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Personality has often been associated with job performance and satisfaction, particularly with regard to resilience and coping with pressure. However, the links between personality type and sports officiating performance is sparsely researched. Sports officials, notably soccer referees, come under intense public and media scrutiny for their performance, and burnout is at a high level. Therefore, understanding how personality may influence job performance in this high-pressure role could influence the support and training of referees. The aim of this study was to explore possible relationships between individual differences and performance level in English Association Football (soccer) referees. Using an independent groups design, 185 soccer referees currently performing at 3 levels (Professional, Intermediate, and Amateur) completed measures of mental toughness, locus of control, assertiveness, and social comparison. For every scale, Professional referees scored significantly higher than the other groups, while Intermediates did not differ from Amateurs. This suggests that referees at the highest level possess critical personality characteristics the others lack. The causal direction of this relationship is uncertain, but implications for training and support of officials with regard to increasing resilience and reducing burnout are noted., Despite early misgivings around the role of personality assessment in employee selection and performance (e.g. Schmitt, Gooding, Noe & Kirsch, 1984), current views reveal that individual differences are implicated in [...]

The tendency for people to perceive themselves more favourably than others is well documented in studies of ingroup bias, selective comparisons and general illusory superiority. The present study aimed to investigate the existence of self-aggrandizement among soccer (association football) supporters and to examine the extent to which the specificity of comparisons and self-esteem might affect such perceptions. Participants recruited from soccer fan websites completed an online questionnaire in which they compared both themselves and their fellow fans with rival fans. Higher levels of superiority were found for self than fellow fan comparisons. This effect occurred for both soccer-related and soccer-unrelated characteristics regardless of self-esteem, with the weakest effect found when participants compared their fellow fans with rival fans on the soccer-unrelated items. The results are discussed in terms of the robustness of cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying bias in the social comparison process. These findings suggest that a number of processes may underlie perceptions of superiority., The social comparison process is pervasive: parents monitor their children's progress by scrutinising developmental norms; students check the average class mark for an assignment to see how they compare to [...]

Referees are routinely subjected to a wide range of potential physical and psychological stressors, yet little is known about the extent to which these are perceived as aversive or the mechanisms which motivate officials to maintain their activities. The purpose of this study was to give experienced soccer referees the opportunity to offer explanations for and responses to criticism and abuse. A 4-page postal questionnaire was completed by 42 referees. Results indicated that an average of over 16 hours per week was spent on refereeing duties, and 71% of the respondents felt physically drained after matches. However, 100% asserted that the time and energy they put into refereeing was worthwhile. A number of strategies to cope with negative evaluations were noted. The referees expect to be the object of censure by players, coaches and spectators, but use external attributions such as people's bias and lack of knowledge to explain dissent. While admitting to making errors, they perceive their misjudments as representing opportunities to improve. Although respecting other referees and making use of support systems, they believe that their skills are superior to those of fellow officials. They also identify their devotion to soccer, rather than the desire for power and prestige, as the main reason for their involvement. The findings portray soccer officials as confident and resilient individuals who admit to occasional errors but interpret these as positive opportunities for self-improvement. A range of coping mechanisms serve to enhance self-esteem and help referees resolve the mismatch between their perceived competence and the criticism received from others., Soccer (association football) officials are routinely subjected to a wide range of potential stressors. Analyses of English (Catterall, Reilly, Atkinson, & Goldwells, 1993), Danish (Krustrup & Bangsbo, 2001) and Japanese [...]

Evidence suggests that physical activity generally yields a positive effect upon psychological well-being, but misattribution perspectives (Zillmann, 1978) imply that under certain circumstances physical exertion might actually be associated with a negative shift in mood. This is particularly likely to occur when residual arousal induced by exercise is misattributed to a subsequent aversive stimulus. The interactive effects of exercise and outcome feedback on mood were examined in a 2 x 3 factorial experiment varying exercise (exercise/no exercise) and outcome feedback (positive/neutral/negative). Fifty four male and female undergraduate volunteers took part in a 20-minute memory task as they exercised or sat. They were presented with outcome-related feedback five minutes after completing the task. The Profile of Mood States (POMS-BI) was administered prior to the cognitive task and again following the feedback. A significant interaction revealed that exercisers were in a more highly improved mood than non-ex ercisers following positive and neutral feedback but in a worse mood following negative feedback. These results were interpreted in the light of Zillmann (1978) excitation transfer theory which suggests that residual arousal following exercise can be misattributed to a subsequent environmental stimulus, resulting in the intensification of mood. Performers and coaches might benefit from familiarisation with this process so that they are fully aware of the exerciser susceptibility to negative responses following unpleasant results or provocation., Considerable research supports the view that physical activity promotes psychological well-being, with positive effects on mood and self-esteem demonstrated across many forms of chronic and acute exercise (see Biddle, Fox [...]

The tendency for people to focus more on internal factors when explaining the behaviour of others as opposed to that of their own has been well documented, but evidence for such actor-observer effects in a sports context is sparse. In the present experiment 34 male and female swimmers who had just participated in an important national competition were asked to rate the importance of a range of internal and external factors for both themselves and fellow competitors. Results indicated that the swimmers perceived themselves as more affected than others by both internal and external factors. These findings are interpreted in the light of Sande, Goethals and Radloff's (1988) suggestion that people perceive themselves as multi-faceted and more likely than others to be sensitive to a wide range of influences., Research into social perception has demonstrated that people are generally inclined to focus on internal attributions when explaining behaviour, although they tend to be more willing to use external attributions [...]

Nurses and health professionals know that World Cup fever can be dangerous: every World Cup in recent times has prompted predictions of an increase in unhealthy and antisocial behaviour. The [...]

Soccer referees are regularly the object of intense scrutiny and criticism by players, coaches, fans and the media. The extent to which they characterise themselves positively despite negative feedback was examined in a study where elite (N=U) and county (N=183) soccer referees compared themselves with other referees officiating at their level. Participants completed a questionnaire containing items pertaining to their positive and negative characteristics. Both elite and county referees, irrespective of their level, regarded themselves as superior to other referees. Compared with county referees, elite referees were particularly likely to rate themselves favourably on negative characteristics and susceptibility to influence, but not on positive qualities. These results provide a novel insight into referees' perceptions of themselves and their fellow referees and suggest that self-aggrandizement may be a functional cognitive illusion that can help maintain confidence and resilience in the face of threats to their expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests the hypothesis that competitive swimmers would focus on internal attributions when analyzing outcomes, but that they would be relatively more external in their attributions for themselves than for their fellow competitors. Examination of the hypothesis that swimmers would perceive a wider variety of factors affecting themselves than other people.