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COPYRIGHT 2006 University of South Alabama
A primary component of coping with acute stress in competitive sport is the athlete's cognitive appraisal of an event. Appraisal refers to "the ways in which people interpret their environment and the stimuli that impinge upon them" (Steptoe & Vogele, 1986, p. 243). According to Steptoe and Vogele (1986), "the cognitive appraisal process is often difficult to observe empirically because the individual may be unaware of any or all of the basic elements of an appraisal. However, the appraisal process affects the quality and intensity of the emotional reaction in a given situation" (p. 246). To Lazarus and Folkman (1984), "cognitive appraisal is an evaluative process that determines why and to what extent a particular transaction or series of transactions between the person and the environment is stress" (p. 19).
Appraisal is an important first step in the coping process (Lazarus, 1991). If an athlete perceives an event as not stressful (e.g., harmless, positive), then coping is not needed (Anshel, Kim, Kim, Chang, & Eom, 2001). If, however, the event is appraised as stressful (e.g., threatening, challenging, unpleasant, harmful), than it is in the athlete's best interests to consciously initiate a coping strategy. Thus, cognitive appraisal in sport consists of evaluating the perceived intensity and perceived controllability of a stimulus or event that the athlete interprets as stressful. It is apparent, then, that the manner in which the athlete appraises an event or stimulus is central to the coping process.
Cognitive appraisal is particularly relevant in the coping process in competitive sport because the manner in which an athlete interprets a stressful event mediates the level of perceived stress intensity, influences his or her coping responses (Anshel, 2001a; Steptoe & Vogele, 1986), and ultimately affects performance (Anshel et al., 2001). As Anshel and Delany (2001) contend, in sports "one critical mediator of an athlete's selection of coping strategies is his or her cognitive appraisal of the event or situation" (p. 330). For example, researchers in general psychology have found that one appraisal construct called perceived controllability of stressful situations influences the individual's choice of coping strategies (Folkman, 1984; Valentiner, Holahan, & Moos, 1994). Use of a category of coping strategies called emotion-focused coping is more likely when individuals perceive the situation as uncontrollable, whereas if the situation is perceived as controllable, then another category of coping strategies, called problem-focused, is more likely to be used (Folkman, Schaefer, & Lazarus, 1979; Forsythe & Compas, 1987; Lazarus, 1991).
Appraisal has been categorized differently by various researchers and theorists. Perhaps Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) framework has been the most popular in the general psychology literature. They categorize appraisal as non-stressful (e.g., positive and benign), which does not require the subsequent use of coping strategies, and stressful (e.g., threat, harm-loss, challenge), in which a coping strategy is needed. Harm-loss reflects damage that has already occurred (Folkman, 1992; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, McCrae, 1984). Harm-loss appraisals consist of individuals' evaluating and interpreting the previously experienced damage. Examples of harm/loss appraisals in stressful sporting situations are, "I started to lose my self-confidence," "I felt that that the situation was hopeless," "I felt bad about not performing my best," and "I felt helpless." Lazarus and Lazarus (1994) explain that a situation in which harm is expected but has not been already experienced is called threat.
Threat appraisals refer to damage that is anticipated but not necessarily inevitable. To Lazarus (1991), threat is "a threatening encounter that makes one feel uneasy (anxious), which is connected with a strong effort to protect oneself from anticipated danger" (p. 18). Lazarus and Folkman (1984) describe threat as harm or loss that have not yet taken place but are anticipated. Examples of threat appraisals in stressful sport situations are, "I started to doubt my ability," "I felt uneasy about what would happen next," "I felt I might lose the game," and "I felt a great deal of tension." Finally, challenge appraisals reflect anticipation of mastery or a beneficial outcome. Examples are, "I can do this; I'm ready!" "I am in control of the situation," and "I have to work hard and be well prepared to overcome my skilled opponent."
A review of the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model is important due to its limitations in the context of competitive sport research. In particular, application of the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) appraisal framework is limited in competitive sport, especially among non-elite athletes (Anshel & Delany, 2001). In addition, athletes' recall of their cognitive appraisal following stressful events, and the difficulty linking theft cognitive appraisals of harm/loss, threat, and challenge to the subsequent use of selected coping strategies are other limitations (Anshel, 1996; 2001b; Anshel & Delany, 2001). Hardy, Jones, and Gould (1996) and Krantz (1983) call for a simplification of the appraisal framework to improve the accuracy of recall among younger athletes, and to enhance our understanding of the relationship between an athlete's appraisal of a stressful event and his or her subsequent coping response.
Another form of cognitive appraisal that also has received considerable attention from researchers is called perceived controllability (e.g., Folkman, 1984; Terry, 1991). Perceived controllability concerns the extent to which an individual believes that the outcome of an event can be attributed to internal (personal) sources, external (situational/environmental) sources, or to the cause or predictability of an event. Researchers have studied the distinction between stressors that are perceived as controllable and uncontrollable. This distinction is important because perceptions...
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