the comparison of the intensity of pre-competition perceived emotion in athletes with type a and b behavior patterns

the aim of this study was to compare the intensity of pre-competition emotion in athletes with type a and b behavior patterns. out of 108 wrestlers participating in iranian national championships (2005), 32 wrestlers were selected as subjects by global bortner scale. then, 16 subjects with high scores (mean 6.45±0.31) formed type a athletes group and 16 with low scores (mean 3.69 ± 0.47) were considered as type b athletes group. hanin's individual zones of optimal functioning (izof) model was used to assess the intensity of emotions athletes feel in their best / worst performance. descriptive data showed that in both groups best performance was associated with a higher level (close to very much) of positive and effective emotion intensity (p+) as well as a lower level (close to little to moderate) of negative and effective emotion intensity (n+). wilcoxon test showed a significant difference between best and worst performances of type a group when there was a comparison between the intensity of negative and effective emotion and negative and harmful emotion (p?0.01). in type b group, there was a significant difference in athletes' best performance when positive and effective emotion and harmful emotion (p?0.01). mann-whitney u test revealed a significant difference between type a and b athletes in perceived negative (effective – harmful) emotions in their best / worst performances (p=0.01). this study showed that type a athletes were more sensitive (i.e. they experienced higher intensities) to the negative effective and negative harmful (n±) emotions in their best/ worst performances when compared with type b athletes.