Divergent Perceptions of Athletic Outcomes: A Field Inquiry into the Epistemology of Active Observer

Abstract

A field investigation was conducted to examine the potential divergence between athletes' (actors) and coaches' (active observers) perceptions of sport outcomes. A total of 25 coach-athlete dyads (N =50) were selected on a random basis from Division I track, specifically, the 5,000-m distance event. Success and failure were determined by comparing athletes' actual race times against their prerace predictions. Canonical correlation analysis was employed to examine the relationships of outcome (success-failure) and perceiver (athlete-coach) variables to several measures of attribution. Two significant variates were detected. Results from the first variate suggested that failure was perceived as more distinctive than success; the endorsement of personal unstable causes for failure was consistent with these data. Inspection of the second variate indicated that coaches were more strongly in favor of a dispositional explanation for athletic behavior than were athletes. Since this relationship was discrepant with a recent conceptualization of the active observer, it was suggested that a re-examination of this construct may be necessary.