Sports in Society:
Issues and Controversies
Chapter 3
Sports and Socialization:
Who Plays and What Happens to Them?
Research Topics
Sports & Socialization
1. The process of becoming involved and
staying involved in sports
2. The process of changing or ending
sport participation
3. The impact of being involved in sports
Using Models To Define Socialization
Social interaction
Personal internalization
 Cultural, interactionist &
structural theories
 Structural theories
(Functionalism & Conflict)
Social Interaction Model
Socialization =
An active process of learning and social development
Occurs as we interact with others
Involves the formation of ideas about who we are and
what is important in our lives
Personal Internalization Model
Socialization =
 Process of role learning  enabling ppl to participate in social system
 Occurs as people internalize the rules of society as they:
1. Grow up in their families
2. Attend school
3. Interact with peers
4. Media
 One-way learning process
 Focused on significant others
Research Designs
Personal Internalization
 Quantitative research
Social Interaction Model
 Qualitative research
 Surveys
 In-depth interviews & field
observations
 Provides single snapshots of
people’s lives
 Provides continuous videos
of a smaller collection of
people over time
Becoming & Staying Involved
Personal internalization model
1.An individuals abilities, characteristics &
resources
2.The influence of significant others
3.Availability of opportunities to play sports
Becoming & Staying Involved
Social interaction model
1. Connected to multiple processes
2. It occurs as people interact with others
3. Decisions based on available opportunities & the meanings
they give to sports
4. These decisions & meanings are not permanent & often
change as social conditions change
Becoming & Staying Involved
Sociological Researchers
Stevenson – The process of becoming an elite
athlete
Donnelly & Young – The process of being
accepted as an athlete
Coakley & White – To participate or not to
participate
Stevenson’s Findings
(1999)
Becoming an elite
athlete involves:
The process of
introduction and
involvement
The process of
developing
commitment
Process of Introduction & Involvement
 Bit-by-bit introduced to sports as they interact with significant
others
 Received social support as children when trying different
sports
 Choose a specific sport based on evaluation of potential
success & personal connections with people associated with
that sport
Process of Developing Commitment
Occur as they form
Personal relationships in sport
Reputations & identities as athletes
In Summary
Socialization process = interactive
Interactional contexts in which sport participation
occur are influenced by:
 Structural factors (equipment, sport facilities, financial
support)
 Cultural factors (importance given to a particular sport in a
social world)
China’s One Child Policy
Donnelly & Young’s Findings (1999)
“Talk the talk & Walk the walk”
Being accepted as an
athlete involves:
 Acquiring knowledge about
the sport
 Associating with people in
the sport
 Learning the norms of the
sport
 Receiving recognition and
acceptance from other
athletes
In Summary
Becoming & staying involved = complex, interactive
socialization & identity formation process which
depends on:
Establishing social connections
Being accepted in a sport culture
Receiving social support
Few Girls In Alternative Sport Cultures
Coakley & White’s Findings
(1999)





Deciding to play sports depends
on:
Ideas about sport’s connection
to other interests and goals
Desires to develop & display
competence
Social and material support
Memories of past experiences in
sports
General cultural images and
messages about sports
In Summary
Young people decided to play sports when it helped
them extend control over their lives, achieve
development & career goals & present themselves to
others as competent
Socialization = continuous, interactive process
grounded in social & cultural contexts
Decisions About Sport Participation In
Different Social & Cultural Contexts
Research on Dropping Out of Sports
People don’t drop out forever, nor do they cut all ties
with sports
People move into other sport roles as they become
older
Dropping out is tied to other changes and transitions
in a person’s life
Dropping out is not related only to bad experiences
Dropping out may cause problems among those who
Have identities grounded totally in sports
Lack social & material resources
Changing or Ending Sport
Participation - Researchers
Coakley – Burnout among young athletes
Koukouris – Getting out of sports and getting on with
life
Wheeler – Changing personal investments in sport
careers
Coakley’s Findings (1992)
Burnout among elite
adolescent athletes was
most likely when:
 High performance sports
were organized so that
athletes had little control
over their lives
 Sport involvement was
perceived to interfere with
accomplishing important
developmental tasks
Koukouris’ Findings (1994)
Ending or reducing sport participation was
associated with:
The need to find a job and become
independent
Realistic assessments of sport skills and
potential for future achievements
Efforts to stay physically active and connected
with sports
Wheelers’ Findings (1999)
Ending sport participation &
making transition into
other spheres of life
presents:
 Emotional problems since
identities are connected
with participating in
sports
 Most stayed connected
with sports as coaches,
administrators, or
recreational athletes
Being Involved in Sports
Do Sports Build Character??
In some cultures people believe that
sports automatically build positive
traits among participants
Factors Often Overlooked in Research on
Character Building in Sports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Different sports offer different experiences (+ -)
Sports often select people with certain traits 
not create the traits
Different people define sport experiences in
different ways
Meanings to sports experiences change over time
Socialization comes from social relationships of
participation – not physical participation itself
Sport is not the only avenue for presenting life
lessons
Sport Participation Is Most Likely to
Produce Positive Socialization When
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
New non-sport identities are formed
Exposure to the world
New relationships are formed that go
beyond sports
Help athletes to apply sport lessons to other
life issues
Develop & display competence in nonsport
activities
General Summary on
Building Character:
If playing sports constricts or limits
a person’s life, expect negative
socialization effects
If playing sports expands or
diversifies a person’s life, expect
positive socialization effects
Power & Performance Versus
Pleasure & Participation Sports
Power & Performance Versus
Pleasure & Participation Sports
Pleasure/Participation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Emphasis on connections
between people
Ethic of expression,
enjoyment, health
Body = source of pleasure
Inclusion & accommodation of differences
Democratic structures
Compete with others as
partners in meeting
physical challenges
Power/Performance
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Use power to push
human limits in pursuit
of victories
Excellence proved
through winning
Body = tool and weapon
Competence-based
inclusion/exclusion
Hierarchical structures
Opponents = enemies
Why Do Power & Performance
Sports Dominate???
They fit the interests of powerful people in
society
Belief that rewards go to those who have
earned them
Therefore competition is a natural part of
social life
Life involves competition  rewards go to
winners  winners should get power & health
Do Sports Improve Health?
Physiological effects of participation are not a result
of sport... But of PA!!!
Well-established + relationship between PA &
physical health & feelings of well-being
Important to distinguish between exercise, sports &
PA
How Do Sports Affect Our Lives?
Real-Life Experiences From Athletes
Moral Lessons of Little League (Fine)
Lessons in the Locker Room (Theberge)
Stories of Gay Male Athletes (Woog)
Moral Lessons of Little League
(Fine, 1987)
 Moral messages presented
in adult terms, but
interpreted in children’s
terms
 Masculinity = toughness,
dominance, aggression
 This influenced how they
saw themselves & their
relationships with others
Lessons in the Locker Room
(Theberge, 1995)
 Women’s ice hockey team
 Men controlled the team,
the league & sport
 Team became a community
 Locker room a key place for
bonding, making friends,
talking about life
Stories of Gay Male Athletes
(Woog, 1998)
 Sport experiences vary from
person to person
 Different definitions of
heterosexuality &
homosexuality
 If being gay is supported by
family, coach & athletes 
lead to + experience
Studies of Sport Experiences
The voices of sport participants indicate
that
People define and give meaning to their
sport experiences in connection with
their social relationships
Studies of Sport Experiences (Cont)
Sports are sites for socialization
experiences
However
it is only through social relationships
that experiences are given meaning
and incorporated into athlete’s
lives...
Studies of Sport Experiences (Cont)
Thus…
Sports are social locations with potential
for providing meaningful personal, social
& cultural experiences
Sports alone do not cause changes in
traits, attitudes & actions