A preliminary approach to implicit aggression in sports and educational sciences field

Abstract

Everyone has implicit biases, no one is immune. The research aimed to explore the automatic/ unconscious aggression of athletes and future specialists in the field of education sciences (future teachers). 179 participants were recruited in the current research, aged between 20 and 24. An Implicit Associations Test (IAT) was created for automatic assessment of aggression. Data analysis revealed that more future teachers (20.83%) associated aggression with self (at the unconscious level), when compared to athletes. Recommendations for future teachers who have obtained a positive D score at IAT have been made. However, most of the participants automatically associated aggression with others (not with self). Using ANOVA procedures the differences between groups, in terms of implicit aggression, were investigated. Athletes from team sports (e.g., football, handball) and grappling combat sports (judo, jiu-jitsu) associated aggression with others at the highest level. Also, athletes in heuristic sports (open skills) associated aggression with others at a higher level than athletes practicing algorithmic sports. The IAT results were explained in the light of the specifics of each activity (sports discipline or future teaching activity).