STADIUM TOUR
www.psyched4sport.com All images Copyright 2013 Written by Nathan Smith & Laura Healy Designed by Nathan Smith Illustration by Matthew Brazier
STADIUM TOUR Since the 2012 Olympics we have been thinking a lot about the effect of crowds on performance. This has a definite place in sport psychology research. The rapturous and oftentimes raucous crowds affect how a person thinks and feels, which can either be adaptive or maladaptive for an athlete’s’ performance. We have selected four stadiums. Each stadium has an interesting story to tell and we will use these as a backdrop to discuss research into home advantage, performing under pressure, social facilitation and expectations. To frame these discussions, we want you to think about ‘that’ Saturday at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford described the experience as a ‘wall of sound’, which resulted in one of the finest moments in British athletics. Obviously these athletes were in excellent physical and psychological condition, but sometimes that extra edge comes from hearing 100,000 people chanting your name. If you need to be reminded about what this sounds like why not type ‘super Saturday 2012 Olympics’ into YouTube and reminisce.
SOCIAL FACILITATION
THE MARACANA, BRAZIL Location: Rio de Janeiro Established: 1950 Capacity: 78,838 Fact: Largest recorded crowd was 199,854 in the 1950 final between Brazil and Uruguay With an eye on the 2014 football World Cup, we thought the Maracana was worthy of a place in the stadium tour. The atmosphere in this stadium, like many in South America, can be described as festival-like. This is sure to be one of the central attractions of the World Cup and play host to the memories that will follow. Like many competitions before, we must expect there to be a penalty shootout. This brings the fans right into the game. As a player, when you stand over the football to take a penalty kick, and you see the crowd jeering and boos echo around the stadium, how can you possibly hit the target and score the crucial goal?
The presence of a crowd can have either a facilitative or debilitative affect on performance. For decades, researchers have explored the relationship between arousal, anxiety and performance. In penality shootout situations, the crowd can influence the arousal state of an individual and affect their levels of anxiety - this will ultimately impact upon whether the athlete is successful or unsuccessful in executing the skill. The theory of social facilitation suggests that performance of well-learned skills is likely to be enhanced by a crowd’s presence. However, the presence of a crowd is more likely to be negative in unlearnt or complex skills... according to this the England players should start working on their penalities well in advance of the 2014 World Cup!
PERFORMING UNDER PRESSURE
Performing in front of 80,000 people would be enough to put any top athlete off – let alone someone who is primarily a teacher, policeman or farmer. This pressure can lead to choking, where elite athletes perform at a poorer level than their usual standard. Research by Sian Beilock and Thomas Carr suggests that choking occurs when athletes who can normally perform skills automatically engage in self-focus, breaking the skill down and disrupting their performance. The use of mental skills, perhaps in a pre-performance routine, might help focus athletes’ attention away from their skills, and prevent choking under the pressure. With practice, players might be able to use this before a game, when preparing to take a free-kick, or whenever they feel the pressure getting to them.
CROKE PARK, IRELAND Location: Dublin Established: 1913 Capacity: 82,300 Fact: In 2004, Croke Park benefited from a â‚Ź260 million renovation An Irish institution: Croke Park occupies a fond place in Irish hearts. While the stadium has temporarily hosted rugby union players for bloodied battles, this amphitheatre of dreams has always been the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Whether it be Gaelic Football or Hurling, playing in such an environment presents a unique opportunity to the players. The teams, all exclusively amateur, can play in front of capacity crowds up to 80,000, often including family members and familiar faces from the parishes of the represented clubs and counties. This creates a unique kind of pressure, the pressure to perform, to be competitive and not let those close to you down.
SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
FENWAY PARK, USA Location: Boston Established: 1912 Capacity: 37,499 Fact: Fenway Park has hosted the World Series 10 times. The first in 1912 and the most recent in 2013.
Home run flashes in lights as the crowd cheer the ball over the stadium corner. Welcome to Fenway Park. The field is eponymous with winning. The Boston Red Sox are, along with the New York Yankees, one of the ‘super clubs’ of Major League Baseball. Accompanying their long-standing history of success is a passionate group of fans exhorting an almost obsessively loyal following. Stepping onto the field the expectation can be felt; this is like an electric current fizzing through the seats, into the dugout and centring on the pitchers mound.
Self-fulfilling prophecy is grounded in research by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson. Their seminal 1968 study explored the role of teachers’ expectations on student achievement. Since then, the role of expectations have been applied in the sporting context. Self-fulfilling prophecy is typically examined at the coach-athlete level. There are several steps invovled before expectations have an impact upon performance.
Step 1 Coach sets out performance expectations for each athlete Step 2 Coach treats each athlete differently based on their expectations Step 3 Each athlete learns from the messages they take as a result of the coach’s communication Step 4 Athletes conform to the coach’s expectations ...and so the cycle continues
Whilst this is less studied in terms of a crowd expectations on team performance, a similar process could come into play...
HOME ADVANTAGE
A number of studies have explored the role of home advantage in sport. It is well-documented that teams often perform better within the confines of their own stadium. Research suggests that crowd density might predict the home advantage phenomenon. In addition, home advantage seems to be more central in intimate stadia. When the crowd is closer to the action, typically in confined areas such as basketball or ice-hockey they have more influence on the otucome of the game. Anecdotally this rings true, particularly in the example of Andy Murray who was spurred on by a dense crowd providing ongoing support from their courtside seats!
WIMBLEDON, UNITED KINGDOM Location: London Established: 1922 Capacity: 15,000 Fact: Centre Court suffered bomb damage during the war losing 1,200 seats in the process. 2013 saw a monumental event for British sport. Andy Murray became the first British male to win the Wimbledon Championship since Fred Perry lifted the trophy in 1936. A year earlier, Murray had replicated this success on Centre Court, but it wasn’t the coveted Wimbledon trophy. Instead, he lifted the Olympic gold medal and with it a nation rejoiced. On that day it was clear that Murray had drawn from the incredible crowd. Unlike Wimbledon, the Olympics provided a party atmosphere and a tennis crowd that we do not often see on this shore. This home advantage must have played a role in Andy Murray’s success.
REFERENCES Fancy a bit of extra reading, why not get stuck into some of the papers included below?! These are well recommended if you are interested in furthering your knowledge of the principles discussed within this stadium tour introduction.
Social Facilitation Strauss, B. (2001). Social facilitation in motor tasks: a review of research and theory. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 3, 237-256
Performing Under Pressure Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2001). On the fragility of skilled performance: What governs choking under pressure? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 701-725
Self-fulfilling Prophecy Rosenthal, R.; Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
Home Advantage Schwartz, B., & Barsky, S. F. (1977). The home advantage. Social Forces, 55, 641-661.
Thank You For Joining Us On Our Stadium Tour
STADIUM TOUR