Idiosyncratic performance affect in volleyball referees: an extension of the IZOF-emotion model profiling.

Bortoli, Laura ; Robazza, Claudio

The relationship between affect and athletic performance is a main topic for sport psychology scholars and practitioners. A growing number of studies have recently addressed this matter from alternative theoretical standpoints, such as the multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990), the catastrophe theory (Hardy, 1990, 1996), the reversal theory (Kerr, 1997), and the Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, 1980, 1986). The multidimensional anxiety and the catastrophe approaches attempt to describe the debilitating-facilitating effects of anxiety and self-confidence towards performance, whereas the reversal theory and the IZOF model encompass a broader range of emotions. Discussion will be here restricted to the IZOF-emotion model, which was adopted as theoretical framework for this investigation.

In its earlier version, the IZOF model was proposed by Hanin (1980, 1986) to account for the wide variability in state anxiety scores often found in field studies across contestants of different sports. The IZOF core is in the notion of an individual specific bandwidth (zone) of optimal anxiety intensity, which may be low, medium, or high. Hence, different athletes should achieve their best when just inside their own optimal zone, no matter their preperformance anxiety intensity be low, high or at any point of the anxiety continuum. Ineffective performance is instead expected when the individual's anxiety intensity falls outside the optimal zone. Empirical research data were reported providing some support to the IZOF claims (for reviews, see Gould & Tuffey, 1996; Hanin, 1995a, 1997; Raglin, 1992; Raglin & Hanin, 2000; for a meta-analysis, see Jokela & Hanin, 1999).

The IZOF model has been more recently extended beyond anxiety to include a wide range of idiosyncratic positive (pleasant) and negative (unpleasant) affect facilitating or inhibiting performance (Hanin, 1993, 1997, 2000b, 2000c). In the IZOF-emotion model it is contended that the athlete may experience optimal and non-optimal individual patterns of positive and negative affect, which are beneficial or detrimental. These patterns are related to both affect content and intensity, since emotions may be facilitating or debilitating or both, depending on the individual meaning and intensity. Therefore, a particular emotion may be optimal for an athlete but harmful for another, and the same athlete may experience different levels of a same emotion as beneficial or detrimental. The functional (facilitating or inhibiting) impact of emotions is hypothesized to interact with the hedonic tone (positive or negative) creating four emotion content categories: 1) facilitating-positive, 2) facilitating-negative, 3) inhibitin g-negative, and 4) inhibiting-positive. Hanin (1997, 2000b) has attempted to explain the functional effects of emotions towards performance by means of psychophysical mechanisms of energy production and energy utilization. Psychological and physical factors, such as vigor, mental and physical effort, and persistency in achieving goals, are subsumed in the term energy (Han in, 1997; Martens, 1987). Facilitating-positive emotions are expected to help performers in originating energy and organizing functions. On the other hand, facilitating-negative emotions would serve more in energy production than in energy utilization. Inhibiting-positive emotions would determine energy loss or ineffective resource utilization. Finally, inhibiting-negative emotions would be responsible of inadequate energy production and utilization (see Hanin, 1997, 2000b; Hanin & Syrja, 1995a, 1995b). The notion of individual zone of optimal functioning is applied examining emotion functional and dysfunctional effects separately or in comb ination. Optimal performance is expected when intensities of facilitating (positive or negative) preperformance emotions are inside individual optimal zones of intensity, and inhibiting (positive or negative) emotion intensities are outside dysfunctional zones. Ineffective performance is predicted when intensities of facilitating preperformance emotions are outside optimal zones and inhibiting emotions are inside dysfunctional zones. Intermediate performance should occur when emotion intensities are either outside or inside both optimal and dysfunctional zones. Predictions based upon the interaction of two emotion effects, functional or dysfunctional, would be more accurate compared to predictions relying on just one effect (Hanin in, 2000b).

Individual emotion contents and zone intensities may be identified using a retrospective idiographic approach asking the athlete to recall his or her successful and unsuccessful events, and the positive and negative emotions producing facilitating-debilitating effects. An item list of positive and negative emotions is presented to help performers choose their most representative descriptors of precompetition psychological states. The zones are then established identifying for each item a range of intensity (upper and lower intensity boundaries) in a Borg scale (CR-10; see Neely, Ljunggren, Sylven, & Borg, 1992). Research findings in a variety of sporting samples provided general support to the notion of success and failure idiosyncratic emotion patterns (e.g., Hanin & Syria, 1995a, 1995b; Robazza, Bortoli, & Nougier, 1998a), the reliability of retrospective assessments (Hanin & Syrja, 1996; see Annesi, 1997, for a review on anxiety), and the predictive validity of the individual zones (Robazza, Bortoli, & Nou gier, 2002; Robazza, Bortoli, Zadro, & Nougier, 1998b; Syrja, Hanin, & Pesonen, 1995; Syrja, Hanin & Tarvonen, 1995).

Most research so far conducted within the IZOF framework employed idiosyncratic scales of emotion adjectives, but disregarded physiological descriptors or states associated with emotions. Hanin (1997, 2000b) has recently attempted to expand the IZOF model beyond emotions to comprise psychological, biological, and social factors, thus providing a multidimensional description of performance-related states. General ideas for this holistic approach are grounded in the cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions proposed by Lazarus (1991) in the mainstream psychology. Five basic dimensions are described in a psychobiosocial perspective: Form, intensity, content, time, and context. For instance, the form dimension encompasses seven basic form components of the human functioning. Three components, cognitive, affective, and motivational, are psychological, two components, bodily-somatic and motor-behavioral, are biological or psychophysiological, and two components, performance and communicative, reflect soc ial interactions with the environment (for a description, see Hanin, 2000b). Affect-related physiological variables were included in two case studies; data collected regarded idiosyncratic emotions, cardiac frequency pattern, behaviors, and performance of two female archers engaged in international competitions (Robazza et al., 1999, 2000b). Findings, interpreted according to the IZOF predictions, warrant further investigation. Additional research should also address athletes' self-perception of somatic symptoms concomitant to emotions, such as modifications of muscular tension, heart rate, and breathing, and to the development of multidimensional idiosyncratic performance profiles. The inclusion of somatic symptom descriptors together with affect items should improve the validity of idiosyncratic profiles and knowledge of performance-related psychobiosocial states. Although physiological symptoms are comprised in standardized questionnaires often used in sport psychology, such as the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS ; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990) and the Competitive State Anxiety lnventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens et al., 1990), they are omitted in the IZOF idiographic profiling.

The present study was conducted to overcome the aforementioned limitation by extending idiographic profiling and scaling to include physiological descriptors. Specifically, a research purpose was to examine the pattern of affect-related physiological symptoms for optimal and non-optimal performance. Alike to research findings reported in the extant literature on the IZOF-emotion model, it was hypothesized that performers would identify idiosyncratic facilitating-inhibiting and positive-negative physiological items associated with affect elicited by success and failure. Both content and intensity level of the items was expected to be very individual. Finally, reversals in functional impact and hedonic tone of affect and physiological symptoms were expected to occur. Reversal effects are revealed when a same item is experienced beneficial or detrimental (functional reversal), pleasant or unpleasant (hedonic reversal), by different performers.

The participants chosen for this investigation were volleyball referees with high proficiency level in officiating. Volleyball referees were specifically selected to take part to the study in place of athletes or officials of other sports to control autonomic activation confounding. Physical effort in dynamic situations tends to enhance arousal symptoms. In such conditions, it would be difficult for the performer to differentiate autonomic reactions induced by effort from the affect-related somatic responses. In volleyball referees, the confounding effect of effort upon, emotional perception was assumed to be under control, since volleyball officiating occurs in a still position. Officials of different sports have proved suffering from stressful events taking place during a contest. Goldsmith and Williams (1992), for example, identified fear of failure as a main source of stress in volleyball and football officials, while Rainey (1999) reported performance concerns among basketball referees. It seems that psy chological difficulties officials have to deal with during a demanding game are similar to those of competing athletes. Officiating may be gratifying and rewarding or, conversely, frustrating and disappointing (Weinberg & Richardson, 1990). Hence, positive and negative performance-related emotions and somatic reactions were supposed to be an integral component of referees' experience.

Method

Participants

The participants (N = 50) were high-level volleyball referees (41 males and 9 females) recruited from an Italian northeastern region where volleyball is very popular. They ranged in age from 20 to 44 yrs. (M = 29.90, SD = 5.94) and reported 3 to 22 yrs. of refereeing experience (M = 7.18, SD = 3.57). During a 9 month competitive season, they where involved in a weekly game. Referees usually attended technical meetings monthly. To ensure participation, study purposes were presented and discussed in one of these meetings stressing the beneficial consequences of affect profiling upon performance.

Measures

The recall of best and worst performances has been used in previous studies to develop idiosyncratic affect profiles with athletes (e.g., Hanin & Syria, 1995a, 1995b; Robazza et al., 1998a), but not with referees. Yet, also referees are supposed to be able of undergoing an idiographic scaling based on their recall of optimal and poor events. Findings reported in the extant literature provide evidence that a high level of proficiency is required for good officiating. Referees have to process information accurately and quickly, and react with appropriate decisions (Weinberg & Richardson, 1990). They also have to deal with several sources of stress such as accusations by coach or players, performance concerns, threat of physical abuse, presence of supervisor, and interpersonal conflicts (Anshel & Weinberg, 1999; Goldsmith & Williams, 1992; Rainey, 1999). Officiating performance relies upon the mastery of several psychological skills to maintain concentration and motivation, communicate effectively, and cope with stressors. Together with the knowledge of the rules of a particular sport, mental skills are necessary to overcome setbacks and achieve a good level of performance, and these may develop with practice and officiating. Alike athletes, referees experience in their career feelings of success and failure, through a range of satisfying and frustrating events. Hence, experienced referees are deemed able to recall affect associated with their own optimal and poor performances.

An idiographic scaling was conducted using two stimulus lists. Participants were prompted to select or generate idiosyncratic descriptors best representing personal refereeing experiences associated with their recalled optimal and poor performances. The first list contained 64 positive and negative affect items derived from emotions used by Hanin and Syrja (1995a, 1995b) in their studies with athletic samples. The original procedure proposed by Hanin and Syrja was slightly modified, in that positive and negative items were randomly arranged in a list instead of positive and negative items being listed separately. By this arrangement, participant may identify descriptors facilitating or inhibiting performance (as in the Hanin & Syrja's procedure) and classify them pleasant or unpleasant. This methodology employed with athletes (Robazza et al., 1998a) yielded emotion reversal effects on functional impact and hedonic tone. "Focused," "motivated," and "determined" were among the most identified facilitating-posit ive items, whereas "tense," worried," and "aggressive" were among the most identified facilitating-negative items. On the other hand, "unfocused," "nervous," and "unconfident" were often identified as inhibiting-negative items, whereas "relaxed," cheerful," and "secure," were among the most selected inhibiting-positive items.

A second list of 24 descriptors of physiological reactions concomitant to performance affect was used. This tentative list was compiled by a panel of experts consisting of three sport psychologists and three expert volleyball referees not involved in the research as participants. The somatic anxiety items of the SAS (Smith et al., 1990) and the CSAI-2 (Martens et al., 1990) were also comprised in the idiosyncratic list. Examples of somatic anxiety items contained in the SAS are "I feel tense in my stomach" and "My body feels tight." Examples of somatic anxiety items comprised in the CSAI-2 are "My heart is racing" and "My hands are clammy."

Following affect and physiological terms identification, each item was rated in intensity on a Borg Category Ratio scale (CR-10). The CR-10 scale was developed to avoid a ceiling effect and used in psychophysical studies of exercise capacity, exertion, or pain (see Neely et al., 1992) and for investigations of emotions (Hanin & Syrja, 1995a, 1995b). The verbal anchors of the scale were: 0 = nothing at all, 0.5 = very, very little, 1 = very little, 2 = little, 3 = somewhat, 4 = moderately, 5 = much, 7 = very much, 10 = very, very much, # = maximal possible (no verbal anchors were used for 6, 8, and 9). Single item scores may range from 0 to 11. Research findings revealed that high level soccer players were accurate in the one-day predictions of pre-game affect as well as in the immediate post-performance recalls of pre-game affect (Hanin & Syrja, 1996). The individualized affect scales were reliable with mean intra-individual alphas ranging from 0.76 for debilitating positive or negative emotions to 0.90 for facilitating positive or negative emotions.

Procedure

Prior to the individual assessment, participants were provided with information concerning research purposes. Confidentiality regarding individual responses and identity was assured, and informed consent obtained. It was explained that referees and athletes, before and during performance, experience a number of individual emotions along with physiological reactions that may help or hinder the task at hand. It was further specified that emotions and somatic symptoms, whether beneficial or harmful, may be perceived pleasant or unpleasant. The discussion was also addressed to the advantages of gaining awareness of personal psychophysical reactions to competition demands as a first step to deal with stress and dysfunctional emotions.

The idiographic scaling was conducted asking the participant to choose from the positive-negative affect list up to five facilitating emotions, and then label each selected emotion positive or negative. Afterwards, participants had to choose from the physiological reaction list up to five facilitating symptoms concomitant to facilitating affect, and then label them positive or negative. The number of affect descriptors was restricted to a maximum of five for each content category to have participants select their most important emotions and, at the same time, to prevent the nuisance of a prolonged scaling time. In his IZOF-emotion profiling, Hanin (2000a) also proposes the selection of five words describing emotions for each content category. Referees were encouraged to identify new descriptors should those listed were deemed not matching the idiosyncratic officiating experience adequately. The same procedure was repeated in the identification of items pertaining to affect and physiological symptom inhibiting content categories. Hence, a total of 10 emotions and 10 physiological symptoms could be selected and classified into four psychophysical categories: Facilitating-positive, facilitating-negative, inhibiting-negative, and inhibiting-positive. Each item was then reconsidered to be rated in intensity and range on the CR-10 scale. Specifically, the participant was asked, "What is the intensity of this emotion (or physiological symptom) when it helps (or hampers) performance and it is experienced pleasant (or unpleasant)? And what are the lower and upper intensity boundaries this emotion (or physiological symptom) varies while maintaining facilitating (or inhibiting) effects and pleasant (or unpleasant) characteristics?" The psychophysical functional-hedonic profile was thus completed and graphically portrayed and displayed to the participant. Each session lasted 1 and a half hour to 2 hours.

Results

Emotion and Physiological Symptom Patterns

Cronbach alpha coefficients were computed on the data of participants having 5 items chosen for facilitating or inhibiting categories. Alphas were 0.70 (n = 48) for facilitating emotions, 0.63 (n = 12) for facilitating physiological symptoms, 0.86 (n = 33) for inhibiting emotions, and 0.86 (n = 17) for inhibiting physiological symptoms. Therefore, reliability of scales was acceptable. Correlations among the subscales ranged from 0.11 to 0.55, confirming a relative independence of affect dimensions (see Table 1). Significance was reached between facilitating emotions and facilitating physiological symptoms (r = 0.32), and between inhibiting emotions and inhibiting physiological symptoms (r = 0.55).

To explore between-subjects variability of performance-related idiosyncratic affect, a ratio was calculated between the number of items identified by the whole sample for each affect content category and the maximal number of items (five) the individual could choose. On the total of 61 affect descriptors 27 (ratio 5.4) were selected facilitating-positive, 11 (ratio 2.2) facilitating-negative, 35 (ratio 7.0) inhibiting-negative, and 12 (ratio 2.4) inhibiting-positive. Ratios higher than 1 supported the content interindividual variability of affect previously found in athletic samples (e.g., Hanin & Syrja, 1 995 a, 1995b). Most chosen facilitating-positive items were "focused," "motivated," "attentive," "reactive," "secure," and "determined," while most identified inhibiting-negative items were "unfocused," "tense," "tired," "distracted," "unsatisfied," and "stressed." A lower number of items were included in the facilitating-negative category (e.g., "focused," "calm," "worried," and "serene"), and in the inhib iting-positive category (e.g., "distracted," "unfocused," "nervous," and "relaxed"). Forty-two items pertained to one emotion content category, 14 items to two categories, and other 5 items to three categories. Overlapping items across two or three content categories further substantiate affect content interindividual variability.

Regarding physiological symptom descriptors, 45 were chosen by the whole sample. Twenty-two (ratio 4.4) of them were facilitating-positive, 22 (ratio 4.4) facilitating-negative, 33 (ratio 6.6) inhibiting-negative, and 17 (ratio 3.4) inhibiting-positive. Again, ratios were higher than 1 thus demonstrating content interindividual variability in idiosyncratic symptoms concomitant to performance-related affect. Most identified facilitating-positive items were "smooth movements," "relaxed muscles," "regular heart rate," "regular breathing," and "vigorous movements," while most identified inhibiting-negative items were "enhanced heart rate," "stomach tension," "yawns," "sweating," and "stiff movements." Most identified facilitating-negative items were "stomach tension," "sweaty hands," "dry mouth," "enhanced heart rate," and "muscular tension," while some inhibiting-positive items were "relaxed muscles," "enhanced heart rate." "vigorous movements," "sweating," and "stomach tension." Eighteen items were comprised in one content category, 12 items in two categories, 8 items in three categories, and 7 items in four categories. Overlapping items across two, three, or four content categories add support to the contention of interindividual variability of affect-related idiosyncratic symptoms.

A further support of the between-subjects content variability of symptoms derives from comparison of idiosyncratic symptoms with normative items comprised in somatic anxiety subscales of the SAS (Smith et al., 1990) and the CSAI-2 (Martens et al., 1990). The two subscales of 9 items each include 6 identical or very similar items. Hence, 12 standardized somatic symptoms are described in the two inventories. Although most of the normative items were chosen by participants involved in the idiographic procedure, findings revealed that the total number of idiosyncratic descriptors selected was about 4 times the standardized items. These results tend to substantiate the contention that idiosyncratic, performance-related affect scales are more suitable than normative scales in describing the individual experience (Hanin & Syrja, 1995a; Robazza, Bortoli, Nocini, Moser, & Arslan, 2000a; Syrja & Hanin, 1997).

Interindividual variability in the intensity and zone of affect and physiological symptoms was also explored. Table 2 contains descriptive statistics of the four non-overlapping, most identified facilitating-positive and inhibiting-negative emotions and physiological symptoms. As can be shown, intensity and zone ranges of emotional and physiological descriptors were high, from 5 to 8 points for intensity scores, and from 5 to 9 points for zone scores.

These findings altogether confirmed the assumption that both content and intensity levels of the idiosyncratic items are very individual, and that idiographic scaling is an appropriate approach to the assessment of affect and related psychophysical symptoms.

Emotion and Physiological Symptom Reversals

Of the 61 affect adjectives, 24 (39.34%) were facilitating, 29 (47.54%) inhibiting, and 8 (13.11%) both facilitating and inhibiting. A moderate reversal in the functional impact was thus revealed, since same positive-negative emotions were perceived facilitating or inhibiting by different participants. Reversed adjectives were: "Calm," "relaxed," "tense," "worried," "nervous," "sad," "lazy," and "aggressive." Functional reversals also emerged at the group level examining the total number of identified emotion descriptors (cases). On a total of 473 selected items, 78(16.49%) were either facilitating (26,5.50%) or inhibiting (52, 10.99%). More precisely, conventionally classified positive emotions were perceived functional in 97.12% of the 243 cases (total number of selected positive emotions), and dysfunctional (reversed) in 2.88% of cases. Conventionally classified negative emotions were perceived functional (reversed) in 4.78% of the 230 cases (total number of selected positive emotions), and dysfunctional i n 95.22% of cases. Hence, functional reversals appeared in 3.81% of the 473 cases.

Descriptive analysis was also conducted to explore hedonic reversal. Of the 61 affect adjectives, 20(32.79%) were positive, 25 (40.98%) negative, and 16 (26.23%) both positive and negative. Hedonic reversal emerged for positive and negative emotions (e.g., "calm," "relaxed," "tense," "nervous," and "worried").

On a total of 473 selected items, 222 (46.93%) were either positive (92, 19.45%) or negative (130, 27.48%). More in particular, conventionally classified positive emotions were perceived pleasant in 94.24% of the 243 cases (total number of selected positive emotions), and unpleasant (reversed) in 5.76% of cases. Conventionally classified negative emotions were perceived pleasant (reversed) in 8.26% of the 230 cases (total number of selected positive emotions), and unpleasant in 91.74% of cases. Therefore, hedonic reversals were revealed in 6.98% of the 473 cases.

Same analyses of those carried-out for affect descriptors were performed for physiological symptom descriptors. Of the 45 items, 8 (17.78%) were facilitating, 13 (29.89%) inhibiting, and 24 (53.33%) both facilitating and inhibiting. A reversal in the functional impact emerged, given that same positive-negative symptoms were experienced by different participants facilitating or inhibiting. "Relaxed muscles," "stomach tension," "sweaty hands," "enhanced heart rate," "muscular tension," "sweating," "yawns," "irregular breathing," "irregular heart rate," and "dry mouth" were among the most reversed symptoms. Functional reversals at a group level were also revealed examining the number of symptoms (cases) cited by some participants as functional and by others dysfunctional. On a total of 352 selected items, 290 (82.39%) were either facilitating (131,37.22%) or inhibiting (159,45.17%). A more detailed analysis, taking into account positive or negative conventional dimensions of affect, was not performed for physiol ogical symptoms as was instead performed for emotional descriptors. Symptoms, in fact, cannot be classified a priori as pleasant or unpleasant since they are concomitant to affect. For example, pleasant and unpleasant emotions may both increase heart rate, that in turn may amplify the experience of pleasure or displeasure.

Concerning hedonic reversal, of the 45 items 9 (20.00%) were positive, 18 (40.00%) negative, and 18 (40.00%) both positive and negative. Most reversed items, perceived pleasant or unpleasant, were "sweaty hands," "enhanced heart rate," "muscular tension," "sweating," and "dry mouth." More precisely, on the total of 352 identified items, 232 (65.91%) were either positive (52, 14.77%) or negative (180,51.14%).

Five referees reported one or two positive or negative physiological descriptors to reverse in the functional impact because of modification in the intensity level. Five of those symptoms were negative and two positive. Low intensity of "enhanced heart rate," "sweaty hands," "muscular tension," "cold hands," and "leg tension" was facilitating, whereas for the same individual high intensity was debilitating. Yet, a referee reported a functional reversal associated with intensity decrease of "clammy hands," and "sweating." Although functional reversals were reported to occur in the same participant, hedonic reversal did not. Furthermore, neither functional nor hedonic shifts emerged for emotional descriptors in the same individual.

In summary, reversal in the functional impact and the hedonic tone of affect and physiological symptoms was revealed. Moreover, compared to affect items, findings highlighted more pronounced functional and hedonic reversals for physiological symptom descriptors. Finally, intraindividual variability in intensity of physiological symptoms was found associated with functional reversals.

Discussion

Research hitherto conducted to test hypotheses and predictions originating from the IZOF-emotion model has used idiosyncratic assessment with cognitive affect adjectives (e.g., Hanin & Syrja, 1995a, 1995b; Robazza et al., 1998a, 1998b) overlooking descriptors of physiological concomitants to emotions. Taking on Hanin's (2000b) call for holistic research entailing a shift from positive and negative emotions to a wider range of performance-related psychobiosocial states, this study proved the feasibility of extending the IZOF idiographic scaling to incorporate affect-related physiological symptom items. This extension is theoretically sound, given that autonomic responses are an integral part of an emotional experience recognized since earlier studies on anxiety. Spielberger (1972) described state anxiety an emotional reaction evoked when a person appraises a specific situation as threatening, characterized by feelings of tension, apprehension, and heightened autonomic system activity (e.g., increased heart rat e, blood pressure, and galvanic skin response). Based on Spielberger's conceptualizations, Martens (1977) postulated a sport-specific anxiety disposition, leading people high in trait anxiety to perceive competitive situations as threatening and react with worry, apprehension, and somatic symptoms. These assumptions applied to anxiety assessment in sport prompted authors to develop inventories, such as the CSAI-2 (Martens et al. 1990) and the SAS (Smith et al. 1990), including cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety scales. Both cognitive somatic components have also been recognized as main factors of emotions in the light of different theoretical frameworks of the mainstream psychology as well as sport psychology. For example, psychophysiological theories of emotion state that self-perception of visceral activity is an important component of emotional experience (Cacioppo, Berntson, & Klein, 1992; Schachter & Singer, 1962). Moreover, the Russell's (1980) circumplex model of affect, also applied to exercise and sport settings (e.g., Ekkekakis, Hall, & Petruzzello, 1999; Raedeke & Stein, 1994), assumes the existence of two bipolar dimensions of low-high arousal and pleasure-displeasure. Thoughts, feelings, and felt arousal are also crucial for reversal theorists (After, 1984; Kerr, 1997) and other cognitive theorists (see Vallerand & Blanchard, 2000, for a review). More in particular, the recent development of the IZOF model takes, among the others, the Lazarus' (1991, 1999) cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions as a starting point for examining the key issues of emotions-performance relationships (Hanin, 2000b), and a Lazarus' assumption is that each emotion has its own pattern of physiological change that can be appraised by a person. It can be concluded that individual appraisal of affect-related physiological responses is worth investigating and taking it into consideration in the idiosyncratic emotion scaling procedures.

The hypothesis that referees would identify idiosyncratic facilitating-inhibiting and positive-negative physiological items related to affect was confirmed. Participants displayed individual differences in affect patterns reflected in the selection of idiosyncratic items with individually specific intensity levels and ranges. Therefore, interindividual variability of affect emerged according to previous research findings in athletic samples (e.g., Hanin & Syrja, 1995a, 1995b; Robazza et al., 1998a). In addition to earlier studies, between-subjects variability in content and intensity of idiosyncratic symptoms concomitant to affect was demonstrated. For both affect and physiological symptoms, individual patterns were revealed in ratio computations (number of items chosen by the whole sample/5), number of overlapping items across two or more content categories, and ranges of intensity and zone scores. It is worth noticing that referees generated 21 new symptom descriptors, in addition to the 24 items comprised in the original list. Furthermore, the total number of items chosen was about 4 times the standardized items of the SAS (Smith et al., 1990) and the CSAI-2 (Martens et al., 1990). These findings, besides further confirming the between-subjects variability of affect patterns, add support to the assumption that idiosyncratic scales match the individual performance experience better than normative scales (Hanin & Syrja, 1995a; Robazza et al., 2002; Syrja & Hanin, 1997). Flaws in normative measures are underscored by several authors arguing that questionnaires are limited in number of emotions they comprise and place overemphasis on anxiety or negative emotions inhibiting performance: Normative group-based data seem neither individually relevant nor reliable measures of performance affect (Hanin & Syrja, 1995a; Krane, 1993; Raglin, 1992). Although data provided with this study are preliminary, acceptable reliability of affect and physiological symptom idiosyncratic scales was revealed. This finding together with the relative independence of the affect dimensions, reflected in low correlations among scales, warrants the adoption of an idiographic approach.

Reversal in functional impact and hedonic tone of both affect and physiological symptoms occurred as expected. Indeed, same items were experienced by different referees beneficial or detrimental as well as pleasant or unpleasant. A functional reversal takes place when negative descriptors are individually experienced advantageous and, conversely, when positive descriptors are perceived harmful. On the other hand, an hedonic reversal happens when conventionally labeled negative affect (e.g., Watson & Tellegen, 1985) is individually perceived positive or, conversely, when positive affect is perceived negative. In this study, results regarding affect functional reversal are in accordance with data reported by Hanin and Syrja (1995a, 1995b), whereas results concerning affect hedonic reversal are in line with data of Robazza et al. (1998a). Unlike previous studies, however, the reversal notion was extended to physiological symptoms, and reversals were much larger than those obtained with affect descriptors (functi onal reversal, 53.33% and 13.11%, respectively; hedonic reversal, 40.00% and 26.23%, respectively). It should be noted that both functional and hedonic affect reversals here reported are lower in magnitude than those of earlier research (see Hanin & Syrja, 1995a, 1995b; Robazza et al., 1998a), since a slightly modified procedure was implemented. Differently to Hanin and Syrja (1995a, 1995b) and Robazza et al. (1998a), that "forced" athletes to choose emotions pertaining to each of the four affect content categories, participants in this study were asked to identify items of two content categories (facilitating and inhibiting) and classify them pleasant or unpleasant. Asking participants to select symptom descriptors and emotions from four content categories would possibly result in a 40-item scale, whereas requiring to choose items from two content categories would possibly lead to a 20-item scale. A reduced number of items would prevent boredom and demotivation caused by prolonged scaling time. Despite the p rocedure modification, and unlike affect adjectives, physiological symptoms reversed largely, as proved by data of the whole sample as well as those of five referees exhibiting an intraindividual functional reversal. It can be concluded that same symptoms may be interpreted differently across- and within-subjects. Cognitive theories of emotion consider autonomic activation, or arousal, as a consequence of the affect elicited by the appraisals of a situation (e.g. Vallerand, 1987; see Vallerand & Blanchard, 2000). Distinct emotions may be associated with a similar autonomic arousal. For example, using the IZOF-emotion model as framework, increase in heart rate was found in two elite female archers from practice to top-level competition (Robazza et al., 1999, 2000b). High level of autonomic activation was related to optimal emotions and good performance in one case and, conversely, to non-optimal emotions and poor performance in the other. Also reversal theorists (see Kerr, 1997) posit same levels of arousal fo r several emotions. A high felt arousal may be linked to anxiety or anger (unpleasant emotions), or excitement or provocativeness (pleasant emotions), whereas a low felt arousal may be associated with relaxation or placidity (pleasant emotions), or boredom or sullenness (unpleasant emotions).

Conclusions

The IZOF-emotion model was extended in this study to include affect related physiological symptoms. Therefore, some basic assumptions of the model thus modified had to be ascertained together with the feasibility of the new idiographic profiling and scaling procedure. As expected, performers identified idiosyncratic facilitating-inhibiting and positive-negative affect and physiological descriptors. Content, intensity level, and intensity range of the items was very individual. Functional and hedonic reversals also occurred, especially for symptom descriptors. Items were experienced having facilitating, debilitating or both effects as well as pleasant, unpleasant or both hedonic characteristics, depending on their idiosyncratic meaning. Finally, the modified idiographic scaling seems appropriate for emotion assessment purposes.

At this point, the IZOF assumptions deserve verification with athletic samples, and other notions should be investigated. For instance, the zone notion, proved for anxiety (see Gould & Tuffey, 1996; Raglin & Hanin, 2000; Jokela & Hanin, 1999) and emotions (see Hanin, 2000b; Robazza et al., 1998b, 2002), should be also tested for perceived autonomic activation. In the emotion-performance studies it could be hypothesized that assessments using affect items and arousal descriptors would account for more variance compared to affect items alone, thus improving the predictive validity of idiosyncratic scales. The adoption of psychophysical paradigms, incorporating actual measures of emotional arousal near to or during performance, would also add to our knowledge of emotion-performance relationship within the IZOF framework.

From an applied standpoint, a more detailed and comprehensive psychophysical profiling provides a better description of the performer's competitive experience. As a result, performers may improve their own awareness of the functional role of emotions and somatic symptoms and try to handle them to enhance performance. Further, recognizing affect and symptoms occurring prior to or during competition would help the sport psychologist implement cognitive and somatic mental training techniques matching individual needs.

Table 1

Descriptive Statistics and Pearson Correlations of Affect and
Physiological Symptom Content Categories (N = 50)

Content Categories M SD FE FPS IE IFS

Facilitating Emotions (FE) 5.87 1.32 -- 0.32 (*) 0.26 0.13

Facilitating Physiological 4.47 1.38 -- 0.20 0.11
Symptoms (FPS)

Inhibiting Emotions (IE) 5.58 1.68 -- 0.55 (**)

Inhibiting Physiological 5.75 2.08 --
Symptoms (IFS)

(*)p<0.05

(**)p<0.01 (2-tailed)
Table 2

Descriptive Statistics of Most Identified Facilitating-positive and
Inhibiting-negative Emotion and Physiological Symptom Descriptors

Content Categories Descriptors Scores Min Max Range M SD

Facilitating- Motivated Intensity 3 11 8 5.89 1.9
positive (n=28) Zone 0 9 9 3.36 1.9

 Smooth Intensity 2 10 8 5.12 1.6
 Movements Zone 0 6 6 2 2
 (n=25)

Inhibiting- Stressed Intensity 4 9 5 6.09 1.5
negative (n=11) Zone 0 7 7 3 2.2

 Weak legs Intensity 3 9 6 5.38 2.07
 (n=8) Zone 0 5 5 1.25 1.83

Note: The zone score is calculated subtracting the lower boundary of
intensity from the upper

Acknowledgement

The research was supported in part by a grant of Comitato Regionale Veneto, Federazione Italiana Pallavolo.

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