Blog 2: Sport - A Psychoevolutionary Perspective

Introduction

For many people all over the world sport is more than a game, it is a way of life. The thrill of competition offers an escape from the monotony of day to day life and allows us to express ourselves physically in a natural and enjoyable way. Arising from the dawn of pre-historic time, sports developed across cultures and spread from country to country defining social and cultural ideals. The immense popularity of sport makes it big business in today’s commercial world. What we shouldn’t forget is the immense health benefits of sports for people of all ages.

What is Sport?

The Macquarie Dictionary defines sports as ‘an activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, usually requiring some degree of physical skill’. For the purpose of this paper, sport is further categorized as an activity governed by a set of rules in which the capabilities of the competitors act as the primary determinant of the result.

Origins of Sport

The emergence and growth of sports can be partly linked to the evolution of humankind in general. The theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin refers to natural selection as ensuring that the fittest animals are the most likely to perpetuate their genes in future generations (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). This led to the evolution and extraordinary growth in physical and mental powers which placed humankind on top of the food chain. Man’s increased intelligence led to more active methods of acquiring foods such as hunting, often with the use of tools and weapons. An increased emphasis on physical prowess saw children trained for their future roles as hunters and warriors. This commonly took the form of organized games aimed at building skills relevant to physical performance. The quality of human life grew rapidly during this time allowing more scope for creativeness of expression through movement. Communal dance provided the first manifestation of this revolution, endearing many to the catharsis of trance (Olivova, 1984).
The practicality and desirability of possessing exceptional skills and strength meant that these attributes greatly enhanced social standing. Such abilities were frequently tested in challenging situations such as the hunting of dangerous beasts. Elite members of society frequently took part in contests which encouraged and nurtured the competitive spirit. Early sporting festivals included wrestling, racing, boxing, archery, fencing, jumping, throwing, swimming, and rowing. These rituals were still strongly linked to dance and the liberated expression of human physicality (Olivova, 1984). Competition naturally drives people to attain their goals at the expense of others. Sport provided an avenue for the release of the competitive spirit and associated nervous energy without the dangers associated with a cut-throat, natural environment (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008).

The development of prehistoric sport was strongly linked to the order and organization of society in general. The structure of society was mirrored in competitive sports where participants were grouped according to sex, age, occupation, social standing etc. Such events were seen as religious rituals to celebrate and honour the gods. Many mock fights and races were staged to ensure that a pre-determined victor would triumph (Olivova, 1984).
Social categorization was a powerful factor in the accessibility and participation in sports during these times but what about today? How much does our tendency to categorize people into groups affect modern sport? Could sport survive without it? These questions will be addressed later in the paper (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008).

Perhaps the most significant sporting event in history occurred in Olympia, Greece in 776 BC when a short foot race signaled the beginning of the ancient Olympics. The cultural significance of the Games was immense and new sports were quickly added including the pentathlon, boxing, and wrestling. The fierce combat event, the pancration, meaning ‘all forms of power’ pitted contestants in brutal fighting battles with almost no rules at all. The pancration was subject to immense interest and popularity during the late antiquity period, perhaps satisfying an in-built inquisitiveness as to the nature of competition and the will to succeed. All games were strictly individual contests with high importance placed on the result. Winning symbolized excellence and beauty in the physical form while losing led to disgrace (Young & Wamsley, 2005).

A quote from Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher summed up the value ancient societies placed on sporting achievement. He describes a young man's ultimate physical beauty: "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength...This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful."

Sport and Culture

Sport has the undoubted ability to galvanize people in a completely unique way. It transcends cultural and social barriers in a celebration of skill, identity, and freedom. There is no doubt that sport is imbedded in the popular culture of most developed nations. Culture refers to an information based system involving shared ideas and praxis (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). The story of sport is one that corresponds with the cultural development of many nations.
British colonialism of India, and the West Indies acted to spread popular European sports such as cricket and football. In a way, sport acted as a bridge or avenue allowing a degree of cultural assimilation between vastly different nations. In 1857, a resistant Indian population acted in mutiny against the newly established British rule. England’s superior armed forces ensured that the resistance was quickly eliminated with native Indians resigned to stereotypes of inferiority at the hands of their rulers. At this point, Indian society was one with vast discrepancies in cultural ideology between natives and colonists (Majumdar, 2006). The late 19th century saw Indian nationalism gather momentum, not through acts of violence but rather through a new, collective emphasis on physical culture. In response to British portrayal of Bengali males as effete, an increased emphasis on physical education arose in many Indian schools. ‘Masculine’ British sports such as cricket, football, and tennis were encouraged, not as an act of mimicry but more as an avenue to permeate self respect, manliness, and self worth amongst Indian men. This is not to say that Indian’s did not thoroughly enjoy victories over the colonists! Britain’s superiority in European sports in many ways symbolized the success of the imperial agenda. When native Indian’s challenged the British on the cricket field, it coincided with the demise of colonial rule and the continued growth of India’s national identity (Majumdar, 2006).

The 20th century has seen sports grow from the days of being an exclusivity upper class pastime. The best example of this is soccer which has grown into a truly international phenomenon. Argentina, a relatively poor nation put the whole world on notice with a stirring victory in the FIFA world cup of 1986. It can be said that sport does not just represent a battle between classes, but also a territorial dual between suburbs, cities, states, and nations. This represents the degree of globalization of humankind in general since the individual contests of pre-historic/ ancient times (Poli, 2007).

The competitiveness of modern day sport results in fierce rivalries not just between teams but also fans. Groups bonded by their membership or allegiance to a sporting team can become involved in conflict. Several psychological theories aim to explain violence on the sporting field. Research has suggested that violence in sport amongst college students is caused by provocation, encouragement by coaches, peer pressure, wanting to win (competitiveness), revenge, and retaliation. It is especially likely if it constitutes the difference between winning and losing. Another influence is the ‘macho’ image of males in society. Social learning theory describes behavior (such as violence in sport) in three ways. Firstly, social learning results from the consequences of our actions e.g. Rewards for good behavior and punishment for bad. Violence in sport may be partly a product of its general acceptance (and sometimes encouragement) from coaches, team mates, fans, media, and society. Cognitive associations between circumstances and expected behavioral responses also contribute. Consider the case of Des Headland and Adam Selwood in the Australian Football League. Fremantle’s Headland escaped a five match suspension for a confrontation with West Coast’s Selwood after claiming sexually explicit taunts were made about his six year old daughter. Surprisingly, Selwood also escaped any punishment thus exposing a major loophole in the tribunal system. Role modeling is another factor that has led to aggression in sports. Research suggests that much of the learnt behavior in young athletes is imitative in nature including that of overly aggressive tactics aimed at unsettling the opposition (Lance & Ross, 2000).

Professionalism in Sport

A major difference between present day sport and that of the past is the amount of money involved. Many describe it as the transformation of an activity pursued for its own sake to one undertaken for extrinsic purposes. In saying this, high value had been placed on top level sports throughout history where the incentives varied but always related to social standing in some form. The thing that has changed in modern day sport is what it means to be an athlete. Sport has become institutionalized and is now more like work than play for the elite. The main power brokers in the modern game are the managers and audience; the players are merely pawns in a commercial enterprise. To highlight this, sport sits comfortably in the top 20 industry Gross National Product List of the US ahead of the automobile, petroleum, and airline industries. The exploding industry of sports science focuses the latest and most advanced research on improving performance. Athletes behind the eight ball are left behind in a field where every second counts. Sports stars of today require representation and management advice in most areas of their lives. Many have multi million dollars contracts to endorse big name brands and companies (Frey & Eitzen, 1991).

The effect of media on sport has been highlighted in the National Rugby League competition. In 1997 Rupert Murdoch attempted to buy out the game resulting in a breakaway Super League competition being established. Many believe that the game changed for ever when pay packets rose by outrageous amounts due to media related deals. The sport which stood for local pride and passion became a global circus of ultra fit professionals playing for extrinsic reasons. Luckily for fans, the game survived but not before being shaken to the very core. There is a big fear that increased importance of monetary awards may act to devalue the intrinsic motivations for playing sport. An exaggerated emphasis on winning has seen the use of performance enhancing drugs become endemic. One must hope that proper education will continue to ensure that our youth play purely for the love of sport and not for extrinsic purposes (Blake, 1995).

Conclusion

Sport has changed forever as a result of increased media exposure. This forces athletes into the lime light, many of whom are perhaps not ready for such responsibility. It is important for sporting heroes of the day to recognize their influence and act as role models for the younger generations. It is the author’s opinion that they are extremely well paid for their jobs and owe it to society, to give something in return (even if that means restraining from going out and acting like a goose every Saturday night).
Finally, sport will be better off if it can maintain its territorial and parochial nature because there is no better spectacle than a fierce local derby or international grudge match.

References

Baumeister, R.F. (2008). Social Psychology & Human Nature. Belmont, USA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Blake, A. (1995). Sport and the Global Media. New Statesman & Society. Vol. 8, Issue 355, pg 47-48.

Frey, J.H. & Eitzen, D.S. (1991). Sport and Society. Annual Review of Sociology. 17, pg 503-522.

Lance, L.M. & Ross, C.E. (2000). Views of Violence in American Sports: A Study of College Students. College Student Journal. Vol. 34, Issue 2, pg 191-199.

Majumdar, B. (2006). Cricket in Colonial Bengal (1880-1947): A Lost History of Nationalism. The International Journal of the History of Sport. Vol. 23, No. 6, pg 960-990.

Olivova, V. (1984). Sports and Games in the Ancient World. London: Orbis.

Poli, R. (2007). The Denationalization of Sport: De-ethnicization of the Nation and Identity Deterritorialization. Sport in Society. 10: 4, pg 646-661.

Young, K. & Wamsley, K. (2005). Global Olympics: Historical and Sociological Studies of the Modern Games