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Self-control as a mechanism for controlling aggression: A study in the context of sport competition
Personality and Individual Differences 87 (2015) 302–306
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Self-control as a mechanism for controlling aggression: A study in the context of sport competition☆ Rui Manuel Sofia, José Fernando A. Cruz ⁎ Research Center of Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Portugal
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 15 January 2015 Received in revised form 8 August 2015 Accepted 10 August 2015 Available online 29 August 2015 Keywords: Self-control Aggression Anger Anti-social behavior Sport competition
a b s t r a c t Self-control is one of the most important structures of human personality and has been linked to a wide variety of benefits for the individual, and for society. Additionally, self-control has been consistently reported, both empirically and theoretically, as a major disposition in the regulation of aggressive behavior. Taking the advantages of the sport context as a natural environment to study human aggression, this study explored the individual differences in aggressive and anti-social behaviors as function of self-control capacity and gender. Results converged to the idea that athletes with higher levels of self-control capacity seem to be better at controlling aggression, and male athletes tend to be more aggressive. These findings not only support previous laboratory findings, but also suggest the importance of the promotion of self-control capacity as a strategy to control aggression in the domain of sport. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Self-control is among the most important and stable structures of the human personality, enabling our adaptation to the environment (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007; Coyne & Wright, 2014; Gailliot et al., 2007). This structure is associated with multiple benefits for individuals and society (Baumeister & Alquist, 2009). Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone (2004) found that individuals high in self-control had better grades, more secure and satisfying relationships, and less anger and aggression than individuals low in self-control. Additionally, Moffitt et al. (2011) demonstrated that high childhood self-control predicted more control in personal finances, better physical health, less substance abuse and criminal offending. Self-control is a conscious, deliberate and effortful subtype of selfregulation defined as “the capacity to override natural and automatic tendencies, desires, or behaviors; to pursue long-term goals, even at the expense of short-term attractions; and to follow socially prescribed norms and rules” (Bauer & Baumeister, 2011, p. 65).
☆ This research was supported by a Doctoral grant attributed by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science), with the reference number: SFRH/BD/46206/2008. A non-published part of the current research study was awarded by the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) with an Honour Award (2014 “COP/Millennium BCP” Annual Awards for Research in Sport Sciences). ⁎ Corresponding author at: School of Psychology, Research Center of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar 4710-553 Braga, Portugal. E-mail addresses: ruisofi[email protected] (R. Manuel Sofia), [email protected] (J.F.A. Cruz).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.025 0191-8869/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Because self-control is essential to follow many rules and standards, including moral rules, this construct was referred as the “moral muscle” (Baumeister & Exline, 1999), to suggest the capacity to overcome selfish impulses and act in a socially desirable way. Several studies have suggested the potential role of self-control in aggressive behavior (DeWall, Finkel, & Denson, 2011). DeWall, Baumeister, Stillman, and Gailliot (2007) demonstrated that the self-control of aggression depends on a limited energy that decreases each time it is used. An individual is more likely to show an aggressive response when facing a provocation after a previous self-control task. It was suggested that individuals have a limited capacity to control aggression. Based on the assumption that self-control relies on glucose as an energy source (Gailliot et al., 2007), Denson, von Hippel, Kemp, and Teo (2010) tested the effects of glucose consumption on aggressive behavior. As expected, glucose reduced aggression among those high in trait aggression. Subsequently, Denson, Capper, Oaten, Friese, and Schofield (2011) explored whether self-control training reduces individuals' aggressive responses. Among participants high in trait aggression, the self-control training group reported less aggression than participants in the control group. Self-control training for two weeks appears to have reduced their aggressive responses. These studies show the important role of self-control on the regulation of aggression. Nonetheless, few studies were performed in applied contexts. For example, Dorris, Power, and Kenefick (2012) found that self-control is essential for performance by demonstrating that athletes performed worst after performing a difficult cognitive task. Englert and Bertrams (2012) also observed that anxious athletes with lowered self-control capacity were not able to control their attention and override their automatic tendency to focus on distracting stimuli, such
R. Manuel Sofia, J.F.A. Cruz / Personality and Individual Differences 87 (2015) 302–306
as anxiety-related worries, leading to a bad performance. However, when anxious individuals still had their self-control strength, they could override the negative effects of anxiety and control their attention. These findings suggest that self-control may be important for controlling aggression in sport competition. Although the context of sport provides a natural laboratory to study aggression (Maxwell, 2004), the scientific curiosity, and importance of this topic have not led to a more systematic and thorough research on this phenomenon (Kimble, Russo, Bergman, & Galindo, 2010). To overcome some problems with the definition and measurement of aggression in sport (Kerr, 1999), Maxwell and Moores (2007) focused on its most important antecedents: anger and aggressiveness (Berkowitz, 1993). Aggressiveness refers to the “disposition to become aggressive or acceptance of and willingness to use aggression” (Maxwell & Moores, 2007, p. 182), and anger can be defined as “an emotional state that varies in intensity, from mild irritation or annoyance to intense fury and rage” (Spielberger, 1988, p. 162). Initially, Maxwell and Moores (2007) found that male and team sports athletes tend to show higher levels on these construct measures compared to female and individual sports athletes, respectively. Likewise, Coulomb-Cabagno and Rascle (2006) reported that male athletes are more aggressive than females across different types of sport and competitive levels. Athletes with higher levels of anger and aggressiveness are also more prone to show antisocial behaviors, such as cheating or trying to injure another player (Kavussanu, Stanger, & Boardley, 2013). These behaviors can be conceptualized as voluntary actions with the intent to harm or disadvantage another individual (Kavussanu & Boardley, 2009). Anti-social behavior also seems to rely on self-control. For instance, Mead, Baumeister, Gino, Schweitzer, and Ariely (2009) suggested that dishonesty behaviors increased when participant's selfregulatory strength was impaired. Additionally, aggressive athletes often seem to engage in anger rumination (Maxwell, 2004; Maxwell, Visek, & Moores, 2009), or the tendency to repeatedly think about past experiences of anger (Sukhodolsky, Golub, & Cromwell, 2001). Anger rumination can increase the duration and intensity of anger, potentially increasing aggressive behavior (e.g., Bushman, 2002; Denson, 2013; Denson, Moulds & Grisham, 2012). Some studies have shown that anger rumination can lower the individuals' self-control capacity, leading individuals to show more aggressive behavior (e.g., Denson, Pedersen, Friese, Hahm, & Roberts, 2011). Recently, White and Turner (2014) observed that effortful control partially mediated the relationship between anger rumination and reactive aggression, also supporting a central role for self-control in the regulation of aggression. Based on these findings, this study intended to explore whether individuals with higher levels of self-control tend to show less aggressive traits, including anger, aggressiveness, antisocial behavior and anger rumination. Because self-control is a stable trait that differs across gender (e.g., Jo & Bouffard, 2014), the potential interaction between self-control levels and gender differences on aggressive-related variables will also be analyzed.
2. Method 2.1. Participants Participants were 269 athletes (n = 76, 28% females) ranging between 15 and 39 years old (Mage = 21.73, SDage = 6.35) competing in national and regional level competitions, in different types of individual and team, as well as contact and non-contact sports, namely: swimming (n = 8, 3%), volleyball (n = 34, 12.6%), roller hockey (n = 64, 23.8%), rugby (n = 46, 17.1%), indoor soccer (n = 22, 7.8%), badminton (n = 10, 3.7%), basketball (n = 8, 3%), handball (n = 23, 8.6%), tennis (n = 18, 6.7%), martial arts (n = 21, 7.8%), kickboxing (n = 2, 0.7%), boxing (n = 1, 0.4%) and Greco–Roman wrestling (n = 11, 4.1%).
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2.2. Measures 2.2.1. Demographics A questionnaire assessed demographic and sports history of the athletes. 2.2.2. Antisocial behavior toward opponents and toward teammates These variables were measured using a Portuguese language version of the anti-social behavior subscales from the Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale (Kavussanu & Boardley, 2009). In this version, the antisocial behavior toward teammates subscale includes 4 items reflecting verbal aggression (e.g., “Swore at a teammate”), whereas the antisocial behavior toward opponents subscale includes 8 items reflecting both verbal and physical aggression (e.g., “Physically intimidated an opponent”). Higher scores in both subscales indicate more involvement in antisocial behavior. The total scores are obtained by averaging the items of each subscale. Reliability analysis showed good psychometric characteristics for the subscales of antisocial behavior toward opponents (α = .85) and the antisocial behavior toward teammates (α = .72). 2.2.3. Brief self-control scale This scale was developed by Tangney et al. (2004) to measure trait self-control capacity. The Portuguese version used includes 12 items (e.g., “I have a hard time breaking bad habits”) answered on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all like me) to 5 (very much like me). In the current sample, this instrument showed a Cronbach's alpha of .76. The total score is obtained by averaging all the items. Higher scores reflect higher levels of trait self-control. 2.2.4. Competitive Anger and Aggressiveness Scale (CAAS) This scale was developed by Maxwell and Moores (2007) to measure competitive anger and the “tacit acceptance” of using aggression in sport contexts (aggressiveness). Like the previous measures, this instrument was recently translated to Portuguese (Sofia & Cruz, 2012), including 12 items answered in a five-point Likert scale of 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always), divided into two subscales: aggressiveness (6 items) and anger (6 items). The aggressiveness subscale measures the acceptance and willingness to use physical and verbal abuse to gain competitive advantages (e. g., “I use excessive force to gain an advantage”), and the anger subscale describes anger incidents associated with the frustration caused by losing points or games (e.g., “I get mad when I lose points”). Reliability analysis of this instrument in the current study revealed appropriate Cronbach's alphas of .83 for aggressiveness and .82 for anger. To obtain the total scores for anger and aggressiveness, item responses were multiplied by item severity and summed to produce the subscale scores. Item severity was obtained on the original study for the development of this measure (Maxwell & Moores, 2007). 2.2.5. State/Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2) This scale was developed by Spielberger (1999) to assess the experience, disposition, expression and control of anger, and was translated to Portuguese by Marques, Mendes, and De Sousa (2007). For the purposes of this study, the state scale was not used. It includes a subscale of trait anger (T-Anger) and 4 additional subscales reflecting the external (AX/ Out) and internal (AX/In) expression of anger, and the external (AX/ Cont-Out) and internal (AX/Cont-In) control of anger (e.g., “I am a hot-headed person”). Items were rated on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (always). The total scores are obtained by summing the items of each subscale. Higher scores reflect more tendency to experience, express and control anger. All the subscales demonstrated good reliability levels in this sample, specifically: T-Anger (α = .84), AX/In (α = .70), AX/Out (α = .73), AX/Cont-In (α = .78), and AX/Cont-Out (α = .82).
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athletes, self-control was found to be negatively associated with T-Anger, r = − .29, p = .012, AX/Out, r = − .27, p = .022, and anger rumination, r = −.33, p = .004. Results from the male athletes showed that self-control is significantly and negatively associated with all the variables associated with aggression, namely: anger, r = − .31, p b .001; aggressiveness, r = −.36, p b .001; antisocial behaviors toward opponents, r = − .22, p = .004, and teammates, r = −.16, p = .042; T-Anger, r = − .45, p b .001; AX/Out, r = − .55, p b .001; AX/In, r = − .24, p = .001; and anger rumination, r = − .33, p b .001. Conversely, self-control was positively associated with AX/Cont-Out, r = .33, p b .001, and AX/Cont-in, r = .33, p b .001 (Table 1).
2.2.6. Anger rumination subscale This measure is a subscale, translated to Portuguese, from the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire (Denson, Pedersen, & Miller, 2006). In this sample, a Cronbach's alpha of .93 was obtained. It includes a total of 10 items (e.g., “I keep thinking about events that angered me for a long time”) answered on a 7-point Likert scale of 1 (extremely uncharacteristic of me) to 7 (extremely characteristic of me). The score is obtained by the sum of its items, in which higher levels reflect more tendency to engage in anger rumination. 2.3. Procedures Ethical approval was granted from the authors' institutional scientific committee and the study was conducted in accordance to the ethical guidelines of the Helsinki declaration (1964), as well as with ethical and deontological research principles of the National Psychologists' Association. In accordance, several sport clubs were contacted and a meeting was arranged between the athletes and the first author of this study. The aims of the study were explained and after agreeing to participate, athletes were given the questionnaire containing several self-report measures presented in a random order to participants. Because this study is part of a larger research project, other measures were also included in this questionnaire, used in additional studies with different goals. Athletes also provided their informed consent, as well as their parents (if they were younger than 18 years old). Each athlete was given one individual envelope to enclose the completed questionnaire ensuring their anonymity. Envelopes were collected at each club or team training facilities by the first author of the study.
3.3. Differences between self-control levels and gender Two self-control groups were created using the scores median. The low self-control group includes participants who scored less than 3.5 (n = 99) and the high self-control group includes those who scored the same or more than 3.5 (n = 139). The factorial MANOVA revealed a significant multivariate effect for self-control, Wilk's λ = .79, F(10,190) = 5.20, p b .001, η2p = .22, and for gender, Wilk's λ = .75, F(10,190) = 6.23, p b .001, η2p = .25, but not for the interaction, Wilk's λ = .95, F(10,190) = 6.67, p N .05, η2p = .04. Results show the partial eta squares with the magnitudes of effect sizes corresponding to small = .01, medium = .06, and large = .14 (Cohen, 1988). Univariate tests for self-control groups demonstrated significant differences in competitive anger, F(1,199) = 7.73, p = .007, η2p = .04; aggressiveness, F(1,199) = 10.17, p = .002, η2p = .05; T-Anger, F(1,199) = 25.31, p b .001, η2p = .11; Ax/Cont-Out, F(1,199) = 8.75, p = .003, η2p = .04; Ax/Cont-In, F(1,199) = 10.48, p = .001, η2p = .05; AX/Out, F(1,199) = 44.71, p b .001, η 2p = .18; AX/In, F(1,199) = 5.05, p = .026, η 2p = .03; and anger rumination, F(1,199) = 11.40, p = .001, η2p = .05. Overall, results suggest that athletes with higher levels of self-control tend to show lower levels of anger, aggressiveness, trait anger and its internal and external expression, and higher levels on the external and internal control of anger (Table 2). Additionally, univariate tests for gender revealed significant differences for aggressiveness, F(1,199) = 40.09, p b .001, η2p = .17; antisocial behavior toward opponents, F(1,199) = 13.95, p b .001, η2p = .07; AX/ Cont-In, F(1,199) = 4.88, p = .028, η2p = .02; AX/Out, F(1,199) = 11.02, p b .001, η2p = .05; and anger rumination, F(1,199) = 5.86, p = .016, η2p = .03. These results suggest that female athletes tend to show lower levels of aggressiveness, antisocial behavior toward opponents, AX/Out, anger rumination, as well as higher levels of anger AX/ContIn, when compared to male athletes.
3. Results 3.1. Analytical strategy Pearson correlation analyses were performed separately for male and females to analyze differential patterns of correlations between self-control and the variables of anger and aggression. Subsequently, a 2 (low vs high self-control) × 2 (male vs female) factorial multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to account for both the differences between self-control levels and gender, and their interaction (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). 3.2. Pearson correlations between the variables in study for males and females Pearson correlations were performed for male and female athletes. Results regarding self-control were analyzed. When considering female Table 1 Pearson correlations between the variables in study for males and females. 1 1. Self-control CAAS 2. Anger 3. Aggressiveness Antisocial behavior 4. Opponents 5. Teammates STAXI-2 6. T-Anger 7. AX/Cont-Out 8. AX/Cont-In 9. AX-Out 10. AX-In 11. Anger rumination
1 −.31⁎⁎⁎ −.36⁎⁎⁎ −.22⁎⁎ −.16⁎ −.45⁎⁎⁎ .33⁎⁎⁎ .33⁎⁎⁎ −.55⁎⁎⁎ −.24⁎⁎ −.33⁎⁎⁎
2
3
−.18
−.23
1
.52⁎⁎⁎
4 .03
.50⁎⁎⁎
.67⁎⁎⁎ .27⁎⁎⁎
.54⁎⁎⁎ −.24⁎⁎ −.31⁎⁎⁎ .47⁎⁎⁎ .28⁎⁎⁎ .34⁎⁎⁎
.45⁎⁎⁎ −.28⁎⁎⁎ −.36⁎⁎⁎ .52⁎⁎⁎ .20⁎⁎ .19⁎⁎
6
7
−.20
−.29⁎
−.07
.47⁎⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎⁎
1
.35⁎⁎⁎ .24⁎⁎
5
1
.25⁎⁎
.40⁎⁎⁎ −.17⁎ −.28⁎⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎⁎ .17⁎ .19⁎
8 .01
9
10
11
−.27⁎
−.13
−.33⁎⁎
.28⁎ .28⁎
.65⁎⁎⁎ .37⁎⁎
−.29⁎ −.11
.30⁎ −.08
.43⁎⁎⁎ .30⁎
.36⁎⁎ .06
.36⁎⁎
.31⁎⁎ .33⁎⁎
−.13 −.07
−.37⁎⁎ −.03
.28⁎ .23
.16 .24⁎
−.46⁎⁎⁎ 1 .66⁎⁎⁎ −.46⁎⁎⁎ −.14⁎ −.29⁎⁎⁎
−.39⁎⁎ .69⁎⁎⁎
1 .19⁎ −.23⁎⁎ −.18⁎ .29⁎⁎⁎ .03 .05
1 −.50⁎⁎⁎ −.41⁎⁎⁎ .66⁎⁎⁎ .35⁎⁎⁎ .53⁎⁎⁎
Note. The upper diagonal shows the results for females, and the lower diagonal shows the results for male athletes. ⁎ p b .05. ⁎⁎ p b .01. ⁎⁎⁎ p b .001.
1 −.43⁎⁎⁎ −.18⁎ −.22⁎⁎
59⁎⁎⁎ −.31⁎⁎ −.29⁎ 1
.38⁎⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎⁎
.40⁎⁎⁎ .16 .07 .31⁎⁎ 1
.44⁎⁎⁎
.30⁎⁎ .15 . .09 .25⁎ .40⁎⁎⁎ .02 −.01 .19 .34⁎⁎ 1
R. Manuel Sofia, J.F.A. Cruz / Personality and Individual Differences 87 (2015) 302–306 Table 2 Descriptive statistics of the variables in study. Low self-control groupa
CAAS Anger Aggressiveness Antisocial behavior Opponents Teammates STAXI-2 T-Anger AX/Cont-Out AX/Cont-In AX/Out AX/In Anger rumination a
High self-control groupb
Femalec
Maled
Femalee
Malef
M
M
SD
M
M
SD
SD
SD
23.94 18.60
8.22 6.37
26.56 29.07
7.97 10.96
20.99 16.27
7.62 4.01
23.01 22.81
7.12 8.37
1.26 1.25
.34 .36
1.71 1.35
.70 .48
1.24 1.19
.30 .37
1.43 1.10
.56 .38
22.75 17.42 18.83 11.67 16.92 41.58
4.48 3.24 3.01 3.25 4.45 15.23
23.71 17.28 17.37 14.13 17.77 38.77
5.59 2.84 2.99 2.94 3.52 12.90
19.71 18.40 19.99 9.71 16.26 36.83
5.22 3.97 2.92 2.63 4.23 12.73
18.79 19.28 19.31 10.18 15.75 29.81
4.55 3.10 2.92 2.64 3.79 12.33
n = 99, b n = 139, c n = 26, d n = 72, e n = 43, f n = 96.
4. Discussion This study sought to explore if the trait differences in several indicators of aggression in sport vary across self-control levels and gender, and whether there is an interaction between these variables. Positive associations were found with the dimensions of control of the expression of anger, both internal and external, for male athletes. However, for female athletes, self-control was only significantly associated with trait anger, AX/Out and anger rumination. Nonetheless, these results are consistent with previous studies on the relationship between on self-control, aggression and antisocial behavior (e.g., Denson et al., 2010; Denson, Capper, et al., 2011; Denson, Pedersen, et al., 2011; DeWall et al., 2007; Mead et al., 2009; Kavussanu et al., 2013). When separating athletes according to high and low trait selfcontrol capacity, results revealed a large multivariate effect between the groups (η2p = .22), with most variables considered showing a large and medium magnitude effect size (Cohen, 1988), further suggesting that this personality structure has a central role in the regulation of aggression. Interestingly, the tendency to ruminate over anger experiences appears to be more frequent among athletes with less self-control capacity, which suggests that self-control may help control ruminative thinking patterns. Perhaps athletes with higher self-control may be able to focus their attention and block irrelevant thoughts (e.g., rumination over anger incidents), thus decreasing aggression. Indeed, Furley, Bertrams, Englert, and Delphia (2013) have recently shown that athletes with lowered self-control strength were less able to focus their attention on the current task to make appropriate decisions and block distractions. Although no interaction was found between the effects of selfcontrol levels and gender, results also suggested that male athletes tend to show higher levels of aggressiveness, antisocial behavior toward opponents, externalization of anger, anger rumination, but also higher levels on the control of internal anger when compared to female athletes. These results are consistent with previous research on gender differences and aggression in sport (e.g., Coulomb-Cabagno & Rascle, 2006; Donahue, Rip, & Vallerand, 2009; Maxwell & Moores, 2007). Additionally, no differences were found on trait anger. It seems that females may have more self-control capacity (Jo & Bouffard, 2014), which suggests that although they feel similar levels of anger, they can control their aggressive behavior. Presumably, self-control may be a key trait to explain gender differences in aggression. 5. Conclusions Overall, following several previous research findings (e.g., Denson et al., 2010; Denson, Capper, et al., 2011; Denson, Pedersen, et al., 2011; DeWall et al., 2007; White & Turner, 2014) on the relationship
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between self-control and aggressive behavior, these results provide support for the central role of self-control in the regulation of aggression in the context of sport competition. However, the cross-sectional nature of this study, and the trait-like measures used suggest that some cautions must be taken in the generalization of these findings. Because emotions and self-regulatory processes like self-control levels can fluctuate along and during different competition stages (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2007; Lazarus, 2000), future studies should consider the use of longitudinal designs, including emotional and self-control state measures, but also observational and more objective aggression measures, at different moments of competition. Such methodological improvements can be very helpful toward a better understanding of how selfcontrol restrains aggression. Additionally, a more balanced sample in terms of types of sports would allow the study of the role of self-control in aggression in different sports (e.g., individual vs team), and reflecting diverse levels of physical contact. Further analysis should also explore the possible interactions between anger, aggression, anger rumination and self-control. The recent “I-cubed” model (Denson, DeWall, & Finkel, 2012) suggests that three processes underlie aggression: instigation, impellance, and inhibition (the three Is). Instigation includes the factors that trigger aggression, such as provocation. Whereas impellance involves dispositional or situational factors that lead the individual to specific instigators in specific contexts (e.g., trait aggressiveness), inhibition “refers to dispositional or situational factors that increase the likelihood that people will override an aggressive urge (e.g., trait self-control)” (p. 20). Therefore, this new conceptual framework can be a valuable and novel perspective for future research of aggression in applied fields such as sport. The exploration of the variables and processes involved in this meta-theory, as well as attempts to test its major assumptions, can add a fruitful avenue toward the development and advancement of knowledge about the processes involved in aggression in sport. Given the potential of self-control as a central structure and process, either as a dispositional trait or as a state self-regulatory strategy, in the control of aggressive and anti-social impulses, psychological interventions should focus on promoting and teaching this capacity and related skills. Self-control can function as a “muscle” that can be trained (Baumeister et al., 2007). For example, Denson, Capper, et al. (2011) demonstrated that self-control training can reduce participants' aggressive tendencies. As a major applied and practical implication, integrating strategies and skills to strengthen self-control capacity and resources (e.g., Duckworth, Gendler, & Gross, 2014) would certainly be a useful and potential way to tackle the problem of aggression in sport competition, particularly under the stress and pressure situations occurring in sport competition.
Acknowledgments This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre, University of Minho, and supported in part by a grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds (SFRH/BD/46206/2008) and co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013). The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions made on an earlier version of this paper. We would also like to thank Ana Luísa Silva for her help in revising the english language of this paper.
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Self-control as a mechanism for controlling aggression: A study in the context of sport competition☆ Rui Manuel Sofia, José Fernando A. Cruz ⁎ Research Center of Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Portugal
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 15 January 2015 Received in revised form 8 August 2015 Accepted 10 August 2015 Available online 29 August 2015 Keywords: Self-control Aggression Anger Anti-social behavior Sport competition
a b s t r a c t Self-control is one of the most important structures of human personality and has been linked to a wide variety of benefits for the individual, and for society. Additionally, self-control has been consistently reported, both empirically and theoretically, as a major disposition in the regulation of aggressive behavior. Taking the advantages of the sport context as a natural environment to study human aggression, this study explored the individual differences in aggressive and anti-social behaviors as function of self-control capacity and gender. Results converged to the idea that athletes with higher levels of self-control capacity seem to be better at controlling aggression, and male athletes tend to be more aggressive. These findings not only support previous laboratory findings, but also suggest the importance of the promotion of self-control capacity as a strategy to control aggression in the domain of sport. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Self-control is among the most important and stable structures of the human personality, enabling our adaptation to the environment (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007; Coyne & Wright, 2014; Gailliot et al., 2007). This structure is associated with multiple benefits for individuals and society (Baumeister & Alquist, 2009). Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone (2004) found that individuals high in self-control had better grades, more secure and satisfying relationships, and less anger and aggression than individuals low in self-control. Additionally, Moffitt et al. (2011) demonstrated that high childhood self-control predicted more control in personal finances, better physical health, less substance abuse and criminal offending. Self-control is a conscious, deliberate and effortful subtype of selfregulation defined as “the capacity to override natural and automatic tendencies, desires, or behaviors; to pursue long-term goals, even at the expense of short-term attractions; and to follow socially prescribed norms and rules” (Bauer & Baumeister, 2011, p. 65).
☆ This research was supported by a Doctoral grant attributed by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science), with the reference number: SFRH/BD/46206/2008. A non-published part of the current research study was awarded by the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) with an Honour Award (2014 “COP/Millennium BCP” Annual Awards for Research in Sport Sciences). ⁎ Corresponding author at: School of Psychology, Research Center of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar 4710-553 Braga, Portugal. E-mail addresses: ruisofi[email protected] (R. Manuel Sofia), [email protected] (J.F.A. Cruz).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.025 0191-8869/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Because self-control is essential to follow many rules and standards, including moral rules, this construct was referred as the “moral muscle” (Baumeister & Exline, 1999), to suggest the capacity to overcome selfish impulses and act in a socially desirable way. Several studies have suggested the potential role of self-control in aggressive behavior (DeWall, Finkel, & Denson, 2011). DeWall, Baumeister, Stillman, and Gailliot (2007) demonstrated that the self-control of aggression depends on a limited energy that decreases each time it is used. An individual is more likely to show an aggressive response when facing a provocation after a previous self-control task. It was suggested that individuals have a limited capacity to control aggression. Based on the assumption that self-control relies on glucose as an energy source (Gailliot et al., 2007), Denson, von Hippel, Kemp, and Teo (2010) tested the effects of glucose consumption on aggressive behavior. As expected, glucose reduced aggression among those high in trait aggression. Subsequently, Denson, Capper, Oaten, Friese, and Schofield (2011) explored whether self-control training reduces individuals' aggressive responses. Among participants high in trait aggression, the self-control training group reported less aggression than participants in the control group. Self-control training for two weeks appears to have reduced their aggressive responses. These studies show the important role of self-control on the regulation of aggression. Nonetheless, few studies were performed in applied contexts. For example, Dorris, Power, and Kenefick (2012) found that self-control is essential for performance by demonstrating that athletes performed worst after performing a difficult cognitive task. Englert and Bertrams (2012) also observed that anxious athletes with lowered self-control capacity were not able to control their attention and override their automatic tendency to focus on distracting stimuli, such
R. Manuel Sofia, J.F.A. Cruz / Personality and Individual Differences 87 (2015) 302–306
as anxiety-related worries, leading to a bad performance. However, when anxious individuals still had their self-control strength, they could override the negative effects of anxiety and control their attention. These findings suggest that self-control may be important for controlling aggression in sport competition. Although the context of sport provides a natural laboratory to study aggression (Maxwell, 2004), the scientific curiosity, and importance of this topic have not led to a more systematic and thorough research on this phenomenon (Kimble, Russo, Bergman, & Galindo, 2010). To overcome some problems with the definition and measurement of aggression in sport (Kerr, 1999), Maxwell and Moores (2007) focused on its most important antecedents: anger and aggressiveness (Berkowitz, 1993). Aggressiveness refers to the “disposition to become aggressive or acceptance of and willingness to use aggression” (Maxwell & Moores, 2007, p. 182), and anger can be defined as “an emotional state that varies in intensity, from mild irritation or annoyance to intense fury and rage” (Spielberger, 1988, p. 162). Initially, Maxwell and Moores (2007) found that male and team sports athletes tend to show higher levels on these construct measures compared to female and individual sports athletes, respectively. Likewise, Coulomb-Cabagno and Rascle (2006) reported that male athletes are more aggressive than females across different types of sport and competitive levels. Athletes with higher levels of anger and aggressiveness are also more prone to show antisocial behaviors, such as cheating or trying to injure another player (Kavussanu, Stanger, & Boardley, 2013). These behaviors can be conceptualized as voluntary actions with the intent to harm or disadvantage another individual (Kavussanu & Boardley, 2009). Anti-social behavior also seems to rely on self-control. For instance, Mead, Baumeister, Gino, Schweitzer, and Ariely (2009) suggested that dishonesty behaviors increased when participant's selfregulatory strength was impaired. Additionally, aggressive athletes often seem to engage in anger rumination (Maxwell, 2004; Maxwell, Visek, & Moores, 2009), or the tendency to repeatedly think about past experiences of anger (Sukhodolsky, Golub, & Cromwell, 2001). Anger rumination can increase the duration and intensity of anger, potentially increasing aggressive behavior (e.g., Bushman, 2002; Denson, 2013; Denson, Moulds & Grisham, 2012). Some studies have shown that anger rumination can lower the individuals' self-control capacity, leading individuals to show more aggressive behavior (e.g., Denson, Pedersen, Friese, Hahm, & Roberts, 2011). Recently, White and Turner (2014) observed that effortful control partially mediated the relationship between anger rumination and reactive aggression, also supporting a central role for self-control in the regulation of aggression. Based on these findings, this study intended to explore whether individuals with higher levels of self-control tend to show less aggressive traits, including anger, aggressiveness, antisocial behavior and anger rumination. Because self-control is a stable trait that differs across gender (e.g., Jo & Bouffard, 2014), the potential interaction between self-control levels and gender differences on aggressive-related variables will also be analyzed.
2. Method 2.1. Participants Participants were 269 athletes (n = 76, 28% females) ranging between 15 and 39 years old (Mage = 21.73, SDage = 6.35) competing in national and regional level competitions, in different types of individual and team, as well as contact and non-contact sports, namely: swimming (n = 8, 3%), volleyball (n = 34, 12.6%), roller hockey (n = 64, 23.8%), rugby (n = 46, 17.1%), indoor soccer (n = 22, 7.8%), badminton (n = 10, 3.7%), basketball (n = 8, 3%), handball (n = 23, 8.6%), tennis (n = 18, 6.7%), martial arts (n = 21, 7.8%), kickboxing (n = 2, 0.7%), boxing (n = 1, 0.4%) and Greco–Roman wrestling (n = 11, 4.1%).
303
2.2. Measures 2.2.1. Demographics A questionnaire assessed demographic and sports history of the athletes. 2.2.2. Antisocial behavior toward opponents and toward teammates These variables were measured using a Portuguese language version of the anti-social behavior subscales from the Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale (Kavussanu & Boardley, 2009). In this version, the antisocial behavior toward teammates subscale includes 4 items reflecting verbal aggression (e.g., “Swore at a teammate”), whereas the antisocial behavior toward opponents subscale includes 8 items reflecting both verbal and physical aggression (e.g., “Physically intimidated an opponent”). Higher scores in both subscales indicate more involvement in antisocial behavior. The total scores are obtained by averaging the items of each subscale. Reliability analysis showed good psychometric characteristics for the subscales of antisocial behavior toward opponents (α = .85) and the antisocial behavior toward teammates (α = .72). 2.2.3. Brief self-control scale This scale was developed by Tangney et al. (2004) to measure trait self-control capacity. The Portuguese version used includes 12 items (e.g., “I have a hard time breaking bad habits”) answered on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all like me) to 5 (very much like me). In the current sample, this instrument showed a Cronbach's alpha of .76. The total score is obtained by averaging all the items. Higher scores reflect higher levels of trait self-control. 2.2.4. Competitive Anger and Aggressiveness Scale (CAAS) This scale was developed by Maxwell and Moores (2007) to measure competitive anger and the “tacit acceptance” of using aggression in sport contexts (aggressiveness). Like the previous measures, this instrument was recently translated to Portuguese (Sofia & Cruz, 2012), including 12 items answered in a five-point Likert scale of 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always), divided into two subscales: aggressiveness (6 items) and anger (6 items). The aggressiveness subscale measures the acceptance and willingness to use physical and verbal abuse to gain competitive advantages (e. g., “I use excessive force to gain an advantage”), and the anger subscale describes anger incidents associated with the frustration caused by losing points or games (e.g., “I get mad when I lose points”). Reliability analysis of this instrument in the current study revealed appropriate Cronbach's alphas of .83 for aggressiveness and .82 for anger. To obtain the total scores for anger and aggressiveness, item responses were multiplied by item severity and summed to produce the subscale scores. Item severity was obtained on the original study for the development of this measure (Maxwell & Moores, 2007). 2.2.5. State/Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2) This scale was developed by Spielberger (1999) to assess the experience, disposition, expression and control of anger, and was translated to Portuguese by Marques, Mendes, and De Sousa (2007). For the purposes of this study, the state scale was not used. It includes a subscale of trait anger (T-Anger) and 4 additional subscales reflecting the external (AX/ Out) and internal (AX/In) expression of anger, and the external (AX/ Cont-Out) and internal (AX/Cont-In) control of anger (e.g., “I am a hot-headed person”). Items were rated on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (always). The total scores are obtained by summing the items of each subscale. Higher scores reflect more tendency to experience, express and control anger. All the subscales demonstrated good reliability levels in this sample, specifically: T-Anger (α = .84), AX/In (α = .70), AX/Out (α = .73), AX/Cont-In (α = .78), and AX/Cont-Out (α = .82).
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athletes, self-control was found to be negatively associated with T-Anger, r = − .29, p = .012, AX/Out, r = − .27, p = .022, and anger rumination, r = −.33, p = .004. Results from the male athletes showed that self-control is significantly and negatively associated with all the variables associated with aggression, namely: anger, r = − .31, p b .001; aggressiveness, r = −.36, p b .001; antisocial behaviors toward opponents, r = − .22, p = .004, and teammates, r = −.16, p = .042; T-Anger, r = − .45, p b .001; AX/Out, r = − .55, p b .001; AX/In, r = − .24, p = .001; and anger rumination, r = − .33, p b .001. Conversely, self-control was positively associated with AX/Cont-Out, r = .33, p b .001, and AX/Cont-in, r = .33, p b .001 (Table 1).
2.2.6. Anger rumination subscale This measure is a subscale, translated to Portuguese, from the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire (Denson, Pedersen, & Miller, 2006). In this sample, a Cronbach's alpha of .93 was obtained. It includes a total of 10 items (e.g., “I keep thinking about events that angered me for a long time”) answered on a 7-point Likert scale of 1 (extremely uncharacteristic of me) to 7 (extremely characteristic of me). The score is obtained by the sum of its items, in which higher levels reflect more tendency to engage in anger rumination. 2.3. Procedures Ethical approval was granted from the authors' institutional scientific committee and the study was conducted in accordance to the ethical guidelines of the Helsinki declaration (1964), as well as with ethical and deontological research principles of the National Psychologists' Association. In accordance, several sport clubs were contacted and a meeting was arranged between the athletes and the first author of this study. The aims of the study were explained and after agreeing to participate, athletes were given the questionnaire containing several self-report measures presented in a random order to participants. Because this study is part of a larger research project, other measures were also included in this questionnaire, used in additional studies with different goals. Athletes also provided their informed consent, as well as their parents (if they were younger than 18 years old). Each athlete was given one individual envelope to enclose the completed questionnaire ensuring their anonymity. Envelopes were collected at each club or team training facilities by the first author of the study.
3.3. Differences between self-control levels and gender Two self-control groups were created using the scores median. The low self-control group includes participants who scored less than 3.5 (n = 99) and the high self-control group includes those who scored the same or more than 3.5 (n = 139). The factorial MANOVA revealed a significant multivariate effect for self-control, Wilk's λ = .79, F(10,190) = 5.20, p b .001, η2p = .22, and for gender, Wilk's λ = .75, F(10,190) = 6.23, p b .001, η2p = .25, but not for the interaction, Wilk's λ = .95, F(10,190) = 6.67, p N .05, η2p = .04. Results show the partial eta squares with the magnitudes of effect sizes corresponding to small = .01, medium = .06, and large = .14 (Cohen, 1988). Univariate tests for self-control groups demonstrated significant differences in competitive anger, F(1,199) = 7.73, p = .007, η2p = .04; aggressiveness, F(1,199) = 10.17, p = .002, η2p = .05; T-Anger, F(1,199) = 25.31, p b .001, η2p = .11; Ax/Cont-Out, F(1,199) = 8.75, p = .003, η2p = .04; Ax/Cont-In, F(1,199) = 10.48, p = .001, η2p = .05; AX/Out, F(1,199) = 44.71, p b .001, η 2p = .18; AX/In, F(1,199) = 5.05, p = .026, η 2p = .03; and anger rumination, F(1,199) = 11.40, p = .001, η2p = .05. Overall, results suggest that athletes with higher levels of self-control tend to show lower levels of anger, aggressiveness, trait anger and its internal and external expression, and higher levels on the external and internal control of anger (Table 2). Additionally, univariate tests for gender revealed significant differences for aggressiveness, F(1,199) = 40.09, p b .001, η2p = .17; antisocial behavior toward opponents, F(1,199) = 13.95, p b .001, η2p = .07; AX/ Cont-In, F(1,199) = 4.88, p = .028, η2p = .02; AX/Out, F(1,199) = 11.02, p b .001, η2p = .05; and anger rumination, F(1,199) = 5.86, p = .016, η2p = .03. These results suggest that female athletes tend to show lower levels of aggressiveness, antisocial behavior toward opponents, AX/Out, anger rumination, as well as higher levels of anger AX/ContIn, when compared to male athletes.
3. Results 3.1. Analytical strategy Pearson correlation analyses were performed separately for male and females to analyze differential patterns of correlations between self-control and the variables of anger and aggression. Subsequently, a 2 (low vs high self-control) × 2 (male vs female) factorial multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to account for both the differences between self-control levels and gender, and their interaction (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). 3.2. Pearson correlations between the variables in study for males and females Pearson correlations were performed for male and female athletes. Results regarding self-control were analyzed. When considering female Table 1 Pearson correlations between the variables in study for males and females. 1 1. Self-control CAAS 2. Anger 3. Aggressiveness Antisocial behavior 4. Opponents 5. Teammates STAXI-2 6. T-Anger 7. AX/Cont-Out 8. AX/Cont-In 9. AX-Out 10. AX-In 11. Anger rumination
1 −.31⁎⁎⁎ −.36⁎⁎⁎ −.22⁎⁎ −.16⁎ −.45⁎⁎⁎ .33⁎⁎⁎ .33⁎⁎⁎ −.55⁎⁎⁎ −.24⁎⁎ −.33⁎⁎⁎
2
3
−.18
−.23
1
.52⁎⁎⁎
4 .03
.50⁎⁎⁎
.67⁎⁎⁎ .27⁎⁎⁎
.54⁎⁎⁎ −.24⁎⁎ −.31⁎⁎⁎ .47⁎⁎⁎ .28⁎⁎⁎ .34⁎⁎⁎
.45⁎⁎⁎ −.28⁎⁎⁎ −.36⁎⁎⁎ .52⁎⁎⁎ .20⁎⁎ .19⁎⁎
6
7
−.20
−.29⁎
−.07
.47⁎⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎⁎
1
.35⁎⁎⁎ .24⁎⁎
5
1
.25⁎⁎
.40⁎⁎⁎ −.17⁎ −.28⁎⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎⁎ .17⁎ .19⁎
8 .01
9
10
11
−.27⁎
−.13
−.33⁎⁎
.28⁎ .28⁎
.65⁎⁎⁎ .37⁎⁎
−.29⁎ −.11
.30⁎ −.08
.43⁎⁎⁎ .30⁎
.36⁎⁎ .06
.36⁎⁎
.31⁎⁎ .33⁎⁎
−.13 −.07
−.37⁎⁎ −.03
.28⁎ .23
.16 .24⁎
−.46⁎⁎⁎ 1 .66⁎⁎⁎ −.46⁎⁎⁎ −.14⁎ −.29⁎⁎⁎
−.39⁎⁎ .69⁎⁎⁎
1 .19⁎ −.23⁎⁎ −.18⁎ .29⁎⁎⁎ .03 .05
1 −.50⁎⁎⁎ −.41⁎⁎⁎ .66⁎⁎⁎ .35⁎⁎⁎ .53⁎⁎⁎
Note. The upper diagonal shows the results for females, and the lower diagonal shows the results for male athletes. ⁎ p b .05. ⁎⁎ p b .01. ⁎⁎⁎ p b .001.
1 −.43⁎⁎⁎ −.18⁎ −.22⁎⁎
59⁎⁎⁎ −.31⁎⁎ −.29⁎ 1
.38⁎⁎⁎ .46⁎⁎⁎
.40⁎⁎⁎ .16 .07 .31⁎⁎ 1
.44⁎⁎⁎
.30⁎⁎ .15 . .09 .25⁎ .40⁎⁎⁎ .02 −.01 .19 .34⁎⁎ 1
R. Manuel Sofia, J.F.A. Cruz / Personality and Individual Differences 87 (2015) 302–306 Table 2 Descriptive statistics of the variables in study. Low self-control groupa
CAAS Anger Aggressiveness Antisocial behavior Opponents Teammates STAXI-2 T-Anger AX/Cont-Out AX/Cont-In AX/Out AX/In Anger rumination a
High self-control groupb
Femalec
Maled
Femalee
Malef
M
M
SD
M
M
SD
SD
SD
23.94 18.60
8.22 6.37
26.56 29.07
7.97 10.96
20.99 16.27
7.62 4.01
23.01 22.81
7.12 8.37
1.26 1.25
.34 .36
1.71 1.35
.70 .48
1.24 1.19
.30 .37
1.43 1.10
.56 .38
22.75 17.42 18.83 11.67 16.92 41.58
4.48 3.24 3.01 3.25 4.45 15.23
23.71 17.28 17.37 14.13 17.77 38.77
5.59 2.84 2.99 2.94 3.52 12.90
19.71 18.40 19.99 9.71 16.26 36.83
5.22 3.97 2.92 2.63 4.23 12.73
18.79 19.28 19.31 10.18 15.75 29.81
4.55 3.10 2.92 2.64 3.79 12.33
n = 99, b n = 139, c n = 26, d n = 72, e n = 43, f n = 96.
4. Discussion This study sought to explore if the trait differences in several indicators of aggression in sport vary across self-control levels and gender, and whether there is an interaction between these variables. Positive associations were found with the dimensions of control of the expression of anger, both internal and external, for male athletes. However, for female athletes, self-control was only significantly associated with trait anger, AX/Out and anger rumination. Nonetheless, these results are consistent with previous studies on the relationship between on self-control, aggression and antisocial behavior (e.g., Denson et al., 2010; Denson, Capper, et al., 2011; Denson, Pedersen, et al., 2011; DeWall et al., 2007; Mead et al., 2009; Kavussanu et al., 2013). When separating athletes according to high and low trait selfcontrol capacity, results revealed a large multivariate effect between the groups (η2p = .22), with most variables considered showing a large and medium magnitude effect size (Cohen, 1988), further suggesting that this personality structure has a central role in the regulation of aggression. Interestingly, the tendency to ruminate over anger experiences appears to be more frequent among athletes with less self-control capacity, which suggests that self-control may help control ruminative thinking patterns. Perhaps athletes with higher self-control may be able to focus their attention and block irrelevant thoughts (e.g., rumination over anger incidents), thus decreasing aggression. Indeed, Furley, Bertrams, Englert, and Delphia (2013) have recently shown that athletes with lowered self-control strength were less able to focus their attention on the current task to make appropriate decisions and block distractions. Although no interaction was found between the effects of selfcontrol levels and gender, results also suggested that male athletes tend to show higher levels of aggressiveness, antisocial behavior toward opponents, externalization of anger, anger rumination, but also higher levels on the control of internal anger when compared to female athletes. These results are consistent with previous research on gender differences and aggression in sport (e.g., Coulomb-Cabagno & Rascle, 2006; Donahue, Rip, & Vallerand, 2009; Maxwell & Moores, 2007). Additionally, no differences were found on trait anger. It seems that females may have more self-control capacity (Jo & Bouffard, 2014), which suggests that although they feel similar levels of anger, they can control their aggressive behavior. Presumably, self-control may be a key trait to explain gender differences in aggression. 5. Conclusions Overall, following several previous research findings (e.g., Denson et al., 2010; Denson, Capper, et al., 2011; Denson, Pedersen, et al., 2011; DeWall et al., 2007; White & Turner, 2014) on the relationship
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between self-control and aggressive behavior, these results provide support for the central role of self-control in the regulation of aggression in the context of sport competition. However, the cross-sectional nature of this study, and the trait-like measures used suggest that some cautions must be taken in the generalization of these findings. Because emotions and self-regulatory processes like self-control levels can fluctuate along and during different competition stages (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2007; Lazarus, 2000), future studies should consider the use of longitudinal designs, including emotional and self-control state measures, but also observational and more objective aggression measures, at different moments of competition. Such methodological improvements can be very helpful toward a better understanding of how selfcontrol restrains aggression. Additionally, a more balanced sample in terms of types of sports would allow the study of the role of self-control in aggression in different sports (e.g., individual vs team), and reflecting diverse levels of physical contact. Further analysis should also explore the possible interactions between anger, aggression, anger rumination and self-control. The recent “I-cubed” model (Denson, DeWall, & Finkel, 2012) suggests that three processes underlie aggression: instigation, impellance, and inhibition (the three Is). Instigation includes the factors that trigger aggression, such as provocation. Whereas impellance involves dispositional or situational factors that lead the individual to specific instigators in specific contexts (e.g., trait aggressiveness), inhibition “refers to dispositional or situational factors that increase the likelihood that people will override an aggressive urge (e.g., trait self-control)” (p. 20). Therefore, this new conceptual framework can be a valuable and novel perspective for future research of aggression in applied fields such as sport. The exploration of the variables and processes involved in this meta-theory, as well as attempts to test its major assumptions, can add a fruitful avenue toward the development and advancement of knowledge about the processes involved in aggression in sport. Given the potential of self-control as a central structure and process, either as a dispositional trait or as a state self-regulatory strategy, in the control of aggressive and anti-social impulses, psychological interventions should focus on promoting and teaching this capacity and related skills. Self-control can function as a “muscle” that can be trained (Baumeister et al., 2007). For example, Denson, Capper, et al. (2011) demonstrated that self-control training can reduce participants' aggressive tendencies. As a major applied and practical implication, integrating strategies and skills to strengthen self-control capacity and resources (e.g., Duckworth, Gendler, & Gross, 2014) would certainly be a useful and potential way to tackle the problem of aggression in sport competition, particularly under the stress and pressure situations occurring in sport competition.
Acknowledgments This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre, University of Minho, and supported in part by a grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds (SFRH/BD/46206/2008) and co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013). The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions made on an earlier version of this paper. We would also like to thank Ana Luísa Silva for her help in revising the english language of this paper.
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