Athletes’ Perceived Use of Information Sources When Forming Initial Impressions and Expectancies of a Coach: An Explorative Study

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the sources of information that athletes perceive as influential during their initial evaluation of coaching ability. University athletes (N = 538) were asked to indicate the influence of 31 informational cues (e.g., gender, body language or gestures, reputation) on the initial impression formed of a coach. Following exploratory factor analysis, a 3-factor model (i.e., static cues, dynamic cues, and third-party reports) was extracted. Mean scores revealed that although static cues (e.g., gender, race or ethnicity) were rated as relatively unimportant during impression formation, dynamic cues (e.g., facial expressions, body language or gestures) and third-party reports (e.g., coaching qualifications, reputation) were viewed by athletes as influential factors in the formation of expectancies about coaches. Such findings have implications for the occurrence of expectancy effects in coach−athlete relationships and the way in which coaches seek to present themselves.

Leading for gold: social identity leadership processes at the London 2012 Olympic Games

“…Optimising perceptions of leaders in the media may be particular worthwhile in light of the impression formation literature (Manley et al 2008). For example, a number of strategies were displayed 30 that sought to create a team identity at London 2012.…”

A Social Identity Approach to Sport Psychology: Principles, Practice, and Prospects

“…This is because, provided a strong sense of social identity can be maintained in the context of dealing with these challenges, athletes should derive positive self-esteem, receive support, and collaborate with others to resist stressors, thus increasing the likelihood that they will be able to cope with (and adjust to) these various challenges. Evidence that social identity and self-categorization processes structure social influence within groups [30] also leads us to expect that the social identity approach could be used to better understand the dynamics of (a) the coach-athlete relationship (with outcomes depending on the evolving nature of their shared identity) [128], (b) coach-athlete attributional divergence and conflict [187,188], (c) sports-related impression formation [189], (d) sports communication [190], and athletes' and fans' affective states and emotional contagion [191].…”

Athletes’ Perceptions of a Coach Who Faked Confidence

“…Regardless, past research has shown that a coach's presentation style is very important. A study done by Manley et al (2008) on athletes' perceived use of information sources when forming initial impressions and expectancies of a coach showed that out of 31 informational cues, the dynamic cues (e.g., eye contact, tone of voice, body language, clarity of voice, language, etc.) and third-party reports about a coach (e.g., coaching experience, qualifications, etc.)…”