Intensity, idiosyncratic content and functional impact of performance-related emotions in athletes CLAUDIO ROBAZZA* and LAURA BORTOLI Facolta ` di Medicina e Chirurgia, Scienze Motorie, Universita ` di Padova, Italy Accepted 20 November 2002 The aims of this study were: (a) to assess the possibility of applying in athletes an idiographic scaling procedure within the IZOF-emotion model framework; (b) to determine the effects of differences in intensity on idiosyncratic emotions and bodily-somatic symptoms by competitive standard; (c) to establish the effects of differences in intensity, direction and hedonic tone on competitive trait anxiety and self-confidence by competitive standard; and (d) to verify whether intensity, direction and hedonic tone of competitive trait anxiety and self-confidence would predict idiosyncratic affect intensity. Elite and non-elite Italian athletes (n = 374) were asked to identify beneficial/detrimental and positive/negative emotions and bodily-somatic symptoms related to performance. They were also asked to respond to a modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, rating items in intensity, direction and hedonic tone. The results supported incorporating affect- related bodily-somatic symptom descriptors in the idiosyncratic assessment of emotions. Compared with non- elite performers, elite athletes reported: (a) higher intensity scores of idiosyncratic facilitating-positive emotions and bodily-somatic symptoms; (b) lower cognitive and somatic anxiety and higher self-confidence; and (c) higher directional and hedonic tone. Finally, trait anxiety and self-confidence revealed a low predictive power on idiosyncratic emotion and bodily-somatic symptoms. Keywords: anxiety, directional perceptions, individual zones of optimal functioning model, negative affect, positive affect, self-confidence. Introduction Several theoretical approaches have been proposed by sport psychologists in an attempt to clarify the relation- ship between affect and athletic performance. These include multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens et al., 1990), the catastrophe model (Hardy, 1990, 1996), the directional interpretation of anxiety (Jones and Swain, 1992, 1995; Jones, 1995), reversal theory (Kerr, 1997) and the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, 1980, 1986). Hanin (2000a) recently recommended assessing emotions using an idiographic scaling procedure in which the performer is asked to identify significant affect descriptors that exert facilitating or inhibiting effects upon performance and have pleasant or unpleasant characteristics. Hanin also suggested extending his profiling procedure to include other modalities such as bodily-somatic symptom descriptors related to emotion states, but few studies have been conducted in this area (Y. Hanin and P. Syrja ¨, unpublished data; Bortoli and Robazza, 2002). In contrast to the IZOF idiographic scaling approach, directionality theorists (Jones and Swain, 1992, 1995; Jones, 1995) have advocated the assessment of facil- itative and debilitative effects of cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety using a modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Mar- tens et al., 1990). The two theoretical approaches are quite different; however, research to date conducted within the IZOF model framework has assessed the functional impact (i.e. facilitative or debilitative effects) and the hedonic tone (i.e. pleasant or unpleasant characteristics) of emotion descriptors, overlooking the assessment of somatic symptom descriptors. Con- versely, researchers adopting the directionality ap- proach have assessed the functional impact of cognitive anxiety as well as somatic symptoms, but the hedonic tone of items has been disregarded. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the possibility and value of extending assessment procedures within the IZOF model and the directionality approach to include bodily-somatic symptom descriptors and the hedonic tone dimension, respectively. Other, more * Address all correspondence to Claudio Robazza, Via Santa Bona Vecchia 34/L, 31100 Treviso, Italy. e-mail c.robazza@tin.it Journal of Sports Sciences, 2003, 21, 171–189 Journal of Sports Sciences ISSN 0264-0414 print/ISSN 1466-447X online # 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/0264041031000071065