Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
When an individual perceives the relationship between what they put into an exchange relationship to be unequal to the outcomes they receive, they are said to be in a state of inequity, and they are likely to view the relationship as unfair. This perceived lack of fairness, caused by the state of inequity, is often referred to as injustice and can have negative effects on the individual and team. While the concepts of inequity and injustice are usually studied within an organizational context, they can also be applied to an athletic setting, specifically in regard to players participating on intercollegiate athletic teams. Currently, there have been very few theory-based approaches to exploring perceptions of injustice within an athletic context. The purpose of this study is to identify the specific types of injustice perceived by athletes within their intercollegiate teams, the athletes’ behavioral and cognitive responses to those perceptions, and the individual and team-related outcomes. The outcomes of interest in the present study are psychological well-being of the individual, as well as the individual’s perception of team cohesion. To measure these variables, online surveys will be distributed to student-athletes at local and regional universities. The findings should be beneficial in providing evidence of the practical use of theories of equity and justice within an athletic context. The results will also be beneficial for coaches in better understanding athlete perceptions of fairness and understanding the ways athletes respond to perceived unfairness. It is the hope that coaches can use this information to positively impact the athlete experience.
Date
October 2019
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Included in
Perceptions of injustice among intercollegiate athletes: Effects of response type on individual well-being and perceived team cohesion
When an individual perceives the relationship between what they put into an exchange relationship to be unequal to the outcomes they receive, they are said to be in a state of inequity, and they are likely to view the relationship as unfair. This perceived lack of fairness, caused by the state of inequity, is often referred to as injustice and can have negative effects on the individual and team. While the concepts of inequity and injustice are usually studied within an organizational context, they can also be applied to an athletic setting, specifically in regard to players participating on intercollegiate athletic teams. Currently, there have been very few theory-based approaches to exploring perceptions of injustice within an athletic context. The purpose of this study is to identify the specific types of injustice perceived by athletes within their intercollegiate teams, the athletes’ behavioral and cognitive responses to those perceptions, and the individual and team-related outcomes. The outcomes of interest in the present study are psychological well-being of the individual, as well as the individual’s perception of team cohesion. To measure these variables, online surveys will be distributed to student-athletes at local and regional universities. The findings should be beneficial in providing evidence of the practical use of theories of equity and justice within an athletic context. The results will also be beneficial for coaches in better understanding athlete perceptions of fairness and understanding the ways athletes respond to perceived unfairness. It is the hope that coaches can use this information to positively impact the athlete experience.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology