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The psychological characteristics of performance under pressure in professional Rugby Union referees
journal contribution
posted on 2022-02-22, 16:45 authored by Denise M. Hill, Nic Matthews, Ruth SeniorThis study used qualitative methods to explore the stressors, appraisal mechanism, emotional response, and effective/ineffective coping strategies experienced by elite rugby union referees during pressurized performances. Participants included seven male rugby union referees from the United Kingdom (Mage = 27.85, SD = 4.56) who had been officiating as full-time professionals for between 1 and 16 years (M = 4.85, SD = 5.42). Data revealed that the referees encountered a number of stressors, which were appraised initially as a ‘threat’, and elicited negatively-toned emotions. The referees were able to maintain performance standards under pressure by adopting proactive, problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies which managed effectively the stressors and their emotions. However, the use of avoidance-coping, reactive control, and informal impression management were perceived as ineffective coping strategies, and associated with poor performance and choking. Recommendations are offered to inform the psychological skills training of rugby union referees.
History
Published in
The Sport PsychologistPublisher
Human KineticsVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Citation
Hill, D.M., Matthews, N. and Senior, R. (2016) 'The psychological characteristics of performance under pressure in professional rugby union referees', The Sport Psychologist, 30(4), pp.376-387Print ISSN
0888-4781Electronic ISSN
1543-2793Cardiff Met Affiliation
- Cardiff School of Management
Cardiff Met Authors
Nic MatthewsCardiff Met Research Centre/Group
- WCTR (Welsh Centre for Tourism Research)
Copyright Holder
- © The Publisher
Language
- en