion.
In particular, neuroticism has been said to relate to negative emotionality and anxiety.
195
Intuitively, individuals scoring high on neuroticism are likely to score low on self-report
EI measures.
The interpretations of the correlations between self-report EI and personality have been
varied and inconsistent. Some researchers have asserted that correlations in the .40
range constitute outright construct redundancy, while others have suggested that selfreport EI is a personality trait in itself.
Criticism on measurement issues
Ability based measures are measuring conformity, not ability
One criticism of the works of Mayer and Salovey comes from a study by Roberts et al.
(2001), which suggests that the EI, as measured by the MSCEIT, may only be measuring
conformity. This argument is rooted in the MSCEIT's use of consensus-based
assessment, and in the fact that scores on the MSCEIT are negatively distributed
(meaning that its scores differentiate between people with low EI better than people
with high EI).
Ability based measures are measuring knowledge (not actual ability)
Further criticism has been offered by Brody (2004), who claimed that unlike tests of
cognitive ability, the MSCEIT "tests knowledge of emotions but not necessarily the
ability to perform tasks that are related to the knowledge that is assessed". The main
argument is that even though someone knows how he should behave in an emotionally
laden situation, it doesn’t necessarily follow that he could actually carry out the
reported behavior.
196
Self report measures are susceptible to faking good
More formally termed socially desirable responding (SDR), faking good is defined as a
response pattern in which test-takers systematically represent themselves with an
excessive positive bias (Paulhus, 2002). This bias has long been known to contaminate
responses on personality inventories (Holtgraves, 2004; McFarland & Ryan, 2000;
Peebles & Moore, 1998; Nichols & Greene, 1997; Zerbe & Paulhus, 1987), acting as a
mediator of the relationships between self-report measures (Nichols & Greene, 1997;
Ganster et al., 1983).
It has been suggested that responding in a desirable way is a response set, which is a
situational and temporary response pattern (Pauls & Crost, 2004; Paulhus, 1991). This is
contrasted with a response style, which is a more long-term trait-like quality.
Considering the contexts some self-report EI inventories are used in (e.g., employment
settings), the problems of response sets in high-stakes scenarios become clear (Paulhus
& Reid, 2001).
There are a few methods to prevent socially desirable responding on behavior
inventories. Some researchers believe it is necessary to warn test-takers not to fake good
before taking a personality test (e.g., McFarland, 2003). Some inventories use validity
scales in order to determine the likelihood or consistency of the responses across all
items.
Claims for the predictive power of EI are too extreme
Landy distinguishes between the 'commercial wing' and 'the academic wing' of the EI
movement, basing this distinction on the alleged predictive power of EI as seen by the
two currents. According to Landy, the former makes expansive claims on the applied
value of EI, while the later is trying to warn users against these claims. As an example.
197
Goleman (1998) asserts that "the most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they
all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence.
...emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership". In contrast, Mayer (1999)
cautions "the popular literature’s implication—that highly emotionally intelligent
people possess an unqualified advantage in life—appears overly enthusiastic at present
and unsubstantiated by reasonable scientific standards."
Landy further reinforces this argument by noting that the data upon which these claims
are based are held in ‘proprietary databases', which means they are unavailable to
independent researchers for reanalysis, replication, or verification. Thus, the credibility
of the findings cannot be substantiated in a scientific manner, unless those datasets are
made public and available for independent analysis.
EI, IQ and job performance
Research of EI and job performance show mixed results: a positive relation has been
found in some of the studies, in others there was no relation or an inconsistent one. This
led researchers Cote and Miners (2006) to offer a compensatory model between EI and
IQ, that posits that the association between EI and job performance becomes more
positive as cognitive intelligence decreases, an idea first proposed in the context of
academic performance (Petrides, Frederickson, & Furnham, 2004). The results of the
former study supported the compensatory model: employees with low IQ get higher
task performance and organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization,
the higher their EI.
198
Motivation
Motivation is the set of reasons that determines one to engage in a particular behavior.
The term is generally used for human motivation but, theoretically, it can be used to
describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation.
According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize
physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating
and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed
to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, morality, or avoiding mortality.
Motivational concepts
The Incentive Theory of Motivation
A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e.
behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by
associating positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives
the reward immediately, the effect would be greater, and decreases as duration
lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit.
Motivation comes from two things: you, and other people. There is extrinsic motivation,
which comes from others, and intrinsic motivation, which comes from within you.
Rewards can also be organized as extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to
the person; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are internal to the person;
for example, satisfaction or a feeling of accomplishment.
Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on
enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based
on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility
199
for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or
fun.
A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create a
measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of
something to the environment.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation occurs when people engage in an activity, such as a hobby,
without obvious external incentives. This form of motivation has been studied by social
and educational psychologists since the early 1970s. Research has found that it is
usually associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students.
Intrinsic motivation has been explained by Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's
work on self-efficacy, and Ryan and Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. Students are
likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
•
attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the
amount of effort they put in),
•
believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are
not determined by luck),
•
are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good
grades.
In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic
reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral
obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. In work environments, money may
provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an
enjoyable workplace.
200
In terms of sports, intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from inside the
performer. That is, the athlete competes for the love of the sport.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. Money is the most obvious
example, but coercion and threat of punishment are also common extrinsic motivations.
In sports, the crowd may cheer the performer on, and this motivates him or her to do
well. Trophies are also extrinsic incentives. Competition is often extrinsic because it
encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of
the activity.
Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to
overjustification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation.
Self-control
The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional
intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative
definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this
intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's
"expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert
self control to pursue a particular goal.
Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that
is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual
and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be
sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas
more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a
person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.
201
By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of
training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat
motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is
removed from the process.
Expectancy theory
Expectancy theory is about choice. It explains the processes that an individual
undergoes to make choices. In organizational behavior study, expectancy theory is a
motivation theory first proposed by Victor Vroom of the Yale School of Management.
Expectancy theory predicts that employees in an organization will be motivated when
they believe that:
•
putting in more effort will yield better job performance
•
better job performance will lead to organizational rewards, such as an increase in
salary or benefits
•
these predicted organizational rewards are valued by the employee in question.
- Emphasizes self interest in the alignment of rewards with employee's wants. Emphasizes the connections among expected behaviors, rewards and organizational
goals
Vroom's theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among
alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Together
with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter, Vroom suggested that the relationship between
people's behavior at work and their goals was not as simple as was first imagined by
other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based on individual
factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.
202
Victor H. Vroom introduces three variables within the expectancy theory which are
valence (V), expectancy (E) and instrumentality (I). The three elements are important
behind choosing one element over another because they are clearly defined : effortperformance expectancy(E>P expectancy), performance-outcome expectancy (P>O
expectancy).
E>P expectancy: Our assessment of the probability our efforts will lead to the required
performance level.
P>O expectancy: Our assessment of the probability our successful performance will lead
to certain outcomes.
Vroom’s model is based on three concepts
1. Valence - Strength of an individual’s preference for a particular outcome. For the
valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it.
2. Instrumentality – Means of the first level outcome in obtaining the desired second
level outcome; the degree to which a first level outcome will lead to the second level
outcome.
3. Expectancy - Probability or strength of belief that a particular action will lead to a
particular first level outcome.
Vroom says the product of these variables is the motivation.
In order to enhance the performance-outcome tie managers should use systems that tie
rewards very closely to performance. In order to improve the effort-performance tie,
managers should engage in training to improve their capabilities and improve their
belief that added effort will in fact lead to better performance.
203
Motivational Theories
Drive Reduction Theories
There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the
concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the
strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by
fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the
theories of Freud and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.
There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction
Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary
Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or
psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check secondorder conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be
able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food
before they finished cooking it.
However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does
get hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been
consumed the drive decreases. The only reason the food does not get eaten before is the
human element of restraint and has nothing to do with drive theory. Also, the food will
either be nicer after it is cooked, or it won't be edible at all before it is cooked.
Drive theory
The terms drive theory and drive reduction theory refer to a diverse set of motivational
theories in psychology. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born
with certain biological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these
204
needs are not satisfied. When a need is satisfied, drive is reduced and the organism
returns to a state of homeostasis and relaxation. According to the theory, drive tends to
increase over time and operates on a feedback control system, much like a thermostat.
Psychoanalysis
In Freudian psychoanalysis, drive theory refers to the theory of drives, motivations, or
instincts, that have clear objects. Examples include what Freud called Eros, and what is
now widely known as Thanatos, the drives toward Life and Death, respectively. In
Civilization and Its Discontents, which the prescient Freud wrote, full of the sense of
impending disaster in the form of a second European war, Freud wrote "In face of the
destructive forces unleashed, now it may be expected that the other of the two
'heavenly forces,' eternal Eros, will put forth his strength so as to maintain himself
alongside of his equally immortal adversary."[1] The adversary, clearly, is Thanatos.
Learning theory
According to such theorists as Clark Hull and Kenneth Spence, drive reduction is a
major cause of learning and behavior. Primary drives are innate drives (e.g. thirst,
hunger, and sex), whereas secondary drives are learned by conditioning (e.g. money).
There are several problems that leave the validity of drive theory open for debate. The
first problem is that it does not explain how secondary reinforcers reduce drive. For
example, money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need, but it reduces
drive on a regular basis by a pay check. Secondly, drive reduction theory has trouble
explaining why humans and other animals voluntarily increase tension by exploring
their environments, even when they are not hungry or thirsty.
205
Social psychology
In social psychology, drive theory was used by Robert Zajonc in 1965 as an explanation
of the phenomenon of social facilitation. The audience effect notes that in some cases the
presence of a passive audience will facilitate the better performance of a task; while in
other cases the presence of an audience will inhibit the performance of a task.
Drive theory states that due to the unpredictable nature of people, a person performing
a task rarely knows for certain what others are going to do in response. Therefore, there
is a clear evolutionary advantage for an individual's presence to cause us to be in a state
of alert arousal. Increased arousal (stress) can therefore be seen as an instinctive reaction
to social presence.
This arousal creates a "drive" that causes us to enact the behaviors that form our
dominant response for that particular situation. Our dominate response is the most
likely response given our skills at use.
If the dominant response is "correct" (that is to say, if the task we are to perform is
subjectively perceived as being easy), then the social pressure produces an improved
performance. However, if the dominant response is "incorrect" (the task is difficult),
then social presence produces an impaired performance.
Cognitive dissonance theory
Suggested by Leon Festinger, this occurs when an individual experiences some degree
of discomfort resulting from an incompatibility between two cognitions. For example, a
consumer may seek to reassure himself regarding a purchase, feeling, in retrospect, that
another decision may have been preferable.
206
Another example of cognitive dissonance is when a belief and a behavior are in conflict.
A person may wish to be healthy, believes smoking is bad for one's health, and yet
continues to smoke.
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory
ideas simultaneously. The "ideas" or "cognitions" in question may include attitudes and
beliefs, and also the awareness of one's behavior. The theory of cognitive dissonance
proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviors.[1] Cognitive dissonance theory is one of the most influential and
extensively studied theories in social psychology.
Dissonance normally occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency among his
or her cognitions. This happens when one idea implies the opposite of another. For
example, a belief in animal rights could be interpreted as inconsistent with eating meat
or wearing fur. Noticing the contradiction would lead to dissonance, which could be
experienced as anxiety, guilt, shame, anger, embarrassment, stress, and other negative
emotional states. When people's ideas are consistent with each other, they are in a state
of harmony or consonance. If cognitions are unrelated, they are categorized as
irrelevant to each other and do not lead to dissonance.
A powerful cause of dissonance is when an idea conflicts with a fundamental element
of the self-concept, such as "I am a good person" or "I made the right decision." The
anxiety that comes with the possibility of having made a bad decision can lead to
rationalization, the tendency to create additional reasons or justifications to support
one's choices. A person who just spent too much money on a new car might decide that
207
the new vehicle is much less likely to break down than his or her old car. This belief
may or may not be true, but it would likely reduce dissonance and make the person feel
better. Dissonance can also lead to confirmation bias, the denial of disconfirming
evidence, and other ego defense mechanisms.
Example
Smokers tend to experience cognitive dissonance because it is widely accepted that
cigarettes cause lung cancer, yet virtually everyone wants to live a long and healthy life.
In terms of the theory, the desire to live a long life is dissonant with the activity of doing
something that will most likely shorten one's life. The tension produced by these
contradictory ideas can be reduced by quitting smoking, denying the evidence of lung
cancer, or justifying one's smoking.[2] For example, a smoker could rationalize his or her
behavior by concluding that everyone dies and so cigarettes do not actually change
anything. Or a person could believe that smoking keeps one from gaining weight,
which would also be unhealthy.
This case of dissonance could also be interpreted in terms of a threat to the self-concept.
The thought, "I am increasing my risk of lung cancer" is dissonant with the self-related
belief, "I am a smart, reasonable human being." Because it is often easier to make
excuses than it is to change behavior, dissonance theory leads to the conclusion that
humans are rationalizing and not always rational beings.
Theory and research
Most of the research on cognitive dissonance takes the form of "induced compliance
without sufficient justification." In these studies, participants are asked to write an essay
against their beliefs, or to do something unpleasant, without a sufficient justification or
incentive. The vast majority of participants comply with these kinds of requests and
208
subsequently experience dissonance. In another procedure, participants are offered a
gift and asked to choose between two equally desirable items. Because the attractive
characteristics of the rejected item are dissonant with the decision to accept the chosen
item, participants tend to experience "postdecision dissonance."
When Prophecy Fails
An early version of cognitive dissonance theory appeared in Leon Festinger's 1956
book, When Prophecy Fails. This book gave an inside account of belief persistence in
members of a UFO doomsday cult, and documented the increased proselytization they
exhibited after the leader's "end of the world" prophecy failed to come true. The
prediction of the earth's destruction, supposedly sent by aliens to the leader of the
group, became a disconfirmed expectancy that caused dissonance between the
cognitions, "the world is going to end" and "the world did not end." Although some
members abandoned the group when the prophecy failed, most of the members
lessened their dissonance by accepting a new belief, that the planet was spared because
of the faith of the group.
Boring task experiment
In Festinger and Carlsmith's classic 1959 experiment, students were asked to perform
boring and tedious tasks (e.g. turning pegs a quarter turn, over and over again). The
tasks were designed to generate a strong, negative attitude. After an hour of working on
the tasks, participants were asked to persuade another subject (who was actually a
confederate) that the dull, boring tasks the subject had just completed were actually
interesting and engaging. Some participants were paid $20 for the favor, another group
was paid $1, and a control group was not asked to perform the favor.
209
When asked to rate the boring tasks at the conclusion of the study, those in the $1 group
rated them more positively than those in the $20 and control groups. This was
explained by Festinger and Carlsmith as evidence for cognitive dissonance. The
researchers theorized that people experienced dissonance between the conflicting
cognitions, "I told someone that the task was interesting", and "I actually found it
boring." When paid only $1, students were forced to internalize the attitude they were
induced to express, because they had no other justification. Those in the $20 condition,
however, had an obvious external justification for their behavior, and thus experienced
less dissonance.
In subsequent experiments, an alternative method of "inducing dissonance" has become
common. In this research, experimenters use counter-attitudinal essay-writing, in which
people are paid varying amounts of money (e.g. one or ten dollars) for writing essays
expressing opinions contrary to their own. People paid only a small amount of money
have less justification for their inconsistency and tend to experience more dissonance.
Forbidden toy experiment
An experiment by Aronson and Carlsmith examined self-justification in children. In this
experiment, children were left in a room with a variety of toys, including a highly
desirable toy robot. Upon leaving the room, the experimenter told half the children that
there would be a severe punishment if they played with that particular toy and told the
other half that there would be a mild punishment. All of the children in the study
refrained from playing with the toy. Later, when the children were told that they could
freely play with whatever toy they wanted, the ones in the mild punishment condition
were less likely to play with the toy, even though the threat had been removed.
210
This is another example of insufficient justification. The children who were only mildly
threatened had to justify to themselves why they did not play with the toy. The degree
of punishment by itself was not strong enough, so the children had to convince
themselves that the toy was not worth playing with in order to resolve their dissonance.
Post decision dissonance
In a different type of experiment conducted by Jack Brehm, 225 female students rated a
series of common appliances and were then allowed to choose one of two appliances to
take home as a gift. A second round of ratings showed that the participants increased
their ratings of the item they chose, and lowered their ratings of the rejected item. This
can be explained in terms of cognitive dissonance. When making a difficult decision,
there are always aspects of the rejected choice that one finds appealing and these
features are dissonant with choosing something else. In other words, the cognition, "I
chose X" is dissonant with the cognition, "There are some things I like about Y." More
recent research has found similar results in four-year-old children and capuchin
monkeys.
Challenges and qualifications
Daryl Bem was an early critic of the theory of cognitive dissonance. He proposed selfperception theory as a more parsimonious alternative explanation of the experimental
results. According to Bem, people do not think much about their attitudes, let alone
whether they are in conflict. Bem interpreted people in the Festinger and Carlsmith
study as inferring their attitudes from their behavior. Thus, when asked "Did you find
the task interesting?" they decided that they must have found it interesting because that
is what they told someone. Bem suggested that people paid $20 had a salient, external
incentive for their behavior and were likely to perceive the money as their reason for
211
saying the task was interesting, rather than concluding that they actually found it
interesting.
In many experimental situations, Bem's theory and Festinger's theory make identical
predictions, but only dissonance theory predicts the presence of unpleasant tension or
arousal. Lab experiments have verified the presence of arousal in dissonance
situations.[11][12] This provides support for cognitive dissonance theory and makes it
unlikely that self-perception by itself can account for all the laboratory findings.
In 1969, Elliot Aronson reformulated the basic theory by linking it to the self-concept.
According to this new interpretation, cognitive dissonance does not arise because
people experience dissonance between conflicting cognitions. Instead, it occurs when
people see their actions as conflicting with their normally positive view of themselves.
Thus, in the original Festinger and Carlsmith study, Aronson stated that the dissonance
was between the cognition, "I am an honest person" and the cognition, "I lied to
someone about finding the task interesting." Other psychologists have argued that
maintaining cognitive consistency is a way to protect public self-image, rather than
private self-concept. During the 1980s, Cooper and Fazio argued that dissonance was
caused by aversive consequences, rather than inconsistency. According to this
interpretation, the fact that lying is wrong and hurtful, not the inconsistency between
cognitions, is what makes people feel bad. Subsequent research, however, found that
people experience dissonance even when they do not do anything wrong.
212
ABRAHAM MASLOW {1908-1970}
Abraham Harold Maslow was born April 1, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the
first of seven children born to his parents, who themselves were uneducated Jewish
immigrants from Russia. His parents, hoping for the best for their children in the new
world, pushed him hard for academic success. Not surprisingly, he became very lonely
as a boy, and found his refuge in books.
To satisfy his parents, he first studied law at the City College of New York (CCNY).
After three semesters, he transferred to Cornell, and then back to CCNY. He married
Bertha Goodman, his first cousin, against his parents wishes. Abe and Bertha went on
to have two daughters.
He and Bertha moved to Wisconsin so that he could attend the University of
Wisconsin. Here, he became interested in psychology, and his school work began to
improve dramatically. He spent time there working with Harry Harlow, who is famous
for his experiments with baby rhesus monkeys and attachment behavior.
He received his BA in 1930, his MA in 1931, and his PhD in 1934, all in psychology, all
from the University of Wisconsin. A year after graduation, he returned to New York to
work with E. L. Thorndike at Columbia, where Maslow became interested in research
on human sexuality.
He began teaching full time at Brooklyn College. During this period of his life, he came
into contact with the many European intellectuals that were immigrating to the US, and
Brooklyn in particular, at that time -- people like Adler, Fromm, Horney, as well as
several Gestalt and Freudian psychologists.
213
Maslow served as the chair of the psychology department at Brandeis from 1951 to
1969. While there he met Kurt Goldstein, who had originated the idea of selfactualization in his famous book, The Organism (1934). It was also here that he began
his crusade for a humanistic psychology -- something ultimately much more important
to him than his own theorizing.
He spend his final years in semi-retirement in California, until, on June 8 1970, he died
of a heart attack after years of ill health.
Theory
One of the many interesting things Maslow noticed while he worked with monkeys
early in his career, was that some needs take precedence over others. For example, if
you are hungry and thirsty, you will tend to try to take care of the thirst first. After all,
you can do without food for weeks, but you can only do without water for a couple of
days! Thirst is a “stronger” need than hunger. Likewise, if you are very very thirsty,
but someone has put a choke hold on you and you can’t breath, which is more
important? The need to breathe, of course. On the other hand, sex is less powerful than
any of these. Let’s face it, you won’t die if you don’t get it!
214
Maslow took this idea and created his now famous hierarchy of needs. Beyond the
details of air, water, food, and sex, he laid out five broader layers: the physiological
needs, the needs for safety and security, the needs for love and belonging, the needs for
esteem, and the need to actualize the self, in that order.
1. The physiological needs. These include the needs we have for oxygen, water,
protein, salt, sugar, calcium, and other minerals and vitamins. They also include the
need to maintain a pH balance (getting too acidic or base will kill you) and temperature
(98.6 or near to it). Also, there’s the needs to be active, to rest, to sleep, to get rid of
wastes (CO2, sweat, urine, and feces), to avoid pain, and to have sex. Quite a
collection!
Maslow believed, and research supports him, that these are in fact individual needs,
and that a lack of, say, vitamin C, will lead to a very specific hunger for things which
have in the past provided that vitamin C -- e.g. orange juice. I guess the cravings that
some pregnant women have, and the way in which babies eat the most foul tasting baby
food, support the idea anecdotally.
2. The safety and security needs. When the physiological needs are largely taken care
of, this second layer of needs comes into play. You will become increasingly interested
in finding safe circumstances, stability, protection. You might develop a need for
structure, for order, some limits.
Looking at it negatively, you become concerned, not with needs like hunger and thirst,
but with your fears and anxieties. In the ordinary American adult, this set of needs
manifest themselves in the form of our urges to have a home in a safe neighborhood, a
little job security and a nest egg, a good retirement plan and a bit of insurance, and so
on.
215
3. The love and belonging needs. When physiological needs and safety needs are, by
and large, taken care of, a third layer starts to show up. You begin to feel the need for
friends, a sweetheart, children, affectionate relationships in general, even a sense of
community. Looked at negatively, you become increasing susceptible to loneliness and
social anxieties.
In our day-to-day life, we exhibit these needs in our desires to marry, have a family, be
a part of a community, a member of a church, a brother in the fraternity, a part of a
gang or a bowling club. It is also a part of what we look for in a career.
4. The esteem needs. Next, we begin to look for a little self-esteem. Maslow noted two
versions of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher one. The lower one is the need for
the respect of others, the need for status, fame, glory, recognition, attention, reputation,
appreciation, dignity, even dominance. The higher form involves the need for selfrespect, including such feelings as confidence, competence, achievement, mastery,
independence, and freedom. Note that this is the “higher” form because, unlike the
respect of others, once you have self-respect, it’s a lot harder to lose!
The negative version of these needs is low self-esteem and inferiority complexes.
Maslow felt that Adler was really onto something when he proposed that these were at
the roots of many, if not most, of our psychological problems. In modern countries,
most of us have what we need in regard to our physiological and safety needs. We,
more often than not, have quite a bit of love and belonging, too. It’s a little respect that
often seems so very hard to get!
All of the preceding four levels he calls deficit needs, or D-needs. If you don’t have
enough of something -- i.e. you have a deficit -- you feel the need. But if you get all you
216
need, you feel nothing at all! In other words, they cease to be motivating. As the old
blues song goes, “you don’t miss your water till your well runs dry!”
He also talks about these levels in terms of homeostasis. Homeostasis is the principle
by which your furnace thermostat operates: When it gets too cold, it switches the heat
on; When it gets too hot, it switches the heat off. In the same way, your body, when it
lacks a certain substance, develops a hunger for it; When it gets enough of it, then the
hunger stops. Maslow simply extends the homeostatic principle to needs, such as
safety, belonging, and esteem, that we don’t ordinarily think of in these terms.
Maslow sees all these needs as essentially survival needs. Even love and esteem are
needed for the maintenance of health. He says we all have these needs built in to us
genetically, like instincts. In fact, he calls them instinctoid -- instinct-like -- needs.
In terms of overall development, we move through these levels a bit like stages. As
newborns, our focus (if not our entire set of needs) is on the physiological. Soon, we
begin to recognize that we need to be safe. Soon after that, we crave attention and
affection. A bit later, we look for self-esteem. Mind you, this is in the first couple of
years!
Under stressful conditions, or when survival is threatened, we can “regress” to a lower
need level. When you great career falls flat, you might seek out a little attention. When
217
your family ups and leaves you, it seems that love is again all you ever wanted. When
you face chapter eleven after a long and happy life, you suddenly can’t think of
anything except money.
These things can occur on a society-wide basis as well: When society suddenly
flounders, people start clamoring for a strong leader to take over and make things
right. When the bombs start falling, they look for safety. When the food stops coming
into the stores, their needs become even more basic.
Maslow suggested that we can ask people for their “philosophy of the future” -- what
would their ideal life or world be like -- and get significant information as to what
needs they do or do not have covered.
If you have significant problems along your development -- a period of extreme
insecurity or hunger as a child, or the loss of a family member through death or divorce,
or significant neglect or abuse -- you may “fixate” on that set of needs for the rest of
your life.
This is Maslow’s understanding of neurosis. Perhaps you went through a war as a kid.
Now you have everything your heart needs -- yet you still find yourself obsessing over
having enough money and keeping the pantry well-stocked. Or perhaps your parents
divorced when you were young. Now you have a wonderful spouse -- yet you get
218
insanely jealous or worry constantly that they are going to leave you because you are
not “good enough” for them. You get the picture.
Self-actualization
The last level is a bit different. Maslow has used a variety of terms to refer to this level:
He has called it growth motivation (in contrast to deficit motivation), being needs (or Bneeds, in contrast to D-needs), and self-actualization.
These are needs that do not involve balance or homeostasis. Once engaged, they
continue to be felt. In fact, they are likely to become stronger as we “feed” them! They
involve the continuous desire to fulfill potentials, to “be all that you can be.” They are a
matter of becoming the most complete, the fullest, “you” -- hence the term, selfactualization.
Now, in keeping with his theory up to this point, if you want to be truly selfactualizing, you need to have your lower needs taken care of, at least to a considerable
extent. This makes sense: If you are hungry, you are scrambling to get food; If you are
unsafe, you have to be continuously on guard; If you are isolated and unloved, you
have to satisfy that need; If you have a low sense of self-esteem, you have to be
defensive or compensate. When lower needs are unmet, you can’t fully devote yourself
to fulfilling your potentials.
It isn’t surprising, then, the world being as difficult as it is, that only a small percentage
of the world’s population is truly, predominantly, self-actualizing. Maslow at one point
suggested only about two percent!
219
The question becomes, of course, what exactly does Maslow mean by self-actualization.
To answer that, we need to look at the kind of people he called self-actualizers.
Fortunately, he did this for us, using a qualitative method called biographical analysis.
He began by picking out a group of people, some historical figures, some people he
knew, whom he felt clearly met the standard of self-actualization. Included in this
august group were Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Eleanor
Roosevelt, Jane Adams, William James, Albert Schweitzer, Benedict Spinoza, and
Alduous Huxley, plus 12 unnamed people who were alive at the time Maslow did his
research. He then looked at their biographies, writings, the acts and words of those he
knew personally, and so on. From these sources, he developed a list of qualities that
seemed characteristic of these people, as opposed to the great mass of us.
These people were reality-centered, which means they could differentiate what is fake
and dishonest from what is real and genuine. They were problem-centered, meaning
they treated life’s difficulties as problems demanding solutions, not as personal troubles
to be railed at or surrendered to. And they had a different perception of means and
ends. They felt that the ends don’t necessarily justify the means, that the means could
be ends themselves, and that the means -- the journey -- was often more important than
the ends.
The self-actualizers also had a different way of relating to others. First, they enjoyed
solitude, and were comfortable being alone.
And they enjoyed deeper personal
relations with a few close friends and family members, rather than more shallow
relationships with many people.
220
They enjoyed autonomy, a relative independence from physical and social needs. And
they resisted enculturation, that is, they were not susceptible to social pressure to be
"well adjusted" or to "fit in" -- they were, in fact, nonconformists in the best sense.
They had an unhostile sense of humor -- preferring to joke at their own expense, or at
the human condition, and never directing their humor at others. They had a quality he
called acceptance of self and others, by which he meant that these people would be
more likely to take you as you are than try to change you into what they thought you
should be. This same acceptance applied to their attitudes towards themselves: If some
quality of theirs wasn’t harmful, they let it be, even enjoying it as a personal quirk. On
the other hand, they were often strongly motivated to change negative qualities in
themselves that could be changed. Along with this comes spontaneity and simplicity:
They preferred being themselves rather than being pretentious or artificial. In fact, for
all their nonconformity, he found that they tended to be conventional on the surface,
just where less self-actualizing nonconformists tend to be the most dramatic.
Further, they had a sense of humility and respect towards others -- something Maslow
also called democratic values -- meaning that they were open to ethnic and individual
variety, even treasuring it. They had a quality Maslow called human kinship or
Gemeinschaftsgefühl -- social interest, compassion, humanity.
And this was
accompanied by a strong ethics, which was spiritual but seldom conventionally
religious in nature.
And these people had a certain freshness of appreciation, an ability to see things, even
ordinary things, with wonder. Along with this comes their ability to be creative,
inventive, and original. And, finally, these people tended to have more peak
experiences than the average person. A peak experience is one that takes you out of
yourself, that makes you feel very tiny, or very large, to some extent one with life or
221
nature or God. It gives you a feeling of being a part of the infinite and the eternal.
These experiences tend to leave their mark on a person, change them for the better, and
many people actively seek them out. They are also called mystical experiences, and are
an important part of many religious and philosophical traditions.
Maslow doesn’t think that self-actualizers are perfect, of course. There were several
flaws or imperfections he discovered along the way as well: First, they often suffered
considerable anxiety and guilt -- but realistic anxiety and guilt, rather than misplaced or
neurotic versions. Some of them were absentminded and overly kind. And finally,
some of them had unexpected moments of ruthlessness, surgical coldness, and loss of
humor.
Two other points he makes about these self-actualizers: Their values were "natural" and
seemed to flow effortlessly from their personalities. And they appeared to transcend
many of the dichotomies others accept as being undeniable, such as the differences
between the spiritual and the physical, the selfish and the unselfish, and the masculine
and the feminine.
CARL ROGERS {1902 – 1987}
Carl Rogers was born January 8, 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, the
fourth of six children. His father was a successful civil engineer and his mother was a
housewife and devout Christian.
His education started in the second grade, because
he could already read before kindergarten.
When Carl was 12, his family moved to a farm about 30 miles west of Chicago, and it
was here that he was to spend his adolescence. With a strict upbringing and many
chores, Carl was to become rather isolated, independent, and self-disciplined.
222
He went on to the University of Wisconsin as an agriculture major. Later, he switched
to religion to study for the ministry. During this time, he was selected as one of ten
students to go to Beijing for the “World Student Christian Federation Conference” for
six months. He tells us that his new experiences so broadened his thinking that he
began to doubt some of his basic religious views.
After graduation, he married Helen Elliot (against his parents’ wishes), moved to New
York City, and began attending the Union Theological Seminary, a famous liberal
religious institution. While there, he took a student organized seminar called “Why am
I entering the ministry?” I might as well tell you that, unless you want to change your
career, never take a class with such a title! He tells us that most of the participants
“thought their way right out of religious work.”
Religion’s loss was, of course, psychology’s gain: Rogers switched to the clinical
psychology program of Columbia University, and received his Ph.D. in 1931. He had
already begun his clinical work at the Rochester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children. At this clinic, he learned about Otto Rank’s theory and therapy techniques,
which started him on the road to developing his own approach.
He was offered a full professorship at Ohio State in 1940. In 1942, he wrote his first
book, Counseling and Psychotherapy. Then, in 1945, he was invited to set up a
counseling center at the University of Chicago. It was while working there that in 1951
he published his major work, Client-Centered Therapy, wherein he outlines his basic
theory.
In 1957, he returned to teach at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsisn.
Unfortunately, it was a time of conflict within their psychology department, and Rogers
became very disillusioned with higher education. In 1964, he was happy to accept a
223
research position in La Jolla, California. He provided therapy, gave speeches, and
wrote, until his death in 1987.
Theory
Roger’s theory is a clinical one, based on years of experience dealing with his clients.
He has this in common with Freud, for example. Also in common with Freud is that his
is a particularly rich and mature theory -- well thought-out and logically tight, with
broad application.
Not in common with Freud, however, is the fact that Rogers sees people as basically
good or healthy -- or at very least, not bad or ill. In other words, he sees mental health
as the normal progression of life, and he sees mental illness, criminality, and other
human problems, as distortions of that natural tendency. Also not in common with
Freud is the fact that Rogers’ theory is a relatively simple one.
Also not in common with Freud is that Rogers’ theory is particularly simple -- elegant
even! The entire theory is built on a single “force of life” he calls the actualizing
tendency. It can be defined as the built-in motivation present in every life-form to
develop its potentials to the fullest extent possible. We’re not just talking about
survival: Rogers believes that all creatures strive to make the very best of their
existence. If they fail to do so, it is not for a lack of desire.
Rogers captures with this single great need or motive all the other motives that other
theorists talk about. He asks us, why do we want air and water and food? Why do we
seek safety, love, and a sense of competence? Why, indeed, do we seek to discover new
medicines, invent new power sources, or create new works of art? Because, he answers,
it is in our nature as living things to do the very best we can!
224
Keep in mind that, unlike Maslow’s use of the term, Rogers applies it to all living
creatures. Some of his earliest examples, in fact, include seaweed and mushrooms!
Think about it: Doesn’t it sometimes amaze you the way weeds will grow through the
sidewalk, or saplings crack boulders, or animals survive desert conditions or the frozen
north?
He also applied the idea to ecosystems, saying that an ecosystem such as a forest, with
all its complexity, has a much greater actualization potential than a simple ecosystem
such as a corn field. If one bug were to become extinct in a forest, there are likely to be
other creatures that will adapt to fill the gap; On the other hand, one bout of “corn
blight” or some such disaster, and you have a dust bowl. The same for us as
individuals: If we live as we should, we will become increasingly complex, like the
forest, and thereby remain flexible in the face of life’s little -- and big -- disasters.
People, however, in the course of actualizing their potentials, created society and
culture. In and of itself, that’s not a problem: We are a social creature, it is our nature.
But when we created culture, it developed a life of its own. Rather than remaining close
to other aspects of our natures, culture can become a force in its own right. And even if,
in the long run, a culture that interferes with our actualization dies out, we, in all
likelihood, will die with it.
Don’t misunderstand: Culture and society are not intrinsically evil! It’s more along the
lines of the birds of paradise found in Papua-New Guinea. The colorful and dramatic
plumage of the males apparently distract predators from females and the young.
Natural selection has led these birds towards more and more elaborate tail feathers,
until in some species the male can no longer get off the ground. At that point, being
colorful doesn’t do the male -- or the species -- much good! In the same way, our
elaborate societies, complex cultures, incredible technologies, for all that they have
225
helped us to survive and prosper, may at the same time serve to harm us, and possibly
even destroy us.
Details
Rogers tells us that organisms know what is good for them. Evolution has provided us
with the senses, the tastes, the discriminations we need: When we hunger, we find food
-- not just any food, but food that tastes good. Food that tastes bad is likely to be
spoiled, rotten, unhealthy. That what good and bad tastes are -- our evolutionary
lessons made clear! This is called organismic valuing.
Among the many things that we instinctively value is positive regard, Rogers umbrella
term for things like love, affection, attention, nurturance, and so on. It is clear that
babies need love and attention. In fact, it may well be that they die without it. They
certainly fail to thrive -- i.e. become all they can be.
Another thing -- perhaps peculiarly human -- that we value is positive self-regard, that
is, self-esteem, self-worth, a positive self-image. We achieve this positive self-regard by
experiencing the positive regard others show us over our years of growing up. Without
this self-regard, we feel small and helpless, and again we fail to become all that we can
be!
Like Maslow, Rogers believes that, if left to their own devices, animals will tend to eat
and drink things that are good for them, and consume them in balanced proportions.
Babies, too, seem to want and like what they need. Somewhere along the line, however,
we have created an environment for ourselves that is significantly different from the
one in which we evolved. In this new environment are such things as refined sugar,
flour, butter, chocolate, and so on, that our ancestors in Africa never knew. These
things have flavors that appeal to our organismic valuing -- yet do not serve our
226
actualization well. Over millions of years, we may evolve to find brocolli more
satisfying than cheesecake -- but by then, it’ll be way too late for you and me.
Our society also leads us astray with conditions of worth. As we grow up, our parents,
teachers, peers, the media, and others, only give us what we need when we show we
are “worthy,” rather than just because we need it. We get a drink when we finish our
class, we get something sweet when we finish our vegetables, and most importantly, we
get love and affection if and only if we “behave!”
Getting positive regard on “on condition” Rogers calls conditional positive regard.
Because we do indeed need positive regard, these conditions are very powerful, and we
bend ourselves into a shape determined, not by our organismic valuing or our
actualizing tendency, but by a society that may or may not truly have our best interests
at heart. A “good little boy or girl” may not be a healthy or happy boy or girl!
Over time, this “conditioning” leads us to have conditional positive self-regard as well.
We begin to like ourselves only if we meet up with the standards others have applied to
us, rather than if we are truly actualizing our potentials. And since these standards
were created without keeping each individual in mind, more often than not we find
ourselves unable to meet them, and therefore unable to maintain any sense of selfesteem.
227
Incongruity
The aspect of your being that is founded in the actualizing tendency, follows organismic
valuing, needs and receives positive regard and self-regard, Rogers calls the real self. It
is the “you” that, if all goes well, you will become.
On the other hand, to the extent that our society is out of synch with the actualizing
tendency, and we are forced to live with conditions of worth that are out of step with
organismic valuing, and receive only conditional positive regard and self-regard, we
develop instead an ideal self. By ideal, Rogers is suggesting something not real,
something that is always out of our reach, the standard we can’t meet.
This gap between the real self and the ideal self, the “I am” and the “I should” is called
incongruity. The greater the gap, the more incongruity. The more incongruity, the
more suffering. In fact, incongruity is essentially what Rogers means by neurosis:
Being out of synch with your own self. If this all sounds familiar to you, it is precisely
the same point made by Karen Horney!
228
Defenses
When you are in a situation where there is an incongruity between your image of
yourself and your immediate experience of yourself (i.e. between the ideal and the real
self), you are in a threatening situation. For example, if you have been taught to feel
unworthy if you do not get A's on all your tests, and yet you aren't really all that great a
student, then situations such as tests are going to bring that incongruity to light -- tests
will be very threatening.
When you are expecting a threatening situation, you will feel anxiety. Anxiety is a
signal indicating that there is trouble ahead, that you should avoid the situation! One
way to avoid the situation, of course, is to pick yourself up and run for the hills. Since
that is not usually an option in life, instead of running physically, we run
psychologically, by using defenses.
Rogers' idea of defenses is very similar to Freud's, except that Rogers considers
everything from a perceptual point-of-view, so that even memories and impulses are
229
thought of as perceptions. Fortunately for us, he has only two defenses: denial and
perceptual distortion.
Denial means very much what it does in Freud's system: You block out the threatening
situation altogether. An example might be the person who never picks up his test or
asks about test results, so he doesn't have to face poor grades (at least for now!). Denial
for Rogers does also include what Freud called repression: If keeping a memory or an
impulse out of your awareness -- refuse to perceive it -- you may be able to avoid
(again, for now!) a threatening situation.
Perceptual distortion is a matter of reinterpreting the situation so that it appears less
threatening. It is very similar to Freud's rationalization. A student that is threatened by
tests and grades may, for example, blame the professor for poor teaching, trick
questions, bad attitude, or whatever. The fact that sometimes professors are poor
teachers, write trick questions, and have bad attitudes only makes the distortion work
better: If it could be true, then maybe it really was true! It can also be much more
obviously perceptual, such as when the person misreads his grade as better than it is.
Unfortunately for the poor neurotic (and, in fact, most of us), every time he or she uses
a defense, they put a greater distance between the real and the ideal. They become ever
more incongruous, and find themselves in more and more threatening situations,
develop greater and greater levels of anxiety, and use more and more defenses.... It
becomes a vicious cycle that the person eventually is unable to get out of, at least on
their own.
Rogers also has a partial explanation for psychosis: Psychosis occurs when a person's
defense are overwhelmed, and their sense of self becomes "shattered" into little
disconnected pieces. His behavior likewise has little consistency to it. We see him as
230
having "psychotic breaks" -- episodes of bizarre behavior. His words may make little
sense. His emotions may be inappropriate. He may lose the ability to differentiate self
and non-self, and become disoriented and passive.
The fully-functioning person
Rogers, like Maslow, is just as interested in describing the healthy person. His term is
"fully-functioning," and involves the following qualities:
1. Openness to experience. This is the opposite of defensiveness. It is the accurate
perception of one's experiences in the world, including one's feelings. It also means
being able to accept reality, again including one's feelings. Feelings are such an
important part of openness because they convey organismic valuing. If you cannot be
open to your feelings, you cannot be open to acualization. The hard part, of course, is
distinguishing real feelings from the anxieties brought on by conditions of worth.
2. Existential living. This is living in the here-and-now. Rogers, as a part of getting in
touch with reality, insists that we not live in the past or the future -- the one is gone, and
the other isn't anything at all, yet! The present is the only reality we have. Mind you,
that doesn't mean we shouldn't remember and learn from our past. Neither does it
mean we shouldn't plan or even day-dream about the future. Just recognize these
things for what they are: memories and dreams, which we are experiencing here in the
present.
3. Organismic trusting. We should allow ourselves to be guided by the organismic
valuing process. We should trust ourselves, do what feels right, what comes natural.
This, as I'm sure you realize, has become a major sticking point in Rogers' theory.
People say, sure, do what comes natural -- if you are a sadist, hurt people; if you are a
masochist, hurt yourself; if the drugs or alcohol make you happy, go for it; if you are
231
depressed, kill yourself.... This certainly doesn't sound like great advice. In fact, many
of the excesses of the sixties and seventies were blamed on this attitude. But keep in
mind that Rogers meant trust your real self, and you can only know what your real self
has to say if you are open to experience and living existentially! In other words,
organismic trusting assumes you are in contact with the acutalizing tendency.
4. Experiential freedom. Rogers felt that it was irrelevant whether or not people really
had free will. We feel very much as if we do. This is not to say, of course, that we are
free to do anything at all: We are surrounded by a deterministic universe, so that, flap
my arms as much as I like, I will not fly like Superman. It means that we feel free when
choices are available to us. Rogers says that the fully-functioning person acknowledges
that feeling of freedom, and takes responsibility for his choices.
5. Creativity. If you feel free and responsible, you will act accordingly, and participate
in the world. A fully-functioning person, in touch with acualization, will feel obliged
by their nature to contribute to the actualization of others, even life itself. This can be
through creativity in the arts or sciences, through social concern and parental love, or
simply by doing one's best at one's job. Creativity as Rogers uses it is very close to
Erikson's generativity.
Therapy
Carl Rogers is best known for his contributions to therapy. His therapy has gone
through a couple of name changes along the way: He originally called it non-directive,
because he felt that the therapist should not lead the client, but rather be there for the
client while the client directs the progress of the therapy. As he became more
experienced, he realized that, as "non-directive" as he was, he still influenced his client
232
by his very "non-directiveness!" In other words, clients look to therapists for guidance,
and will find it even when the therapist is trying not to guide.
So he changed the name to client-centered. He still felt that the client was the one who
should say what is wrong, find ways of improving, and determine the conclusion of
therapy -- his therapy was still very "client-centered" even while he acknowledged the
impact of the therapist. Unfortunately, other therapists felt that this name for his
therapy was a bit of a slap in the face for them: Aren't most therapies "client-centered?"
Nowadays, though the terms non-directive and client-centered are still used, most
people just call it Rogerian therapy. One of the phrases that Rogers used to describe his
therapy is "supportive, not reconstructive," and he uses the analogy of learning to ride a
bicycle to explain: When you help a child to learn to ride a bike, you can't just tell them
how. They have to try it for themselves. And you can't hold them up the whole time
either. There comes a point when you have to let them go. If they fall, they fall, but if
you hang on, they never learn.
It's the same in therapy. If independence (autonomy, freedom with responsibility) is
what you are helping a client to achieve, then they will not achieve it if they remain
dependent on you, the therapist. They need to try their insights on their own, in real
life beyond the therapist's office! An authoritarian approach to therapy may seem to
work marvelously at first, but ultimately it only creates a dependent person.
There is only one technique that Rogerians are known for: reflection. Reflection is the
mirroring of emotional communication: If the client says "I feel like shit!" the therapist
may reflect this back to the client by saying something like "So, life's getting you down,
hey?" By doing this, the therapist is communicating to the client that he is indeed
listening and cares enough to understand.
233
The therapist is also letting the client know what it is the client is communicating.
Often, people in distress say things that they don't mean because it feels good to say
them. For example, a woman once came to me and said "I hate men!" I reflected by
saying "You hate all men?" Well, she said, maybe not all -- she didn't hate her father or
her brother or, for that matter, me. Even with those men she "hated," she discovered
that the great majority of them she didn't feel as strongly as the word hate implies. In
fact, ultimately, she realized that she didn't trust many men, and that she was afraid of
being hurt by them the way she had been by one particular man.
Reflection must be used carefully, however. Many beginning therapists use it without
thinking (or feeling), and just repeat every other phrase that comes out of the client's
mouth. They sound like parrots with psychology degrees! Then they think that the
client doesn't notice, when in fact it has become a stereotype of Rogerian therapy the
same way as sex and mom have become stereotypes of Freudian therapy. Reflection
must come from the heart -- it must be genuine, congruent.
He says these qualities are "necessary and sufficient:" If the therapist shows these three
qualities, the client will improve, even if no other special "techniques" are used. If the
therapist does not show these three qualities, the client's improvement will be minimal,
no matter how many "techniques" are used. Now this is a lot to ask of a therapist!
They're just human, and often enough a bit more "human" (let's say unusual) than
most. Rogers does give in a little, and he adds that the therapist must show these things
in the therapy relationship. In other words, when the therapist leaves the office, he can
be as "human" as anybody.
I happen to agree with Rogers, even though these qualities are quite demanding. Some
of the research does suggest that techniques don't matter nearly as much as the
234
therapist's personality, and that, to some extent at least, therapists are "born" not
"made."
Herzberg’s two-factor theory
Frederick Irving Herzberg (1923 - 2000) was a noted psychologist who became one of
the most influential names in business management. He is most famous for introducing
job enrichment and the Motivator-Hygiene theory. His 1968 publication "One More
Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?" had sold 1.2 million reprints by 1987 and
was the most requested article from the Harvard Business Review. Herzberg attended
City College of New York, but left part way through his studies to enlist in the army. As
a patrol sergeant, he was a firsthand witness of the Dachau concentration camp. He
believed that this experience, as well as the talks he had with other Germans living in
the area was what triggered his interest in motivation. Herzberg graduated from City
College in 1946 and moved to the University of Pittsburgh to undertake post-graduate
studies in science and public health. He earned his PhD in psychology with a
dissertation entitled "Prognostic variables for electroshock therapy". He started his
research on the workplace while teaching as a professor of psychology at Case Western
Reserve University in Cleveland and later moved to the University of Utah where he
held the position of professor of management in the college of business.
Two factor theory
Herzberg proposed the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, also known as the Two factor
theory (1959) of job satisfaction. According to his theory, people are influenced by two
factors:
235
Motivator Factors
•
Achievement
•
Recognition
•
Work Itself
•
Responsibility
•
Promotion
•
Growth
Hygiene Factors
•
Pay and Benefits
•
Company Policy and Administration
•
Relationships with co-workers
•
Physical Environment
•
Supervision
•
Status
•
Job Security
•
Salary
1. People are made dissatisfied by a bad environment, but they are seldom made
satisfied by a good environment.
2. The prevention of dissatisfaction is just as important as encouragement of
motivator satisfaction.
3. Hygiene factors operate independently of motivation factors. An individual can
be highly motivated in his work and be dissatisfied with his work environment.
4. All hygiene factors are equally important, although their frequency of occurrence
differs considerably.
236
5. Hygiene improvements have short-term effects. Any improvements result in a
short-term removal of, or prevention of, dissatisfaction.
6. Hygiene needs are cyclical in nature and come back to a starting point. This leads
to the "What have you done for me lately?" syndrome.
7. Hygiene needs have an escalating zero point and no final answer
Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory, aka intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, concludes
that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, but if absent, lead to
dissatisfaction.
He distinguished between:
•
Motivators; (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give
positive satisfaction, and
•
Hygiene factors; (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) that do not
motivate if present, but, if absent, result in demotivation.
The name Hygiene factors is used because, like hygiene, the presence will not make you
healthier, but absence can cause health deterioration.
The theory is sometimes called the "Motivator-Hygiene Theory."
Alderfer’s ERG theory
Clayton Alderfer, expanding on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, created the ERG theory
(existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are
placed in the existence category, while love and self esteem needs are placed in the
relatedness category. The growth category contains our self-actualization and selfesteem needs.
237
Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a general theory of human motivation and is
concerned with the choices people make with their own free will and full sense of
choice, without any external influence and interference. For example, a self-determined
person chooses to behave in a manner that reflects his autonomy and his behavior is not
to achieve an external reward or escape aversive stimuli in the environment. In simple
terms, SDT focuses on the degree to which an individual’s behavior is self-endorsed
and self-determined (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
In 1970s, research on SDT evolved from studies comparing the intrinsic and extrinsic
motives, and the dominant role extrinsic motivation played in an individual’s behavior
(e.g. Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973) but it was not until mid 1980s that SDT was
formally introduced and accepted as a sound empirical theory (Deci & Ryan, 2008).
Research applying SDT to different areas in social psychology has increased
considerably during the last decade.
Key studies that led to emergence of SDT included research on intrinsic motivation (e.g.
Deci, 1971). Intrinsic motivation refers to initiating an activity for its own sake because it
is interesting and satisfying in itself, as opposed to doing an activity to obtain an
external goal (extrinsic motivation). Different types of motivations have been described
based on the degree they have been internalized. Internalization refers to active attempt
to transform an extrinsic motive into personally endorsed values and thus assimilate
behavioral regulations that were originally external (Ryan, 1995). Based on the degree of
control exerted by external factors, levels of extrinsic motivation can be aligned along a
continuum (Ryan & Deci, 2000). On the low-end of the continuum is external
238
regulation, which refers to doing something for the sole purpose of achieving a reward
or avoiding a punishment, followed by introjected regulation. Introjected regulation
refers to partial internalization of extrinsic motives. Next is identified regulation, which
refers to doing an activity because the individual identifies with the values and accepts
it as his own. Therefore, identified regulation is autonomous and not merely controlled
by external factors. Finally, integrated regulation refers to identification with the values
and meanings of the activity to the extent that it becomes fully internalized and
autonomous (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Deci and Ryan later expanded on the early work differentiating between intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation and proposed three main intrinsic needs (Deci & Ryan, 1991, 1995)
involved in self-determination. According to Deci and Ryan, the three psychological
needs motivate the self to initiate behavior and specify nutriments that are essential for
psychological health and well-being of an individual. These needs are said to be
universal, innate and psychological and include the need for competence, need for
autonomy and the need for relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
1.
Need for competence: refers to the need to experience oneself as capable and
competent in controlling the environment and being able to reliably predict outcomes.
2.
Need for autonomy (or self-determination): refers to the need to actively
participate in determining own behavior. It includes the need to experience one’s
actions as result of autonomous choice without external interference.
3.
Need for relatedness: refers to need to care for and be related to others. It
includes the need to experience authentic relatedness from others and to experience
satisfaction in participation and involvement with the social world (Deci & Ryan).
239
Key Studies
Deci (1971) investigated the effects of external rewards on intrinsic motivation in two
laboratory and one field experiment. Based on the results from earlier animal and
human studies regarding intrinsic motivation the author explored two possibilities. In
the first two experiments he looked at the effect of extrinsic rewards in terms of a
decrease in intrinsic motivation to perform a task. Earlier studies showed contradictory
or inconclusive findings regarding decrease in performance on a task following an
external reward. The third experiment was based on findings of developmental
learning theorists and looked at whether a different type of reward enhances intrinsic
motivation to participate in an activity. Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that if an
individual is intrinsically motivated to perform an activity, introduction of an extrinsic
reward decreases the degree of intrinsic motivation to perform the task. Twenty-four
undergraduate psychology students participated in the first laboratory experiment. The
participants were assigned to experimental (N=12) and control group (N = 12). Each
group participated in 3 sessions conducted on three different days. During the sessions
the participants were engaged in working on a puzzle which was assumed to be an
activity that college students would be intrinsically motivated to do. The puzzle could
be put together to form numerous different configurations. In each session, the
participants were shown 4 different configurations drawn on a piece of paper and were
asked to use the puzzle to reproduce the configurations while they were being timed.
The experimental condition was identical to control, except for the second session
where the participants in the experimental condition were given a dollar for completing
each puzzle within time. The first and third session was identical and no money was
provided to any group for task completion. During the middle of each session, the
experimenter left the room for eight minutes and the participants were told that they
were free to do whatever they wanted during that time. Thus, the participants were free
240
to read magazines present in the room, work on the puzzle or do whatever they liked
during the 8 minute interval while the experimenter observed during that period. The
amount of time spent working on the puzzle during the free choice period was used to
measure motivation. Also, at the end of the experiment, they were asked to rate if they
found the experiment interesting or not. As Deci expected, when external reward was
introduced during session two, the participants spent more time working on the
puzzles during the free choice period in comparison to session 1 and when the external
reward was removed in the third session, the time spent working on the puzzle
dropped lower than the first session. All subjects reported finding the task interesting
and enjoyable at the end of each session, providing evidence for the experimenter’s
assumption that the task was intrinsically motivating for the college students. The study
showed some support of the experimenter’s hypothesis and a trend towards decrease in
intrinsic motivation was seen after money was provided to the participants as external
reward.
The field experiment (Experiment II) was similar to laboratory Experiment I, but was
conducted in a natural setting. Eight student workers were observed at college biweekly
newspaper. Four of the students served as a control group and worked on Friday
publication of the newspaper, where as the experimental group comprised of students
who worked on Tuesdays. The control and experimental group students were not
aware that they were being observed. The 10 week observation was divided into 3 time
periods. The task in this study required the students to write headlines for the
newspaper. Time I and Time II were identical for both groups. However, the students in
experimental group were given 50 cents for each headline they wrote during Time II. At
the end of Time II, they were told that in the future the newspaper cannot pay them 50
cent for each headline anymore as the newspaper ran out of the money allocated for
that and they were not paid for the headlines during Time III. The speed of task
241
completion (headlines) was used as a measure of motivation in this experiment.
Absences were used as a measure of attitudes. In order to assess the stability of the
observed effect, the experimenter observed the students again (Time IV) for two weeks.
There was a gap of 5 weeks between Time III and Time IV. Due to absences and change
in assignment etc., motivation data was not available for all students. The results of this
experiment were similar to Experiment I and monetary reward was found to decrease
the intrinsic motivation of the students, thus providing some support to the hypothesis
proposed by Deci.
Experiment III was conducted in laboratory and was identical to Experiment I in all
respects except for the kind of external reward provided to the students in experimental
condition during Session 2. In this experiment, verbal praise was used as an extrinsic
reward. The experimenter hypothesized that a different type of reward, i.e. social
approval in form of verbal reinforcement and positive feedback for performing the task
that a person is intrinsically motivated to perform will enhance the degree of internal
motivation even after the extrinsic reward is removed. The results of the experiment III
confirmed the hypothesis and the students’ performance increased significantly during
the third session (when verbal praise and positive feedback was provided as an external
reward) in comparison to the session one, showing that verbal praise and positive
feedback enhances performance in tasks that a person is initially intrinsically motivated
to perform, providing an evidence that verbal praise as external reward increases
intrinsic motivation. The author explained differences between the two types of external
rewards as having different effects on intrinsic motivation. When a person is
intrinsically motivated to perform a task and money is introduced to work on the task,
the individual cognitively re-evaluates the importance of the task and the intrinsic
motivation to perform the task (because the individual finds it interesting) shifts to
extrinsic motivation and the primary focus changes from enjoying the task to gaining
242
financial reward. However, when verbal praise is provided in a similar situation
increases intrinsic motivation as it is not evaluated to be controlled by external factors
and the person sees the task as an enjoyable task that is performed autonomously. The
increase in intrinsic motivation is explained by positive reinforcement and an increase
in perceived locus of control to perform the task.
Pritchard, Campbell and Campbell (1975) conducted a similar study to evaluate Deci’s
hypothesis regarding the role of extrinsic rewards on decreasing intrinsic motivation.
Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. A chess-problem task was used in
this study. Data was collected in two sessions. During the first session, after the
experiment went briefed the participants regarding the chess-problem task, the
participants answered a background questionnaire that included questions on the
amount of time the participant played chess during the week, the number of years that
the participant has been playing chess for, amount of enjoyment the participant gets
from playing the game, etc. The participants in both groups were then told that the
experimenter needed to enter the information in the computer and for the next ten
minutes the participant were free to do whatever they liked. The experimenter left the
room for ten minutes. The room had similar chess-problem tasks on the table, some
magazines as well as coffee was made available for the participants if they chose to
have it. The time spent on the chess-problem task was observed through a one way
mirror by the experimenter during the ten minutes break and was used as a measure of
intrinsic motivation. After the experimenter returned, group 1 was told that there was a
monetary reward for the participant who could work on the most chess problems in the
given time. Group 2 was not offered a monetary reward. Group 1 was also told that the
reward is for this session only and would not be offered during the next session. The
two groups were then given packets containing the task to work on. The second session
was the same for the two groups. After a filler task, the experimenter left the room for
243
10 minutes and the time participants spent on the chess-problem task was observed.
Group 1 was reminded that there was no reward for the task this time. Both groups
worked on the task after the experimenter returned and the participants worked on the
chess-problem task. After both sessions the participants were required to respond to
questionnaires evaluating the task, i.e. to what degree did they find the task interesting.
Both groups reported that they found the task interesting. The results of the study
showed that the paid group showed a significant decrease in time spent on chessproblem task during 10 minute free time from session 1 to session 2 in comparison to
the group that was not paid, thus confirming the hypothesis presented by Deci (1971)
that contingent monetary reward for an activity decreases the intrinsic motivation to
perform that activity. Other studies were conducted around this time focusing at other
types or rewards as well as other external factors that play a role in decreasing intrinsic
motivation (e.g. Amabile, DeJong, & Lepper, 1976; Lepper & Greene, 1975).
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) looks at how contextual factors effect intrinsic
motivation. The theory maintains that basic psychological needs for autonomy and
competency are major factors in intrinsic motivation and the degree to which contextual
factors (rewards, punishments, deadlines etc.) effect intrinsic motivation depends on
whether these contextual factors support or thwart attainment of the basic
psychological needs. Specifically, cognitive evaluation theory proposes that external
events have two kinds of effects on intrinsic motivation. Deci & Ryan (2002) described
Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC) and Perception of Competence as the two primary
cognitive aspects of contextual events that affect intrinsic motivation. The Perceived
Locus of Causality is strongly impacted by the need for autonomy. Intrinsic motivation
is said to be undermined when a contextual event prompts a change towards a more
244
external locus of causality (E-PLOC). Conversely, when an events a prompt towards
Internal Locus of Causality (I-PLOC), intrinsic motivation is enhanced (Deci & Ryan).
The second cognitive process, perceived competence is strongly related to the need for
competence. When a contextual event increases the perceived self competence, it
enhances the individual’s intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan).
CET also differentiates between the controlling and informational aspects of contextual
event or environment (Deci & Ryan, 2002). The controlling aspect refers to factors in the
social environment that exert pressure towards specified outcomes, thus producing a
shift towards a more external perceived locus of causality; whereas the informational
aspect refers to informational events and communications that provide feedback
regarding an individual’s performance and thus plays an important role in an
individual’s experience of competent engagement in an activity (Deci & Ryan).
Organism Integration Theory
It has been generally presumed that extrinsic motivation is nonautonomous. However,
Deci and Ryan (2002) propose that it is possible for an individual to be autonomously
extrinsically motivated and the research on Organismic Integration Theory (OIT)
proposes that activities endorsed by significant others, social group etc. that an
individual is not intrinsically motivated to perform are internalized and integrated with
sense of self. The degree to which the internalization and integration takes place
determines the level of autonomy in extrinsically motivated behavior. OIT
conceptualizes internalization along a continuum. Thus, the more an event or activity is
internalized or integrated with sense of self, the more the experienced sense of
autonomy in engaging in the event or activity (Deci & Ryan). Based on the level of
internalization or internal regulation, extrinsic motivation has been divided into
245
different types (external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation),
previously discussed in this article.
Causality Orientation Theory
Causality Orientation Theory looks at the role of individual differences in motivational
orientations (Deci & Ryan, 2002). The individual differences in motivational orientations
are shaped by an individual’s experiences with social context and inner resources
developed as a result of these interactions. Causality Orientation focuses on the inner
resources and the role they play in the current social context (Deci & Ryan). Deci &
Ryan (1985) developed General Causality Orientation Scale (GCOS) which measures 3
types of motivational orientations based on the degree of self-determination involved
when an individual engages in an experience or activity. These 3 types of motivational
orientations are autonomy, controlled and impersonal orientations. All three types exist
in all individuals, but the degree to which a person possesses each while engaging in a
social context varies and these variations are relatively permanent. (GCOS is available
at )
•
Autonomy Orientation refers to regulation of behavior based on interest and self-
endorsed values. Autonomy orientation indicates an individual’s general tendencies
towards intrinsic and well-integrated extrinsic motives (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
•
Controlled Orientation refers to regulation of behavior based on controls and
directives regarding how a person should behave. Deci and Ryan relate controlled
orientation to external and introjected regulation.
•
Impersonal Orientation relates to amotivation and lack of intentional action (Deci
& Ryan). It refers to unintentional behavior that lacks any motive.
246
Basic Needs Theory
Basic needs theory presents the concept of basic psychological needs (autonomy,
competence and relatedness) and the role played by these needs in healthy
development and functioning of an individual. Deci and Ryan (2002) describe
autonomy, competence and relatedness as the fundamental nutriments for healthy
development and well-being of an individual. An individual will develop and function
in a healthy manner based on the extent these needs are satisfied or thwarted (Deci &
Ryan).
New Developments
In recent years, expansion and development of various SDT concepts continue.
Principles of SDT have been applied in many domains of life, e.g., job demands (Fernet,
Guay, Senecal, 2004); parenting (e.g. Soenens, Vansteenkiste, Lens, Luyckx, Beyers,
Goossens & Ryan, R. M. (2007); teaching (Roth, Assor, Kanat-Maymon & Kaplan, 2007)
and health (e.g. Kennedy & Nollen, 2004) etc. Besides the domains mentioned above,
self-determination theory research has been widely applied to the field of sports (e.g.
Fortier, Sweet, O’Sullivan, & Williams, 2007). A recent study by Spanish researchers,
Murcia, Roman, Galindo, Alonso and Gonzalez-Cutre (2008) looked at the influence of
peers on enjoyment in exercise. Specifically, the researchers looked at the effect of
motivational climate generated by peers on exercisers by analyzing data collected
through questionnaires and rating scales. The assessment included evaluation of
motivational climate, basic psychological needs satisfaction, levels of self determination
and self-regulation (amotivation, external, introjected, identified and intrinsic
regulation) and also the assessment of the level of satisfaction and enjoyment in
exercising. Data analysis revealed that a climate, in which the peers are supportive and
peers emphasize on cooperation, effort and personal improvement (task climate)
247
influences variables like basic psychological needs, motivation and enjoyment, as well
as adherence to exercise and sport programmes. The task climate positively predicted
the three basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and thus
positively predicted self-determined motivation. Task climate and the resulting selfdetermination were also found to positively influence level of enjoyment the exercisers
experienced during the activity (Murcia, Roman, Galindo, Alonso & Gonzalez-Cutre).
Besides application of SDT to different fields, some of the topics in the contemporary
research include research on mindfulness as it relates to autonomous functioning and
the concept of vitality in self-regulation (Deci & Ryan, 2008).
Awareness has always been associated with autonomous functioning; however it was
only recently that the SDT researchers incorporated the idea of mindfulness and its
relationship with autonomous functioning and emotional wellbeing in their research
(Brown & Ryan, 2003). Brown and Ryan conducted a series of 5 experiments to study
mindfulness. They defined mindfulness as open, undivided attention to what is
happening within as well as around oneself. One of the experiments (Experiment 4)
specifically looked at the relationship between mindfulness, level of autonomy and
wellbeing. For Experiment 4, 74 adult participants were recruited via newspaper ads
from the community and 92 additional participants were recruited from introductory
psychology classes. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) was administered to
evaluate trait mindfulness. Participants were paged three times a day and they recorded
what they were doing at the time they received the page for 21 consecutive days.
Participants also completed a modified version of MAAS (consisted of five items to
assess state mindfulness) and a short adjective checklist to assess affect valence.
Baseline measures were previously taken. Participants also recorded the time lag
between getting the page and filling out the forms. Pager notification occurred during
three periods of the day and the contact times, which were randomly generated, were
248
no closer together than two hours. The forms were returned daily and if deviations
from the procedure were found, clarification was provided. Brown and Ryan found that
trait mindfulness predicted more autonomous day-to-day activity and lower levels of
unpleasant affect. Trait MAAS failed to predict pleasant affect for the daily moment-tomoment samples. Higher levels of autonomy, more intense and frequent pleasant affect,
and less intense and less frequent unpleasant affect were associated with state
mindfulness. State and trait mindfulness were found to be independent of one another.
The authors concluded that when individuals act mindfully, their actions are consistent
with their values and interest. Also, there is a possibility that being autonomous and
performing an action because it is enjoyable to oneself increases mindful attention to
one’s actions. The relationship found between mindfulness, self-regulation of behavior
and psychological well-being of an individual suggests a new avenue for future
research on SDT (Brown & Ryan).
Another area of interest for SDT researchers is relationship between vitality and selfregulation (see Ryan & Deci, 2008 for a detailed overview). Deci and Ryan (2008) define
vitality as energy available to the self either directly or indirectly from basic
psychological needs. This energy allows individuals to act autonomously. Deci and
Ryan point out that many theorists have posited that self regulation depletes energy but
SDT researchers have proposed and demonstrated that only controlled regulation
depletes energy, autonomous regulation can be actually be vitalizing (e.g., Moller, Deci,
& Ryan, 2006).
Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the
importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's
hierarchical theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward
growth and development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include
249
any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from
the environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are
autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.
Broad Theories
The latest approach in Achievement Motivation is an integrative perspective as lined
out in the "Onion-Ring-Model of Achievement Motivation" by Heinz Schuler, George C.
Thornton III, Andreas Frintrup and Rose Mueller-Hanson. It is based on the premise
that performance motivation results from way broad components of personality are
directed towards performance. As a result, it includes a range of dimensions that are
relevant to success at work but which are not conventionally regarded as being part of
performance motivation. Especially it integrates formerly separated approaches as
Need for Achievement with e.g. social motives like Dominance. The Achievement
Motivation Inventory AMI (Schuler, Thornton, Frintrup & Mueller-Hanson, 2003) is
based on this theory and assesses three factors (17 separated scales) relevant to
vocational and professional success.
Cognitive theories
Goal theory
Goal Theory is the label used in educational psychology to discuss research into
motivation to learn. Goals of learning are thought to be a key factor influencing the
level of a student's intrinsic motivation. Main axes of Goal Theory
Research in goal theory has identified the following dichotomies:
250
Mastery/Performance
Mastery orientation is described as a student's wish to become proficient in a topic to
the best of his or her ability. The student's sense of satisfaction with the work is not
influenced by external performance indicators such as grades. Mastery orientation is
associated with deeper engagement with the task and greater perseverance in the face
of setbacks.Ames (1992)
Mastery orientation is thought to increase a student's intrinsic motivation.
Performance orientation is described as a student's wish to achieve highly on external
indicators of success, such as grades. The students' sense of satisfaction is highly
influenced by their grades, and so it is associated with discouragement in the face of
low marks. Performance orientation is also associated with higher states of anxiety. In
addition, the desire for high marks increases the temptation to cheat or to engage in
shallow rote-learning instead of deep understanding.
Performance orientation is thought to increase a student's intrinsic motivation if they
perform well, but to decrease motivation when they perform badly.
Task/ego involvement
A student is described as task-involved when he is interested in the task for its own
qualities. This is associated with higher intrinsic motivation. Task-involved students are
less threatened by failure because their own ego is not tied up in the success of the task.
Nicholls (1990)
A student who is ego-involved will be seeking to perform the task to boost their own
ego, for the praise that completing the task might attract, or because completing the task
251
confirms their own self-concept (eg. clever, strong, funny etc...) Ego-involved students
can become very anxious or discouraged in the face of failure, because such failure
challenges their self-concept.
Approach/avoidance goals
Not all goals are directed towards approaching a desirable outcome (good grades).
Goals can also be directed towards avoiding an undesirable outcome (being grounded
for failure).Elliot (1997)
It is thought that approach goals contribute positively to intrinsic motivation whereas
avoidance goals do not.
Other developments
Other researchers have adopted a more complex perspective on goals, arguing that
there are many different kinds of goals individuals can have in achievement settings.
For instance, Ford and Nichols (1987) extended this point of view into within-person
goals and person-environment goals, which lays equal significance on learners per se
and learning environment.
Nevertheless, all the theories are devoted to studying the types of goals as well as their
impact on multiple facets of learning. In other words, research that takes goals as a
dependent variable remains scarce. Such a strategy to take goals for granted could be
defended on the grounds that one cannot deal with all aspects of so complex an issue
and that the theorists possibly feel the question of how goals originate was not relevant
to the models they developed. What I am arguing is leaving the ontogenesis of things
aside will mask the true reason how everything that follows comes into being.
252
On the other hand, young children are frequently ignored within this area, based on the
assumption that they might not have a clear pattern of setting a goal or they even do
not own a goal when starting a task. Klahr (1985) argued that although there are large
adult-child differences in overall problem-solving performance, even preschoolers have
rudimentary forms of strategies such as means-ends analysis that rely on the use of
goals. Thus, expanding the subject selection range and focusing on the process of goalsetting are expected to be the two main tasks in future research direction.
Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to
reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's
efficiency is affected by three features: proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal
goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and
the end state is close. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how
to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too
easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want
a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time
people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed.
Specificity concerns the description of the goal in their class. The goal should be
objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly
specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how
much effort they need to reach that goal.
Douglas Vermeeren, has done extensive research into why many people fail to get to
their goals. The failure is directly attributed to motivating factors. Vermeeren states that
unless an individual can clearly identify their motivating factor or their significant and
meaningful reasons why they wish to attain the goal, they will never have the power to
attain it.
253
Unconscious motivation
Some psychologists believe that a significant portion of human behavior is energized
and directed by unconscious motives. According to Maslow, "Psychoanalysis has often
demonstrated that the relationship between a conscious desire and the ultimate
unconscious aim that underlies it need not be at all direct " In other words, stated
motives do not always match those inferred by skilled observers. For example, it is
possible that a person can be accident-prone because he has an unconscious desire to
hurt himself and not because he is careless or ignorant of the safety rules. Similarly,
some overweight people are not hungry at all for food but for attention and love. Eating
is merely a defensive reaction to lack of attention. Some workers damage more
equipment than others do because they harbor unconscious feelings of aggression
toward authority figures.
Psychotherapists point out that some behavior is so automatic that the reasons for it are
not available in the individual's conscious mind. Compulsive cigarette smoking is an
example. Sometimes maintaining self-esteem is so important and the motive for an
activity is so threatening that it is simply not recognized and, in fact, may be disguised
or repressed. Rationalization, or "explaining away", is one such disguise, or defense
mechanism, as it is called. Another is projecting or attributing one's own faults to
others. "I feel I am to blame", becomes "It is her fault; she is selfish". Repression of
powerful but socially unacceptable motives may result in outward behavior that is the
opposite of the repressed tendencies. An example of this would be the employee who
hates his boss but overworks himself on the job to show that he holds him in high
regard.
Unconscious motives add to the hazards of interpreting human behavior and, to the
extent that they are present, complicate the life of the administrator. On the other hand,
254
knowledge that unconscious motives exist can lead to a more careful assessment of
behavioral problems. Although few contemporary psychologists deny the existence of
unconscious factors, many do believe that these are activated only in times of anxiety
and stress, and that in the ordinary course of events, human behavior — from the
subject's point of view — is rationally purposeful.
Controlling motivation
The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many
different approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered
pseudoscientific by critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary
to understand why many people lack motivation.
Pseudoscience
A typical 19th century phrenology chart. Phrenologists claimed to predict personality
traits from reading "bumps" in the head. Phrenology was first called a pseudoscience in
1843 and continues to be widely considered pseudoscience.
Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that
is claimed to be scientific or made to appear scientific, but does not adhere to the
scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific
status. Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge"). An early recorded use was in 1843 by
French physiologist François Magendie, who is considered a pioneer in experimental
physiology.
As it is taught in certain introductory science classes, pseudoscience is any subject that
appears superficially to be scientific or whose proponents state is scientific but
nevertheless contravenes the testability requirement, or substantially deviates from
255
other fundamental aspects of the scientific method. Professor Paul DeHart Hurd argued
that a large part of gaining scientific literacy is "being able to distinguish science from
pseudo-science such as astrology, quackery, the occult, and superstition". Certain
introductory survey classes in science take careful pains to delineate the objections
scientists and skeptics have to practices that make direct claims contradicted by the
scientific discipline in question. Beyond the initial introductory analyses offered in
science classes, there is some epistemological disagreement about the extent to which it
is possible to distinguish "science" from "pseudoscience" in a reliable and objective way.
The term itself has negative connotations, because it is used to indicate that subjects so
labeled are inaccurately or deceptively portrayed as science. Accordingly, those labeled
as practicing or advocating a "pseudoscience" normally reject this classification.
Pseudosciences have been characterised by the use of vague, exaggerated or untestable
claims, over-reliance on confirmation rather than refutation, lack of openness to testing
by other experts, and a lack of progress in theory development.
According to philosopher of mathematics and science Imre Lakatos, "the problem of
demarcation between science and pseudoscience has grave implications also for the
institutionalization of criticism." In the Soviet Union the Communist Party declared
Mendelian genetics pseudoscientific and had its advocates, like geneticist and
Academician Nikolai Vavilov, sent to the Gulag camps. Mendelian genetics was later
rehabilitated, after Vavilov died in prison. The Party's right to demarcate science from
pseudoscience was however upheld. Lakatos also claimed that "The new liberal
Establishment of the West also exercises the right to deny freedom of speech to what it
regards as pseudoscience, as we have seen in the case of the debate concerning race and
intelligence According to Lakatos the "typical descriptive unit of great scientific
256
achievements is not an isolated hypothesis but "a powerful problem-solving machinery,
which digests anomalies and even turns them into positive evidence." Background
The standards for determining whether a body of knowledge, methodology, or practice
is scientific can vary from field to field. There are, however, a number of basic principles
that are widely agreed upon by scientists, such as reproducibility and intersubjective
verifiability. Such principles aim to ensure that relevant evidence can be reproduced
and/or measured given the same conditions, which allows further investigation to
determine whether a hypothesis or theory related to given phenomena is both valid and
reliable for use by others, including other scientists and researchers. It is expected that
the scientific method will be applied throughout, and that bias will be controlled or
eliminated, by double-blind studies, or statistically through fair sampling procedures.
All gathered data, including experimental/environmental conditions, are expected to be
documented for scrutiny and made available for peer review, thereby allowing further
experiments or studies to be conducted to confirm or falsify results, as well as to
determine other important factors such as statistical significance, confidence intervals,
and margins of error. In the mid-20th Century Karl Popper suggested the criterion of
falsifiability to distinguish science from non-science. Statements such as "God created
the universe" may be true or false, but no tests can be devised that could prove them
false, so they are not scientific; they lie outside the scope of science. Popper subdivided
non-science
into
philosophical,
mathematical,
mythological,
religious
and/or
metaphysical formulations on the one hand, and pseudoscientific formulations on the
other—though without providing clear criteria for the differences. He gave astrology
and psychoanalysis as examples of pseudoscience, and Einstein's theory of relativity as
an example of science. More recently, Paul Thagard (1978) proposed that pseudoscience
is primarily distinguishable from science when it is less progressive than alternative
theories over a long period of time, and the failure of proponents to acknowledge or
257
address problems with the theory.[18] Mario Bunge has suggested the categories of
"belief fields" and "research fields" to help distinguish between science and
pseudoscience. Philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend has argued, from a sociology of
knowledge perspective, that a distinction between science and non-science is neither
possible nor desirable. Among the issues which can make the distinction difficult are
that both the theories and methodologies of science evolve at differing rates in response
to new data. In addition, the specific standards applicable to one field of science may
not be those employed in other fields. Thagard also writes from a sociological
perspective and states that "elucidation of how science differs from pseudoscience is the
philosophical side of an attempt to overcome public neglect of genuine science."
Skeptics, most prominently represented by Richard Dawkins, Mario Bunge, Carl Sagan
and James Randi, and the Brights movement consider all forms of pseudoscience to be
harmful, whether or not they result in immediate harm to their adherents. These critics
generally consider that the practice of pseudoscience may occur for a number of
reasons, ranging from simple naïveté about the nature of science and the scientific
method, to deliberate deception for financial or political gain. At the extreme, issues of
personal health and safety may be very directly involved, for example in the case of
physical or mental therapy or treatment, or in assessing safety risks. In such instances
the potential for direct harm to patients, clients, the general public, or the environment
may be an issue in assessing pseudoscience. (See also Junk science.)
The concept of pseudoscience as antagonistic to bona fide science appears to have
emerged in the mid-19th century. Among the first recorded uses of the word "pseudoscience" was in 1844 in the Northern Journal of Medicine, I 387: "That opposite kind of
innovation which pronounces what has been recognized as a branch of science, to have
258
been a pseudo-science, composed merely of so-called facts, connected together by
misapprehensions under the disguise of principles".
Identifying pseudoscience
A field, practice, or body of knowledge might reasonably be called pseudoscientific
when (1) it is presented as consistent with the accepted norms of scientific research; but
(2) it demonstrably fails to meet these norms, most importantly, in misuse of scientific
method.
Subjects may be considered pseudoscientific for various reasons; Karl Popper
considered astrology to be pseudoscientific simply because astrologers keep their
claims so vague that they could never be refuted, whereas Paul R. Thagard considers
astrology pseudoscientific because its practitioners make little effort to develop the
theory, show no concern for attempts to critically evaluate the theory in relation to
others, and are selective in considering evidence. More generally, Thagard stated that
pseudoscience tends to focus on resemblances rather than cause-effect relations.
Science is also distinguishable from revelation, theology, or spirituality in that it claims
to offer insight into the physical world obtained by "scientific" means. However, when
scientific research produces conclusions which contradict a creationist interpretation of
scripture, the strict creationist approach is either to reject the conclusions of the research
its underlying scientific theories, or its methodology. For this reason, both creation
science and intelligent design have been labeled as pseudoscience by the mainstream
scientific community. The most notable disputes concern the effects of evolution on the
development of living organisms, the idea of common descent, the geologic history of
the Earth, the formation of the solar system, and the origin of the universe. Systems of
259
belief that derive from divine or inspired knowledge are not considered pseudoscience
if they do not claim either to be scientific or to overturn well-established science.
Some statements and commonly held beliefs in popular science may not meet the
criteria of science. "Pop" science may blur the divide between science and
pseudoscience among the general public, and may also involve science fiction. Indeed,
pop science is disseminated to, and can also easily emanate from, persons not
accountable to scientific methodology and expert peer review.
If the claims of a given field can be experimentally tested and methodological standards
are upheld, it is not "pseudoscience", however odd, astonishing, or counter-intuitive. If
claims made are inconsistent with existing experimental results or established theory,
but the methodology is sound, caution should be used; science consists of testing
hypotheses which may turn out to be false. In such a case, the work may be better
described as ideas that are not yet generally accepted.
The following have been proposed to be indicators of poor scientific reasoning.
Use of vague, exaggerated or untestable claims
•
Assertion of scientific claims that are vague rather than precise, and that lack
specific measurements.
•
Failure to make use of operational definitions (i.e. publicly accessible definitions
of the variables, terms, or objects of interest so that persons other than the definer
can independently measure or test them). (See also: Reproducibility)
•
Failure to make reasonable use of the principle of parsimony, i.e. failing to seek
an explanation that requires the fewest possible additional assumptions when
multiple viable explanations are possible (see: Occam's Razor)
260
•
Use of obscurantist language, and misuse of apparently technical jargon in an
effort to give claims the superficial trappings of science.
•
Lack of boundary conditions: Most well-supported scientific theories possess
well-articulated limitations under which the predicted phenomena do and do not
apply.
•
Lack of effective controls, such as placebo and double-blind, in experimental
design. (see Scientific control)
Over-reliance on confirmation rather than refutation
•
Assertions that do not allow the logical possibility that they can be shown to be
false by observation or physical experiment (see also: falsifiability to predict
versa (see: Argument from ignorance)
•
Over-reliance on testimonial, anecdotal evidence or personal experience. This
evidence may be useful for the context of discovery (i.e. hypothesis generation)
but should not be used in the context of justification (e.g. Statistical hypothesis
testingPseudoscience often presents data that seems to support its claims while
suppressing or refusing to consider data that conflict with its claims. This is an
example of selection bias, a distortion of evidence or data that arises from the
way that the data are collected. It is sometimes referred to as the selection effect.
•
Reversed burden of proof. In science, the burden of proof rests on those making a
claim, not on the critic. "Pseudoscientific" arguments may neglect this principle
and demand that skeptics demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that a claim
(e.g. an assertion regarding the efficacy of a novel therapeutic technique) is false.
It is essentially impossible to prove a universal negative, so this tactic incorrectly
places the burden of proof on the skeptic rather than the claimant. Appeals to
holism as opposed to reductionism: Proponents of pseudoscientific claims,
261
especially in organic medicine, alternative medicine, naturopathy and mental
health, often resort to the "mantra of holism" to explain negative findings.
•
Lack of openness to testing by other experts
•
Evasion of peer review before publicizing results (called "science by press
conference") Some proponents of theories that contradict accepted scientific
theories avoid subjecting their ideas to peer review, sometimes on the grounds
that peer review is biased towards established paradigms, and sometimes on the
grounds that assertions cannot be evaluated adequately using standard scientific
methods. By remaining insulated from the peer review process, these proponents
forgo the opportunity of corrective feedback from informed colleagues. Some
agencies, institutions, and publications that fund scientific research require
authors to share data so that others can evaluate a paper independently. Failure
to provide adequate information for other researchers to reproduce the claims
contributes to a lack of openness. Assertion of claims of secrecy or proprietary
knowledge in response to requests for review of data or methodology.\
•
Lack of progress
•
Failure to progress towards additional evidence of its claims. Terence Hines has
identified astrology as a subject that has changed very little in the past two
millennia. (see also: Scientific progress)
•
Lack of self correction: scientific research programmes make mistakes, but they
tend to eliminate these errors over time. By contrast, theories may be accused of
being
pseudoscientific
because
they
have
remained
unaltered
despite
contradictory evidence. The work Scientists Confront Velikovsky (1976) Cornell
University, also delves into these features in some detail, as does the work of
262
Thomas Kuhn, e.g. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) which also
discusses some of the items on the list of characteristics of pseudoscience.
Personalization of issues
•
Tight social groups and granfalloons, authoritarian personality, suppression of
dissent and groupthink can enhance the adoption of beliefs that have no rational
basis. In attempting to confirm their beliefs, the group tends to identify their
critics as enemies.
•
Assertion of claims of a conspiracy on the part of the scientific community to
suppress the results.
•
Attacking the motives or character of anyone who questions the claims (see Ad
hominem fallacy
•
•
] Use of misleading language
•
Creating scientific-sounding terms in order to add weight to claims and persuade
non-experts to believe statements that may be false or meaningless. For example,
a long-standing hoax refers to water as dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) and
describes it as the main constituent in most poisonous solutions to show how
easily the general public can be misled.
•
Using established terms in idiosyncratic ways, thereby demonstrating
unfamiliarity with mainstream work in the discipline.
DemographicsThe National Science Foundation stated that, in the USA,
"pseudoscientific" beliefs became more widespread during the 1990s, peaked near 2001
and have declined slightly since; nevertheless, pseudoscientific beliefs remain common
in the USA. As a result, according to the NSF report, there is a lack of knowledge of
263
pseudoscientific issues in society and pseudoscientific practices are commonly
followed. Bunge (1999) states that "A survey on public knowledge of science in the
United States showed that in 1988 50% of American adults [rejected] evolution, and 88%
[believed] astrology is a science'".
Commentators
on
pseudoscience
perceive
it
in
many
fields;
for
example,
Pseudomathematics is a term used for mathematics-like activity undertaken by either
non-mathematicians or mathematicians themselves which does not conform to the
rigorous standards usually applied to mathematical theorems.
Clinical psychology
Neurologists, clinical psychologists and other academics are concerned
about the
increasing amount of what they consider pseudoscience promoted in psychotherapy
and popular psychology, and also about what they see as pseudoscientific therapies
such as neuro-linguistic programming, EMDR rebirthing, reparenting, Scientology, and
Primal Therapy being adopted by government and professional bodies and by the
public They state that scientifically unsupported therapies used by popular or folk
psychology might harm vulnerable members of the public, undermine legitimate
therapies, and tend to spread misconceptions about the nature of the mind and brain to
society at large. Norcross et al. ave approached the science/pseudoscience issue by
conducting a survey of experts that seeks to specify which theory or therapy is
considered to be definitely discredited, and they outline 14 fields that have been
definitely discredited.
Psychological explanations
Pseudoscientific thinking has been explained in terms of psychology and social
psychology. The human proclivity for seeking confirmation rather than refutation
264
(confirmation bias), the tendency to hold comforting beliefs, and the tendency to
overgeneralize have been proposed as reasons for the common adherence to
pseudoscientific thinking. According to Beyerstein (1991), humans are prone to
associations based on resemblances only, and often prone to misattribution in causeeffect thinking.
Lindeman argues that social motives (i.e., "to comprehend self and the world, to have a
sense of control over outcomes, to belong, to find the world benevolent and to maintain
one’s self-esteem") are often "more easily" fulfilled by pseudoscience than by scientific
information. Furthermore, pseudoscientific explanations are generally not analyzed
rationally, but instead experientially. Operating within a different set of rules compared
to rational thinking, experiential thinking regards an explanation as valid if the
explanation is "personally functional, satisfying and sufficient", offering a description of
the world that may be more personal than can be provided by science and reducing the
amount of potential work involved in understanding complex events and outcomes.
Intrinsic Motivation
Some theorists (e.g., Combs, 1982; Purkey & Schmidt, 1987; Purkey & Stanley, 1991)
maintain that there is only a single kind of intrinsic motivation, which can be described
as a motivation to engage in activities that enhance or maintain a person's self-concept.
Most theorists (e.g., Malone and Lepper, 1987) define the term more broadly.
Note that even though the following pages will describe intrinsic motivation ashighly
desirable, most of the activities in which teachers, students, and other human beings
engage are most directly influenced by extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation
(Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, 1989). For example, most people use a knife and a fork
in a certain way or follow conventions in a restaurant not because they find knife and
265
fork use to be intrinsically motivating, but because the correct use of these utensils leads
to such intrinsic benefits as a good meal or the respect of people we care about. This is
not a serious problem, unless the person feels coerced or in some other way alienated
by having to use the utensils.
However, as the discussion of artificial reinforcement in Chapter 10 will further clarify,
extrinsic motivators may lead to merely short-range activity while actually reducing
long-range interest in a topic. Therefore, it is essential that extrinsic motivators be
backed up by intrinsic motivators or that the extrinsic motivation become internalized
through processes described later in this chapter. If this does not happen, the result is
likely to be a reduction in the very behavior we want to promote.
One of the most frequent failures in education is that students rarely say that they find
studying to be intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984). This is a
critical problem. One of the most straightforward conclusions of research from the past
two decades is that extrinsic motivation alone is likely to have precisely the opposite
impact that we want it to have on student achievement (Lepper & Hodell, 1989).
Malone and Lepper (1987) have defined intrinsic motivation more simply in terms of
what people will do without external inducement. Intrinsically motivating activities are
those in which people will engage for no reward other than the interest and enjoyment
that accompanies them. Malone and Lepper have integrated a large amount of research
on motivational theory into a synthesis of ways to design environments that are
intrinsically motivating. This synthesis is summarized in Table 5.1. As that table shows,
they subdivide factors that enhance motivation into individual factors and
interpersonal factors. Individual factors are individual in the sense that they operate
even when a student is working alone. Interpersonal factors, on the other hand, play a
266
role only when someone else interacts with the learner. These are discussed in detail on
the following pages
•
Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do
something or act a certain way because of factors external to him or her (like
money or good grades).
Note also that there is already questioning and expansion about this dichotomy on
motivation, e.g., Self-Determination Theory.
Motivation has been found to be a pivotal area in treating Autism Spectrum Disorders,
as in Pivotal Response Therapy.
Motivation is also an important element in the concept of Andragogy (what motivates
the adult learner).
Business
At lower levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, such as Physiological needs, money is a
motivator, however it tends to have a motivating effect on staff that lasts only for a
short period (in accordance with Herzberg's two-factor model of motivation). At higher
levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of
belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's
theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor's Theory X and theory Y (pertaining to the
theory of leadership) demonstrate.
Maslow has money at the lowest level of the hierarchy and shows other needs are better
motivators to staff. McGregor places money in his Theory X category and feels it is a
267
poor motivator. Praise and recognition are placed in the Theory Y category and are
considered stronger motivators than money.
•
Motivated employees always look for better ways to do a job.
•
Motivated employees are more quality oriented.
•
Motivated workers are more productive.
The average workplace is about midway between the extremes of high threat and high
opportunity. Motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staff are more
attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side.
Motivation is a powerful tool in the work environment that can lead to employees
working at their most efficient levels of production.
The assumptions of Maslow and Herzberg were challenged by a classic study at
Vauxhall Motors' UK manufacturing plant. This introduced the concept of orientation
to work and distinguished three main orientations: instrumental (where work is a
means to an end), bureaucratic (where work is a source of status, security and
immediate reward) and solidaristic (which prioritises group loyalty).
Other theories which expanded and extended those of Maslow and Herzberg included
Kurt Lewin's Force Field Theory, Edwin Locke's Goal Theory and Victor Vroom's
Expectancy theory. These tend to stress cultural differences and the fact that individuals
tend to be motivated by different factors at different times.
According to the system of scientific management developed by Frederick Winslow
Taylor, a worker's motivation is solely determined by pay, and therefore management
need not consider psychological or social aspects of work. In essence, scientific
management bases human motivation wholly on extrinsic rewards and discards the
idea of intrinsic rewards.
268
In contrast, David McClelland believed that workers could not be motivated by the
mere need for money — in fact, extrinsic motivation (e.g., money) could extinguish
intrinsic motivation such as achievement motivation, though money could be used as
an indicator of success for various motives, e.g., keeping score. In keeping with this
view, his consulting firm, McBer & Company, had as its first motto "To make everyone
productive, happy, and free." For McClelland, satisfaction lay in aligning a person's life
with their fundamental motivations.
Elton Mayo found out that the social contacts a worker has at the workplace are very
important and that boredom and repetitiveness of tasks lead to reduced motivation.
Mayo believed that workers could be motivated by acknowledging their social needs
and making them feel important. As a result, employees were given freedom to make
decisions on the job and greater attention was paid to informal work groups. Mayo
named the model the Hawthorne effect. His model has been judged as placing undue
reliance on social contacts at work situations for motivating employees.
269