Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you‟re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn‟t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It‟s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here‟s where things grow. But of course, without the top you can‟t have any sides. It‟s the top that defines the sides. So on we go...we have a long way...no hurry...just one step after the next... (Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance, 1974, pp. 198-99) i Declaration This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ...................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ Statement 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where *correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed ..................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ [*this refers to the extent to which the text has been corrected by others] Statement 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ..................................................................... (candidate) Date ........................................................................ ii Abstract The aim of this programme of research was to build on existing knowledge of impression management and self-presentation in the sport context. Theoretical advancement was made with the integration of two well-established social psychological frameworks of impression management phenomena; Leary‟s (1995) topography of dispositional self-presentational motives, and Leary and Kowalski‟s (1990) Two-Component Model of Impression Management – including situational impression motivation and impression construction – are complimentary, and their combination reflects a trait x state approach to understanding interpersonal behaviour in sport contexts. Athletes are assessed by team-mates, coaches, selectors, and the audience at a frequent rate. If they are aware of this, it could be viewed as an opportunity for personal and social development, or a threat to their existent identities. In both cases, the athlete must ensure that their performance is not affected by such thoughts, otherwise they risk conveying a negative impression regardless of their self-presentational motives (Leary, 1992). The present thesis incorporates three novel studies that address a multitude of first and second generation research questions (cf. Zanna & Fazio, 1982). Key findings include, but are not limited to: athletes have a strong dispositional motive to attain intra- and interpersonal goals via their self-presentations; if their impression efficacy does not match their impression motivation they tend to appraise this as a challenge, not a threat, contrary to theoretical expectations; in a laboratory setting, heightened impression motivation is associated with improved performance rather than increased distractibility and performance decrements (as was anticipated); impression management is important in developing desired social identities within university sport subcultures; and impression management is implicated in positive and negative group dynamics. In achieving its aims, the present thesis developed a new measurement scale, devised a successful experimental manipulation of impression motivation, and employed stimulated recall interview methodology; all novel or challenging approaches in sport psychology. iii Acknowledgements I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the following: Amanda Louise Fencott My loving girlfriend; thank goodness she guided me through this monumental mission. I‟m so glad to have had her to share my suffering and eventual joy! Now, for the rest of our lives... My family: Jacqui (mother), Madeleine (grandmother), Eddie (father), Tim (brother), Natalie and Rowanna (sisters), Helen (girlfriend‟s mother) and all of my adopted family, Martin (step-father), and Special K (honorary brother). My supervisors, Jo and Sally: Only they know what we went through to achieve this, and I‟m so proud to have provided them a completion! My examiners, Drs. David Tod and Richard Thelwell, for their time, approach to the viva voce, and suggestions that led to a marked improvement in the thesis. David Lavallee: it would take too much space to list the ways that I benefited from David becoming Head of Department while I was at Aberystwyth, but not to say that I gained a friend. Everybody in and otherwise affiliated with the Department of Sport & Exercise Science, Aberystwyth University, that I haven‟t already mentioned – you all contributed to what I‟ve accomplished, and I‟m certainly not just talking about this document: Andy Manley, Anni, Arwel, Carla Meijen, Dan, Ed, Emily O., Erwyd, Euros, Fergus, Ffion, Fiona, Glen (and Emily), James P., Jamie, Jo (and Will), Professor John Barrett, Jon, Llinos, Les, Maggie (and Paul), Mark and Sam, Matt Smith, Mel, Patrick, Rachel and Kam, Rachel T., Rhys, Ruth (and Phil), Sarah F., Sarah J., Sarah Wood, Stuart, Sunghee, Yusuke and Mika, and all the students I‟ve taught; they‟ve convinced me that I‟d be happy making a career out of teaching university students, and for that I am thankful. iv Contents Prologue................................................................................. i Declaration............................................................................. ii Abstract.................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements................................................................ iv Contents................................................................................. v List of tables........................................................................... xii List of figures.......................................................................... xiii Chapter 1 Introduction............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction to Impression Management.............. 1 1.2 Conceptual Starting Points: Leary‟s (1995) 10 Topography of Self-Presentational Motives, and Leary and Kowalski‟s (1990) Two-Component Model of Impression Management..................... 1.3 Aims of the Thesis and Outline of Studies........... 17 1.4 Conclusion............................................................ 23 Chapter 2 Literature Review................................................................... 24 2.1 The Self-Presentational Motive............................ 24 2.1.1 Self-Presentation Concerns............. 27 2.1.2 Primary Self-Presentation Motives... 30 2.1.2.1 Interpersonal influence 31 2.1.2.2 Development and 40 maintenance of self...... 2.1.2.3 Emotion regulation....... 50 2.1.3 Impression monitoring...................... 52 2.1.4 The Situational Antecedents of 58 Impression Motivation...................... v 2.1.4.1 Goal-relevance of 59 impressions.................. 2.1.4.2 Value place on desired 63 goals............................. 2.1.4.3 Discrepancy between 65 desired and (perceived) current social image................. 2.1.5 Summary: The Self-Presentational 69 Motive in Sport: Evidence for the Model and Future Research Directions.......................................... 2.2 Determinants of Impression Content: Impression 73 Construction.......................................................... 2.2.1 Self-Concept..................................... 74 2.2.2 Desired and Undesired Identity 77 Images.............................................. 2.2.3 Role Constraints............................... 81 2.2.4 Target Values................................... 84 2.2.5 Current and Potential Social Image. 87 2.2.6 Summary: Impression Construction 89 in Sport: Evidence for the Model and Future Research Directions...... 2.3 Impression Efficacy............................................... 91 2.3.1 Summary: Impression Efficacy in 95 Sport: Evidence for the Model and Future Research Directions............. 2.4 Impression Management Cognitions, Self- 97 Presentation, and Task Performance................... 2.4.1 Social, Cognitive, and 99 Physical/Motor Performance............ 2.4.2 Mechanisms of Performance 100 Disruption and Enhancement........... vi 2.4.3 Summary: Impression Management 103 Cognitions, Self-Presentation, and Task Performance in the Sport Context: Evidence for the Model and Future Research Directions...... 2.5 Social Anxiety and Impression Management....... 104 2.5.1 Social Anxiety................................... 104 2.5.2 Social Anxiety in Sport..................... 107 2.5.3 Sport Competition Anxiety and 108