Chapter 6 Anger: How to Moderate Hot Buttons By Mitch Abrams and Bruce Hale

1. Chapter 6 Anger: How to Moderate Hot Buttons By Mitch Abrams and Bruce Hale

2. Anger • It is a normal emotion. • Precursor emotions include hate, fear, frustration, and disappointment. • Physiological response is similar to anxiety.

3. Charles Spielberger • Anger-in • Athletes direct their anger at themselves or attempt to suppress the expression • Kicking the dirt; swearing • Anger-out • Physical or verbal affront to others or to objects • Punching an opponent; destroying a water cooler

4. Types of Violence • Hostile • Intent to harm an opponent • Spontaneous or planned • Spontaneous violence usually accompanied by anger • Planned hostile violence is deeply troubling (continued)

5. Types of Violence (cont) • Instrumental • Goal is to achieve external prize. • Physical contact is a normal part of the sport (e.g., a hard check or a heavy tackle).

6. NFL: National Felons League? • Is planned hostile violence in sport criminal? • NHL: Marty McSorley striking Donald Brashear in the head from behind with his stick • NHL: Todd Bertuzzi punching Steve Moore and breaking his neck • NFL: Bill Romanowski punching Marcus Williams at practice and breaking his orbital bone, leaving him partially blind

7. The Myth of the Violent Athlete • Research is equivocal; There is little strong evidence that athletes are more violent than nonathletes in life away from the playing field. • Why does the image of violent athletes persist?

8. Aggression vs. Assertiveness • Aggression: the use of force to reach a goal. • Assertiveness: to insist on one’s rights. • There is no “right to win” in sports. Athletes are not assertive; they are aggressive in reaching their goals.

9. Instinct Theory • Freud, Konrad Lorenz. • Man = animal. • Aggression is an inborn drive like sex, hunger. • Catharsis: purging of pent-up aggression.

10. Social Learning Theory • Imitating, modeling • Reinforcement (reward and punishment)

11. Aggression and Performance • Bill Morgan: Athletes tend to have lower anger levels. • Yuri Hanin: Anger-in especially has deleterious effects on concentration and focus. • Associated with increases in physiological arousal: • It may move a player out of IZOF. • Many coaches believe that angry players are more aroused and play better. • Aggressive behaviors in sport hurt performance. Also, aggression does not cathartically release anger.

12. Aggression and Performance: Research Needed • Can anger-management programs be effective in sports? • Awareness training • Role playing • Can anger facilitate arousal or enhance an aggressive attitude in sports such as weightlifting, football, boxing, or rugby?

13. Identifying Your Anger Threshold • Warning signs • Nonverbal cues • Stiff neck • Rigid posture • Behavioral cues • Loud responses • Unwillingness to listen • Bodily feelings • Feeling hot • Pounding heart

14. Developing Awareness • Hassle log • Identify situational cues • Feedback from others • Hostility bias: the tendency to perceive neutral stimuli as provocative

15. Measuring Anger in Sport • No sport-specific measures exist • Spielberger’s State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI): 44-item self-report • The POMS

16. Measurement • Bredemeier Athletic Aggression Inventory • Sport Aggression Inventory • Scale of Children’s Action Tendencies • Measure aggressive intent, not anger or violence

17. Intervention Strategies • Resistance to anger control in sports may be based on these beliefs: • Athletes are healthy, so they don’t have problems with emotions. • Anger is necessary for sport success, and removal of it will hinder an athlete’s performance.

18. Physiological Interventions • Relaxation • Imagery • Music

19. Cognitive Interventions • Talk it out. • Communicate. • Take a time-out. • Problem-solve. • Evaluate and modify. • Exercise.

20. Implementing Anger-Management Training • Individual interventions • Privacy, more comfortable • Group sessions • With peers • Modeling • Team-building

21. The Role of the Coach • Modeling anger and violence sends the message that losing control is OK. • Coaches who instruct players to act aggressively promote angry aggression. • Coaches who fail to discipline athletes involved in assaults and violent behavior send the message that violence is acceptable. • Model anger control. • Set team rules and codes of conduct. • Be proactive.