Effects of Hostile and Favorable Audience

on Performance of High And Low Skilled

Basketball Players

Mr. Avishesh Kumar Singh1*, Dr. Rajender Singh2, Mr. Rohtash Kumar3, Mr.

Abstract – The purpose of the present study was effects of hostile and favorable audience on

performance of high and low skilled basketball players. Sixty basketball players of Lakshmibai

National College of Physical Education, Gwalior and twenty basketball players of Indian Military

who were also trained at the college were selected as subjects for this study. The following

standardized basketball skill tests were selected as criterion measures: (i) Free throw test: To

measure shooting ability. Total Fifteen trials were given. (ii) Dribbling test: To assess dribbling

ability. Total number of zones covered in 30 sec. The above selected skill tests were conducted in

isolated condition. The scores obtained during the isolated condition were recorded and served

as initial performance of the players. On the basis of composite scores, the players were divided

into high and low skilled groups. The high and low skilled players were again tested in the above

It has long been a practice in the countries of Eastern Europe to introduce distracting stresses in practice

situations in order to habituate athletes to the destruction they will encounter in competitions. Crowd

noise, either recorded or live, is among the stressors employed (Cratty and Hanin 1980 Vanek and

Cratty 1970). At times these stressors are added gradually as the athlete becomes habituated and after a

skill is well learned. At other times the stresses are after a skill is weel learned. At other times the stresses

are added all at once and sometimes unexpectedly. In either cases, if these types of stressors are used

with good judgment, their effects have been positive. It is likely that this training has direct benefits, as

athletes learn and practice their skills under the conditions they will encounter later. Moreover, there are

probably other secondary benefits, as is almost

always true when special attention is afforded by some individual or group, undoubtedly placebo or

audience or spectator effect. The evidence is clear that there is a significance advantage to playing

home in basketball, football, baseball and ice hockey (Schwartz &

might create the home court advantage phenomenon, none seem to be as important as the presence of

a supportive audience.

Keeping in mind the influence of spectators on performance, the present study was undertaken to find out

the effects of hostile and favorable audience on performance of high and low skilled basketball players.

PURPOSES OF THE STUDY:

how to balance on a stabilometer. The next day they were allowed three more trials alone and three

significantly better on two of the three trials performed in front of the spectators. They also performed

better than the athletes through – out the ten practice trials although the tenth and last trial approached

but did not yield a significant difference at the .05 level. On two of three trials in the presence of

spectators non- athletes performed on the stabilometer at a significantly higher level of skill than athletes.

Non athletes generally displayed superior performance to the athletes throughout the trial when practicing

alone. However these differences were not significant at the .05 level.

Martens (7) conducted a study to find out effect on performance of learning a complex motor task in the

presence of spectators. Forty – eight high and forty- eight low anxious subjects learned a coincident

by counting the number of active sweat gland from a plastic mold. Absolute error found the mode of

learning had no effect on performance. The results indicated that subjects who learned the task in the

presence of an audience performed less consistently alone than subjects who performed in the presence

of an audience. Palmar sweat gland result showed increased arousal in the presence of an audience. All

port (4) noted that when individual worked in the same task in each other presence, their performance

was better than when they worked by themselves.

Bergum and Lehr (1) observed that visual vigilance was significantly improved by the presence of a

skills of stealing, blocking, shots and rebounding. The home team was significantly better than the visiting

team on the above skills. Additionally visiting team had significantly more fouls than the home team.

METHODOLOGY:

Sixty basketball players of Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, Gwalior and twenty

basketball players of Indian Military who were also trained at the college were selected as subjects for

this study. The following standardized basketball skill tests were selected as criterion measures:

Free throw test: To measure shooting ability. Total Fifteen trials were given.

Dribbling test: To assess dribbling ability. Total number of zones covered in 30 sec.

The above selected skill tests were conducted in isolated condition. The scores obtained during the

isolated condition were recorded and served as initial performance of the players. On the basis of

composite scores, the players were divided into high and low skilled groups. The high and low skilled

players were again tested in the above two tests under two hundred and fifty favorable and two hundred

and fifty hostile audience on the same playground with same equipments. Each Group = N- 16 players.

Skilled Basketball Players

The analysis of variance clearly reveals that performance in dribbling and shooting of high skilled

basketball players is not same under three different conditions namely isolated, favorable spectators and

hostile spectators since ‘F’ values obtained are highly significant.

Further post-hoc analysis for the means of two skill test under three different conditions was used. The

post – hoc analysis is presented in Table 2.

Table – 2

Post Hoc Analysis for the Means of Two Skill Tests under Three Different Conditions of High

Skilled Basketball Players

employed and the results are presented in Table 3.

Table 3

Anova for the Scores on Dribbling and Shooting Ability in Basketball under Three Different

Conditions of Low Skilled Basketball Players

The analysis of date clearly reveals that there is significant difference in the performance of low

basketball players under three different conditions in the both the test items.

Further post- hoc analysis for the means of two skill test under three different conditions for low skilled

basketball players was applied.

Table 4

basketball players on these two skill tests between hostile and favourable

players performed poor in the presence of favorable and poorer in the presence of hostile

audience.

DISUCSSION OF FINDINGS:

The results of the study showed significant improvement in the performance of high skilled basketball

players in the presence of favorable audience and no improvement in the presence of hostile audience.

The results also indicated that high skilled basketball players performed significantly better in the

presence of favorable audience than the hostile audience. While low skilled basketball players performed

significantly poor in the presence of favorable as well as hostile audience. This may be attributed to the

fact that high skilled basketball players had better proficiency in performing these skills more confidence,

proficiency less experience of participation, difficulty of task, the volume of the crowd for the first time,

their feeling about the audience and the degree to which the low skilled basketball players might have

Zajonc (10) and Schwartz and Basky (1977).

Within the limitations of the present study, the following conclusions may be drawn:

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IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS IN COACHING: