Sources of Expectancy Information among Coaches: A Cross Cultural Investigation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, United States

2 German Sport University, Cologne, Germany

Abstract

Participation in and observation of sporting events boasts a long history across time and cultures. The enormous popularity of sport has led to the development of the coaching profession. Using the framework of expectancy theory, the purpose of this study was to explore the sources of information coaches from two cultures utilize to evaluate athletic ability. Over 600 coaches from the United States (US) and Germany served as sample members. The participants were issued the Solomon Expectancy Sources Scale (SESS; Solomon, 2008). Results demonstrated that US coaches rated all four SESS factors (Coachability, Team Player, Physical Ability, Maturity) significantly higher than their German counterparts. Further groups comparisons were conducted based on gender (male, female), coach status (head, assistant), and sport type (team, individual). A common trend is the finding that regardless of group, coaches prioritized the factors in an identical order. These results are discussed in terms of practical implications for future coach training.

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