Idiosyncratic Description of Anger States in Skilled Spanish Karate Athletes: an Application of the Izof Model

This study examined content and intensity of anger prior to, during, and after best ever and worst ever performances in 43 high-level Spanish karate athletes using individualized anger profiling. Optimal and dysfunctional anger intensities were assessed using a modified version of Borg’s Category Ratio (CR-10) scale. Anger profiling was supplemented with positive and negative emotion profiling. As expected, content of anger descriptors was highly idiosyncratic. Moreover, great variability in optimal and dysfunctional anger intensities was found at individual and group levels. In best performances, anger was related to the generation of additional energy, whereas in worst performances, anger resulted from a perceived lack of resources or low readiness to perform. Athletes generated different anger descriptors in performance and in non-sport performance situations (overlap ranged from 0 to .35). The results support the use of an idiographic approach in the study of anger states. Correspondence: Yuri L. Hanin. Professor and Senior Researcher. Research Institute for Olympic Sports. Rautpohjankatu 6, FIN-40700 Jyvaskyla, Finland. E-mail: [email protected] — Fecha de recepción: 1 de septiembre de 2003. Fecha de aceptación: 22 de abril de 2004. Revista de Psicología del Deporte 2004. Vol. 13, núm. 1, pp. 75-93 ISSN: 1132-239X Universitat de les Illes Balears Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Ruiz, M. C. and Hanin, Y. L. Idiosyncratic Description of Anger States... PALABRAS CLAVE: Ira, emoción, modelo IZOF, enfoque idiográfico, kárate. RESUMEN: El estudio examina el contenido e intensidad de estados de ira antes, durante, y después de los mejores y peores rendimientos en 43 karatekas españoles de alto nivel mediante perfiles de ira individuales. Las intensidades de ira óptima y disfuncional se midieron con la escala modificada de Borg (CR-10). Perfiles de emociones positivas y negativas complementaron los perfiles de ira. Como se creía, el contenido de los descriptores de ira fue altamente idiosincrático. Asimismo, hubo gran variabilidad en las intensidades de ira óptima y disfuncional a nivel individual y de grupo. La ira estaba relacionada con la generación de energía en los mejores rendimientos, pero fue el resultado de una falta percibida de recursos o preparación en los peores rendimientos. Los karatekas utilizaron distintos descriptores de ira en situaciones de rendimiento deportivo y fuera del deporte (solapamiento 0 a .35). Los resultados sustentan el uso de un enfoque idiográfico en el estudio de los estados de ira. Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2004. Vol. 13, núm. 1, pp. 75-93 76 Athletes’ subjective emotional experiences play an important role in competitive sports. The accurate description of these situational emotional experiences, the relatively stable patterns they exhibit, and the metaexperiences related to successful and unsuccessful performances (Hanin, 2003) is of growing interest in the practice of sport psychology. Traditionally, these experiences have been measured using normative and group-oriented self-report scales with “fixed” researcher-generated emotion content with the emphasis on subjects’ ability to read and understand items. However, the relevance of the item content to individuals is usually not known (Hanin, 2000). Previous research has revealed a discrepancy between the content of items in normative scales and the idiosyncratic vocabulary used by athletes (Syrjä and Hanin, 1997a, 1997b; Hanin, Jokela, and Syrjä, 1998; Robazza, Bortoli, Nocini, Moser, and Arslan, 2000). The present study applies the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, 1997, 2000, 2003), as an idiographic and reality-grounded approach to exploring anger states in skilled karate athletes, in an attempt to provide a descriptive database for future explanatory and predictive studies. In this study, individualized and realitygrounded (Hanin, 2000, 2003) as well as phenomenological (Dale, 1996) approaches are taken, laying emphasis on the description of the athlete’s subjective experiences from a self-referent perspective. Anger: Conceptualization and Measurement In an attempt to clear the conceptual confusion in the definition of anger, hostility and aggression, Spielberger, Johnson, Russell, Crane, Jacobs, and Worden (1985) proposed the notion of the “AHA Syndrome” standing for anger, hostility and aggression. Anger, placed at the core of the AHA Syndrome, was defined as “an emotional state that consists of feelings that vary in intensity, from mild irritation or annoyance to fury and rage” (Spielberger, et al., 1985, p. 7). Hostility was defined as a complex set of attitudes that motivate aggressive behavior, and aggression referred to destructive behavior directed towards other persons or objects. Most researchers have conceptualized anger as an emotional state; emphasizing different components. For instance, Schachter and Novaco (cited in Spielberger et al., 1985) called attention to both the physiological and cognitive aspects of anger, whereas Feshbach (1964) regarded anger as “a mediating affective response with expressive components.” Lazarus (1991, 2000) placed importance on cognitive, motivational, and relational aspects of emotions, arguing that emotions were psychologically mediated by appraisals of the personal significance for well-being that a Ruiz, M. C. and Hanin, Y. L. Idiosyncratic Description of Anger States... Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2004. Vol. 13, núm. 1, pp. 75-93 77 person attributes to his or her relationship (relational meaning) with the environment. Included in a list of 7 positive (e.g., happiness, joy), and 8 negative (e.g., anger, anxiety) emotions, Lazarus proposed “a demeaning offense against me and mine” as the core relational theme for anger (see Lazarus 2000, p. 234 for a review of the 15 core relational themes). Based on the state-trait distinction, Spielberger, Jacobs, Russell and Crane (1983) developed the State-Trait Anger (STAS) scale to assess the intensity of anger as an emotional state and a relatively stable disposition to experience anger. Moreover, Spielberger et al., (1985) also argued for the importance of distinguishing the expression / suppression of anger from the experience of anger, which lead them to construct the Anger Expression (AX) scale. However, in the IZOF model a wider perspective is taken. Anger is conceptualized as a component of performance-related states, which can be described in at least five dimensions: form, content, intensity, context, and time. Anger is characterized by a specific constellation of subjective emotional experiences closely related to cognitive, affective, motivational, bodily, kinesthetic, operational, and communicative modalities of the psychobiosocial state. From this multidimensional perspective, it is clear that these modalities provide a relatively complete description of performanceinduced anger states (Hanin 1997, 2000). In mainstream psychology, most research attention has been paid to kinesthetic and bodily components of anger, focusing on the impact of anger on well-being and general health. However, other components, such as cognitive or motivational components, for instance, especially relevant in sport, have received less attention (Isberg, 2000). Emotion content is usually categorized in terms of single or “basic” emotion syndromes, such as anxiety, anger etc. (Lazarus, 2000) or as a global affect based on hedonic tone or positivity-negativity distinctions (Watson and Tellegen, 1988). Examples of standardized scales representing the first approach are the STAXI (Spielberger, Reheiser, and Sydeman, 1995), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS; McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman, 1971). The STAXI consists of 44 items contained in five primary scales (State Anger, Trait Anger, Anger-In, Anger-Out, and Anger-Control) whereas the POMS contains six scales (vigor, anger, depression, tension, confusion, and fatigue). Anger measures based on the global affect approach include the Positive and Negative Affect scales (PANAS; Watson and Tellegen, 1988), and the Affect Balance Scale (Derogatis, 1975). However, a sportspecific measure of situational anger has not yet been developed (Isberg, 2000). In sports, several studies have used the POMS to predict performance using Morgan’s (1980) iceberg profile (high vigor and low tension, depression, confusion, anger, and fatigue). However, equivocal empirical support has been found. For instance, studies in karate have showed that successful athletes scored higher in anger than unsuccessful athletes (McGowan and Miller, 1989; McGowan, Miller, and Henschen, 1990; Terry and Slade, 1995). McGowan, Pierce, and Jordan (1992) found that less experienced (black-belt) athletes scored higher on anger prior to competition than higher-ranking black-belts. Arruza, Balagué, and Arrieta (1998) found similar results in the pre-competition profiles of three elite judo competitors, showing again higher anger scores. In contrast to such normative scales, the IZOF model emphasizes the idiosyncratic Ruiz, M. C. and Hanin, Y. L. Idiosyncratic Description of Anger States... Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2004. Vol. 13, núm. 1, pp. 75-93 78 nature of performance-induced anger states, combining the single or “basic” emotion syndromes and the global affect approach. Thus, emotion content is categorized within the framework of four emotion categories derived from hedonic tone (pleasantunpleasant) and functionality (optimaldysfunctional) distinctions. These emotion categories are pleasant and functionally optimal emotions (P+), unpleasant and functionally optimal emotions (N+), pleasant and dysfunctional emotions (P-), and unpleasant and dysfunctional (N-) emotions. These four categories provide a broad structure that can accommodate a wide range of idiosyncratic, athletegenerated emotion labels reflecting emotional experiences and available resources (Hanin 2000, 2003). These idiosyncratic labels can be re-categorized into existing classifications of discrete emotion syndromes (anger, anxiety etc.) This study examines the most accurate and individually relevant descriptors of situational anger states related to karate performance. Intensity can be expressed in either objective or subjective metrics, and is typically measured on a selected parameter of a particular modality. In the IZOF model, the intensity dimension of anger is conceptualized at the individual level, using the in-out of the zone notion that describes a range of intensities producing optimal, neutral, or dysfunctional effects on performance. Although intensity is a quantitative attribute of subjective experiences (Hanin 1997, 2000), it can also be described qualitatively. Proposing the concept of itemintensity specificity, Spielberger (1970) argued that items vary in their ability to discriminate among different intensities. For instance, the item, “I feel rested,” in the state anxiety subscale, discriminates changes in anxiety at low levels of intensity. In contrast, the item, “I feel over-excited and rattled,” discriminates changes in anxiety at high levels of intensity. Similarly, the items “upset,” “annoyed,” and “irritated” (STAXI) qualitatively imply less intensity than such items as “enraged,” “furious,” and “flared up.” Of all dimensions describing performance-related states, intensity related to optimal and dysfunctional anxiety (see Jokela and Hanin, 1999 for a meta-analysis), and positive and negative emotions (Hanin and Syrjä 1995a, 1995b, 1996) is probably, the most studied. As applied to anxiety, for instance, the IZOF model holds that each athlete has an individual optimal intensity level (high, moderate, or low) within which the probability of successful performance is high. These optimal and dysfunctional intensity levels vary within and across different athletes (Hanin 1997, 2000). However, research has not systematically addressed the optimal and dysfunctional intensity of anger in sport (Isberg, 2000). This study explores the intra-individual dynamics and inter-individual differences in the intensity of athletes’ anger states related to successful and poor performances. Moreover, the IZOF model uses the notion of resource matching to explain the functional impact of emotions on performance. Optimal emotions reflect the availability of resources and their effective recruitment and utilization. In contrast, dysfunctional emotions reflect a lack of resources and their ineffective recruitment and utilization. This study uses the notion of resource matching to examine the perceived meaning of anger related to best and worst