Soccer in the mass media: Examining the role of metaperceptions of goal orientation on spectators’ moral functioning

Abstract

Watching soccer can be a source of leisure and enjoyment. However, the behaviour of some spectators is a concern that might be related to competitive sport and its handling by the mass media. This study analysed the relationship between the exposure to soccer in the media and the spectators' moral functioning. Participants were college students (N = 355), who completed questionnaires assessing the time spent watching/listening/reading soccer programming, metaperception of goal orientations, and moral functioning. Structural Equation Modelling analysis indicated that the exposure to soccer programming was positively associated with metaperception of ego orientation, which in turn was associated with low levels of moral functioning. The direct effects of the exposure of soccer programming on moral functioning were significantly reduced in the presence of metaperception of ego orientation, indicating that such metaperception mediates the association between these two variables. These findings help us to explain the processes operating in soccer spectators.

Systematic Observation of the Verbal Behavior of Families of Youth Athletes in Grassroots and Team Sports

“…In effect, there are statistically significant differences in the negative comments made, according to the geographical area variable, with a 53% increase in games and matches in rural areas. In this sense, it coincides with previous authors [20], who have concluded that the sociocultural context is an important variable between the behavior of spectators at sporting events and how sporting success is interpreted. The reason is due to the urban areas are characterized by having a higher population density and human diversity.…”

“…Conversely, in rural areas availability, people manage to create and develop a sense of belonging to the territory. Moreover, results have shown that, according to previous studies [20], some clear connections between the comments made by family spectators and the sport atmosphere.…”

“…It is evident, however, that clarification is required on this shift through further studies, as it is still to be "observed" by the general media. Negative comments from parents cause more pressure, insecurity, anxiety, and feelings of guilt, leading to a reduced sporting performance [20], while also may generate negative psychosocial effects in their kids [10].…”

“…As such, this kind of research design is rarely criticized for being artificial [25]. Therefore, non-participant systematic observation was used as a data collection technique [20]. The observation technique is widely used and accepted in studying changeable social problems in a context of spontaneousness or naturalness of the behavior observed [20,[26][27][28][29].…”

“…Hence, the aim of this study was to analyze the verbal behavior (categorized into three kinds of comments: positive, negative, and neutral) of family spectators of school-age (9-15 years old) sports teams as well as to study potential sociodemographic and sport-related differences (sex of player, geographical area, sports club, sport modality, and age group). According to previous studies [20][21][22][23], the preliminary hypothesis is: (1) the number of negative comments made in matches played in rural areas will be greater than the number recorded in urban areas; (2) in the verbal behavior of family spectators at basketball games, there will be a higher number of comments (positive, negative, and neutral) compared with the other sports analyzed; and, (3) the number of negative comments made by family spectators will rise as the sporting category increases.…”