Date of Award

Spring 2019

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. John Yost

Abstract

This research further explores the Cognitive Resource Theory (CRT; Fielder & Garcia, 1987), which is an approach to leadership in which effective leadership depends on a leader’s intelligence and experience and how these factors affect a leader’s ability to cope with stress. Extending CRT as a theoretical framework, the present research seeks to determine if players perceptions of a coach’s ability to handle stress and make good decisions has an impact on the quality of their football experience and their feelings of stress during stressful situations. It is hypothesized that players’ stress levels during rivalry games (i.e., high stress situations) will be higher for players who have absolute trust in the head coach and perceive the coach as having relatively high (vs. low) levels of stress during a game. Participants were Division III football players who first responded to questions concerning the head coach, and then questions about their personal experience on a 6-point scale.

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