Investigating the relationship between superstition and sports success in Iraqi football league players

Aminzadeh, Reza; Azizi, Bahador; Mahmoudi, Ahmad

doi:10.22059/sshr.2022.88455

Investigating the relationship between superstition and sports success in Iraqi football league players

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Imam Reza International University

² Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/sshr.2022.88455

Abstract

Background: Superstitions and rituals have long been a part of sports culture, with many athletes believing that they can bring good luck or improve their performance.
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between superstitions and sports success in Iraqi football league players.
Materials and Methods: This study used a descriptive-correlational analysis method, with data collected in the field from a sample of 200 players randomly selected from the population of players in the Iraqi football premier league. Two standard questionnaires, Superstition in Sports and Sports Success Questionnaire, were used to collect data, both of which were designed based on the Likert five value range.
Results: The study found that there is a significant relationship between superstitions and sports success, with the most important priority related to the component of "team ritual" (5.58) in superstitions and "commitment" (4.58) in sports success. The study also found that 37% of changes in sporting success are related to superstitious components.
Conclusion: Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that the use of superstitious rituals can have a positive effect on the sports success of athletes.

Keywords

References

[1] Mish FC (ed). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam-Webster; 2004.

[2] Ciborowski T. “Superstition in the collegiate baseball player”. The Sport Psychologist. 1997; 11(3): 305-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.11.3.305.

[3] AbdolBaghi M, Nikbakhsh R, PoorSoltani Zandi H, Safa Nia AM. “Compiling superstition prevalence model among football fans in ISM method”. HASES. 2022; 2(3): 315-323.‎ doi: 10.52547/hases.2.3.315.

[4] Rudski J. “What does a ‘superstitious’ person believe? Impressions of participants”. The Journal of General Psychology. 2003; 130(4): 431-45. doi: 10.1080/00221300309601168.

[5] Bleak JL, Frederick CM. “Supersititious behavior in sport: Levels of effectiveness and determinants of use in three collegiate sports”. Journal of Sport Behavior. 1998; 21(1): 1.

[6] Damisch L, Stoberock B, Mussweiler T. “Keep your fingers crossed! How superstition improves performance”. Psychological Science. 2010; 21(7): 1014-20. doi: 10.1177/0956797610372631. PMID: 20511389.

[7] McCallum J. “Green cars, black cats, and lady luck”. Sports and Religion. 1992: 191-202.

[8] Burger JM, Lynn AL. “Superstitious behavior among American and Japanese professional baseball players”. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 2005; 27(1): 71-6. doi: 10.1207/s15324834basp2701_7.

[9] Fischer GJ. “Abstention from sex and other pre-game rituals used by college male varsity athletes”. Journal of Sport Behavior. 1997; 20(2): 176.

[10] Womack M. “Why athletes need ritual: A study of magic among professional athletes”. Sport and Religion. 1992: 191-202.

[11] Vyse SA. Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition-Updated Edition. Oxford University Press; 2013.

[12] Goodall J. “Superstition and human agency”. Implicit Religion. 2010; 13(3): 307-318. doi: https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v13i3.307.

[13] Jahoda G. The Psychology of Superstition. London: Penguin Books; 1970.

[14] Flanagan E. “Superstitious ritual in sport and the competitive anxiety response in elite and non-elite athletes”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2013; 25(3): 307-23.

[15] Schippers MC, Van Lange PA. “The psychological benefits of superstitious rituals in top sport: a study among top sportspersons”. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2006; 36(10): 2532-53. doi:10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00116.x.

[16] Ofori PK, Biddle S, Lavallee D. “The role of superstition among professional footballers in Ghana”. Athletic Insight. 2012; 4(2): 115-26.

[17] Dömötör Z, Ruíz‐Barquín R, Szabo A. “Superstitious behavior in sport: A literature review”. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2016; 57(4): 368-82. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12301.

[18] Maranise AM. “Superstition & religious ritual: An examination of their effects and utilization in sport”. The Sport Psychologist. 2013; 27(1): 83-91. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.27.1.83.

[19] Cohn PJ. “Preperformance routines in sport: Theoretical support and practical applications”. The Sport Psychologist. 1990; 4(3): 301-12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.4.3.301.

[20] Rahman R, Day M, Thatcher J. “Sport and exercise psychology: Context and issues”. Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2011: 1-240.

[21] Wakefield JC, Shipherd AM, Lee MA. “Athlete Superstitions in swimming: beneficial or detrimental?”. Strategies. 2017; 30(6): 10-4. doi: 10.1080/08924562.2017.1369477.

[22] Wann DL, Zaichkowsky L. “Sport team identification and belief in team curses: The case of the Boston Red Sox and the curse of the Bambino”. Journal of Sport Behavior. 2009; 32(4): 489.

[23] Levental O, Carmi U, Lev A. “Jinx, control, and the necessity of adjustment: Superstitions among football fans”. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; 12: 740645. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740645.

[24] Foster DJ, Weigand DA, Baines D. “The effect of removing superstitious behavior and introducing a pre-performance routine on basketball free-throw performance”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2006; 18(2): 167-71. doi: 10.1080/10413200500471343.

[25] Starkes JL, Ericsson KA. Expert Performance in Sports: Advances in Research on Sport Expertise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers; 2003.

[26] Coté J, Saimela J, Trudel P, Baria A, Russell S. “The coaching model: A grounded assessment of expert gymnastic coaches’ knowledge”. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 1995; 17(1): 1-7.

[27] Bouchard C, Malina RM. “Genetics and olympic athletes: A discussion of methods and issues”. Physical Structure of Olympic Athletes. 1984; 18: 28-38. doi: https://doi.org/10.1159/000409676.

[28] Krampe RT, Ericsson KA. “Maintaining excellence: deliberate practice and elite performance in young and older pianists”. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 1996; 125(4): 331.

[29] Gould D, Eklund RC, Jackson SA. “1988 US Olympic wrestling excellence: I. Mental preparation, precompetitive cognition, and affect”. The Sport Psychologist. 1992; 6(4): 358-82. doi: 10.1080/02701367.1993.10608782. PMID: 8451537.

[30] Durand-Bush N, Salmela JH. “The development and maintenance of expert athletic performance: Perceptions of world and Olympic champions”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2002; 14(3): 154-71. doi: 10.1080/10413200290103473.

[31] Csikszentmihalyi M, Rathunde K, Whalen S. Talented teenagers: The roots of success and failure. Cambridge University Press; 1997.

[32] Vaez Mousavi MK, Mosayebi F. Sports Psychology. 3rd ed. Tehran: Samt Publication, 2011.

[33] Lavan W, Gill DL. Psychological Dynamic of Sport and Exercise. Human Kinetics. 2000; 8(2): 103-25.

[34] Jackson S, Csikszentmihalyi M. Flow in Sports. Champaign, Human Kinetics, 1999.

[35] Haywood KM, Getchell N. Life Span Motor Development. Human kinetics; 2021.

[36] Liliana M, Adrian SM. “The role of attention in the achievement of sport performance in judo”. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2013; 84: 1242-9. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.737.

[37] Mandal, FB (2018). “Superstitions: A culturally transmitted human behavior”. International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. 8(4): 65-69. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ijpbs.20180804.02.

[38] Mousavi SA, Vaez Mousavi MK. “Introducing the sports success scale”. Motor Behavior. 2015; 19: 123-142. [in Persian]

[39] Azizi B, Aghaei M, Talebpour M, Khedri M. “Validation of the superstition questionnaire in sports in Iranian football and futsal premier league players”. Sport Psychology Studies. 2022; 10(38): 43-68. doi:10.22089/spsyj.2021.9902.2088. [in Persian]

[40] Zare A, Zare H, Emadi M. “The factors affecting the propensity for superstition among football players in Iran”. Sport Management and Development. 2017; 6(2): 32-46. doi: 10.22124/JSMD.2018.2703.

[41] Ranjbar S, Akbarnejad A, Alizadeh A, Fadakar A. “Is mental toughness related with motor learning in wrestling?”. Int J Sport Stud Hlth. 2022; 5(2): e133845. https://doi.org/10.5812/intjssh-133845.

[42] R. Silva R, R. Rufino C, L. Galvão L, Vancini R L, Santos D A T, et al. “Motivation for Brazilian older adult women to join a community physical activity program before COVID-19 pandemic”. Int J Sport Stud Hlth. 2022; 5(1): e128560. https://doi.org/10.5812/intjssh-128560.

[43] Keshtidar M, Azizi B, Jami Alahmadi A, Aminian M. “predicting the team effectiveness of athletes in sporting fields soccer and futsal based on superstious rituals”. Sport Management and Development. 2020; 9(4): 132-50. doi: 10.22124/JSMD.2020.5003.

[44] Sarabandi M, Rezaei Z. “The relationship between sports perfectionism and achievement motivation with sports success: a case study of kabadi athletes”. Journal of Sports Psychology Studies. 2017; 19: 57-68.

[45] Servatyari K, Garousi S, Yousefi F. “Survey of the frequency of superstition and its related factors among students of Kurdistan University Medical Sciences in 2013”. SJKU. 2019; 23(6): 25-36. doi: ‎10.52547/sjku.23.6.25.

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Investigating the relationship between superstition and sports success in Iraqi football league players

References

[1] Mish FC (ed). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam-Webster; 2004.

[2] Ciborowski T. “Superstition in the collegiate baseball player”. The Sport Psychologist. 1997; 11(3): 305-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.11.3.305.

[3] AbdolBaghi M, Nikbakhsh R, PoorSoltani Zandi H, Safa Nia AM. “Compiling superstition prevalence model among football fans in ISM method”. HASES. 2022; 2(3): 315-323.‎ doi: 10.52547/hases.2.3.315.

[4] Rudski J. “What does a ‘superstitious’ person believe? Impressions of participants”. The Journal of General Psychology. 2003; 130(4): 431-45. doi: 10.1080/00221300309601168.

[5] Bleak JL, Frederick CM. “Supersititious behavior in sport: Levels of effectiveness and determinants of use in three collegiate sports”. Journal of Sport Behavior. 1998; 21(1): 1.

[6] Damisch L, Stoberock B, Mussweiler T. “Keep your fingers crossed! How superstition improves performance”. Psychological Science. 2010; 21(7): 1014-20. doi: 10.1177/0956797610372631. PMID: 20511389.

[7] McCallum J. “Green cars, black cats, and lady luck”. Sports and Religion. 1992: 191-202.

[8] Burger JM, Lynn AL. “Superstitious behavior among American and Japanese professional baseball players”. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 2005; 27(1): 71-6. doi: 10.1207/s15324834basp2701_7.

[9] Fischer GJ. “Abstention from sex and other pre-game rituals used by college male varsity athletes”. Journal of Sport Behavior. 1997; 20(2): 176.

[10] Womack M. “Why athletes need ritual: A study of magic among professional athletes”. Sport and Religion. 1992: 191-202.

[11] Vyse SA. Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition-Updated Edition. Oxford University Press; 2013.

[12] Goodall J. “Superstition and human agency”. Implicit Religion. 2010; 13(3): 307-318. doi: https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v13i3.307.

[13] Jahoda G. The Psychology of Superstition. London: Penguin Books; 1970.

[14] Flanagan E. “Superstitious ritual in sport and the competitive anxiety response in elite and non-elite athletes”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2013; 25(3): 307-23.

[15] Schippers MC, Van Lange PA. “The psychological benefits of superstitious rituals in top sport: a study among top sportspersons”. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2006; 36(10): 2532-53. doi:10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00116.x.

[16] Ofori PK, Biddle S, Lavallee D. “The role of superstition among professional footballers in Ghana”. Athletic Insight. 2012; 4(2): 115-26.

[17] Dömötör Z, Ruíz‐Barquín R, Szabo A. “Superstitious behavior in sport: A literature review”. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2016; 57(4): 368-82. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12301.

[18] Maranise AM. “Superstition & religious ritual: An examination of their effects and utilization in sport”. The Sport Psychologist. 2013; 27(1): 83-91. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.27.1.83.

[19] Cohn PJ. “Preperformance routines in sport: Theoretical support and practical applications”. The Sport Psychologist. 1990; 4(3): 301-12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.4.3.301.

[20] Rahman R, Day M, Thatcher J. “Sport and exercise psychology: Context and issues”. Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2011: 1-240.

[21] Wakefield JC, Shipherd AM, Lee MA. “Athlete Superstitions in swimming: beneficial or detrimental?”. Strategies. 2017; 30(6): 10-4. doi: 10.1080/08924562.2017.1369477.

[22] Wann DL, Zaichkowsky L. “Sport team identification and belief in team curses: The case of the Boston Red Sox and the curse of the Bambino”. Journal of Sport Behavior. 2009; 32(4): 489.

[23] Levental O, Carmi U, Lev A. “Jinx, control, and the necessity of adjustment: Superstitions among football fans”. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; 12: 740645. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740645.

[24] Foster DJ, Weigand DA, Baines D. “The effect of removing superstitious behavior and introducing a pre-performance routine on basketball free-throw performance”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2006; 18(2): 167-71. doi: 10.1080/10413200500471343.

[25] Starkes JL, Ericsson KA. Expert Performance in Sports: Advances in Research on Sport Expertise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers; 2003.

[26] Coté J, Saimela J, Trudel P, Baria A, Russell S. “The coaching model: A grounded assessment of expert gymnastic coaches’ knowledge”. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 1995; 17(1): 1-7.

[27] Bouchard C, Malina RM. “Genetics and olympic athletes: A discussion of methods and issues”. Physical Structure of Olympic Athletes. 1984; 18: 28-38. doi: https://doi.org/10.1159/000409676.

[28] Krampe RT, Ericsson KA. “Maintaining excellence: deliberate practice and elite performance in young and older pianists”. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 1996; 125(4): 331.

[29] Gould D, Eklund RC, Jackson SA. “1988 US Olympic wrestling excellence: I. Mental preparation, precompetitive cognition, and affect”. The Sport Psychologist. 1992; 6(4): 358-82. doi: 10.1080/02701367.1993.10608782. PMID: 8451537.

[30] Durand-Bush N, Salmela JH. “The development and maintenance of expert athletic performance: Perceptions of world and Olympic champions”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2002; 14(3): 154-71. doi: 10.1080/10413200290103473.

[31] Csikszentmihalyi M, Rathunde K, Whalen S. Talented teenagers: The roots of success and failure. Cambridge University Press; 1997.

[32] Vaez Mousavi MK, Mosayebi F. Sports Psychology. 3rd ed. Tehran: Samt Publication, 2011.

[33] Lavan W, Gill DL. Psychological Dynamic of Sport and Exercise. Human Kinetics. 2000; 8(2): 103-25.

[34] Jackson S, Csikszentmihalyi M. Flow in Sports. Champaign, Human Kinetics, 1999.

[35] Haywood KM, Getchell N. Life Span Motor Development. Human kinetics; 2021.

[36] Liliana M, Adrian SM. “The role of attention in the achievement of sport performance in judo”. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2013; 84: 1242-9. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.737.

[37] Mandal, FB (2018). “Superstitions: A culturally transmitted human behavior”. International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. 8(4): 65-69. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ijpbs.20180804.02.

[38] Mousavi SA, Vaez Mousavi MK. “Introducing the sports success scale”. Motor Behavior. 2015; 19: 123-142. [in Persian]

[39] Azizi B, Aghaei M, Talebpour M, Khedri M. “Validation of the superstition questionnaire in sports in Iranian football and futsal premier league players”. Sport Psychology Studies. 2022; 10(38): 43-68. doi:10.22089/spsyj.2021.9902.2088. [in Persian]

[40] Zare A, Zare H, Emadi M. “The factors affecting the propensity for superstition among football players in Iran”. Sport Management and Development. 2017; 6(2): 32-46. doi: 10.22124/JSMD.2018.2703.

[41] Ranjbar S, Akbarnejad A, Alizadeh A, Fadakar A. “Is mental toughness related with motor learning in wrestling?”. Int J Sport Stud Hlth. 2022; 5(2): e133845. https://doi.org/10.5812/intjssh-133845.

[42] R. Silva R, R. Rufino C, L. Galvão L, Vancini R L, Santos D A T, et al. “Motivation for Brazilian older adult women to join a community physical activity program before COVID-19 pandemic”. Int J Sport Stud Hlth. 2022; 5(1): e128560. https://doi.org/10.5812/intjssh-128560.

[43] Keshtidar M, Azizi B, Jami Alahmadi A, Aminian M. “predicting the team effectiveness of athletes in sporting fields soccer and futsal based on superstious rituals”. Sport Management and Development. 2020; 9(4): 132-50. doi: 10.22124/JSMD.2020.5003.

[44] Sarabandi M, Rezaei Z. “The relationship between sports perfectionism and achievement motivation with sports success: a case study of kabadi athletes”. Journal of Sports Psychology Studies. 2017; 19: 57-68.

[45] Servatyari K, Garousi S, Yousefi F. “Survey of the frequency of superstition and its related factors among students of Kurdistan University Medical Sciences in 2013”. SJKU. 2019; 23(6): 25-36. doi: ‎10.52547/sjku.23.6.25.

Volume 14, Issue 1January 2022Pages 59-71

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Volume 14, Issue 1
January 2022
Pages 59-71