27.5.2022: Perceptions of an autonomy-supportive climate created by the coach are positively associated with functional feeling states in high-level Finnish and North American athletes (Haapanen)
In sports, coaches play an important role influencing variations in athletes’ motivation and emotional experiences, which have implications for their performance and their wellbeing.
In her dissertation, MSc Saara Haapanen focuses on the relationship between social environmental and individual antecedents of athletes’ feeling states. In particular, the dissertation examines the interplay between the social environment created by the coach in terms of being autonomy-supportive, achievement goals, individual appraisals, and subjective experiences in two samples of athletes from Finland and North America.
Athletes’ emotional responses have been mainly examined within a global affect approach, typically considering their valence (pleasant-unpleasant) or within a discrete emotion approach, usually including a limited number of emotions selected by researchers. This dissertation examines antecedents of the so-called psychobiosocial states, which involve a broad range of athletes’ subjective emotional and related experiences associated with their performances.
“Results from structural equation modelling indicated that perceptions of an autonomy-supportive climate were positively associated with perceived competence and mastery-approach goals in both Finnish and North American athletes”, says Haapanen. “Athletes’ perceptions of competence were positively related to approach goals, challenge appraisals or positive evaluations of anticipated benefits, which were positively related to functional psychobiosocial states. In contrast, athletes’ avoidance goals, aiming to avoid incompetence were positively related with perceptions of a competition situation as threatening, which in turn were positively associated with dysfunctional feeling states.“
In addition, this dissertation examined the relationships between social and individual antecedents of athletes’ feeling states at two different time points within a competitive season. Contrary to our hypothesis, cross-lagged panel analysis did not reveal reciprocal relationships between athletes’ competitive appraisals and feeling states for Finnish or for North American athletes. In the case of Finnish athletes, significant positive relationships were found between competition appraisals and feeling states over time (three months later). In the case of North American athletes there were positive relationships over time for competition appraisals, but not for feeling states.
Overall the results are in line with theoretical propositions and empirical evidence on the beneficial effects of creating environmental climates that are autonomy supportive. This research provides insight for coaches, athletes, and sports practitioners on factors leading to functional (and dysfunctional) psychobiosocial states, which ultimately can help improve performance and overall well-being in athletes.
The dissertation is presented as a monograph and includes data from a total of 727 high-level athletes from Finland and North America.
M.Sc. Saara Haapanen will defend her doctoral dissertation in sport and exercise psychology "Cross-cultural study of social environmental and individual antecedents of psychobiosocial states in high-level Finnish and North American athletes" on 27 May 2022 at 15:00. The opponent is Professor Dr. Christophe Gernigon (University of Montpellier) and the custos is Dr. Montse Ruiz Cerezo, (University of Jyväskylä).
The public examination event can be followed online at the link.The audience can ask questions at the end of the event by contacting the custos at +358 40 80 53 969
The dissertation has been published in the online publication series JYU Dissertations 532, ISSN 2489-9003, ISBN 978-951-39-9311-5 (PDF) and is available in the JYX publication archive: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9311-5.
Saara Haapanen completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wyoming in Kinesiology and Health promotion in 2007. She graduated with a master's degree in sport and exercise psychology from the University of Jyväskylä in 2010. In 2013, Haapanen started a business called “Performance is Haapanen” which helps humans live happier healthier lives located in Denver, CO, USA. After completing her doctorate, Haapanen will continue to coach others on how to live their best lives.
Further information:
Saara Haapanen
saara@performanceishaapanen.com
