A Cluster Analysis of Affective States Before and During Competition

Guillaume Martinent (1) , Michel Nicolas (2) , Patrick Gaudreau (3) , Mickaël Campo (4)

1 CRIS - Centre de Recherche et d'Innovation sur le Sport (EA647)
2 SPMS - Laboratoire de Socio-Psychologie et Management du Sport
3 University of Ottawa [Ottawa]
4 Université de Lyon

The purposes of the current study were to identify affective profiles of athletes both before and during the competition and to examine differences between these profiles on coping and attainment of sport goals among a sample of 306 athletes. The results of hierarchical (Ward’s method) and nonhierarchical (k means) cluster analyses revealed four different clusters both before and during the competition. The four clusters were very similar at the two measurement occasions: high positive affect facilitators (n = 88 and 81), facilitators (n = 75 and 25), low affect debilitators (n = 83 and 127), and high negative affect debilitators (n = 60 and 73). Results of MANOVAs revealed that coping and attainment of sport achievement goal significantly differed across the affective profiles. Results are discussed in terms of current research on positive and negative affective states.

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Guillaume Martinent, Michel Nicolas, Patrick Gaudreau, Mickaël Campo. A Cluster Analysis of Affective States Before and During Competition. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2013, 35 (6), pp.600-611. ⟨10.1123/jsep.35.6.600⟩. ⟨hal-02336839⟩