Can Emotionally Intelligent Volleyball Players Be More Prone to Sportspersonship?

Abstract

Emotional intelligence concept has been examined by researchers in the field of education as well as field of sports. When emotional intelligence theory examined, it comes to mind that emotional intelligence can be related to moral behaviors in sport. In this regard, the question of “Can emotional intelligence predict sportspersonship orientation?” comes to mind. Consistent with this question, we examined the relationship between sportspersonship orientation and emotional intelligence level of students participating in university volleyball second division competitions. 79 female and male volleyball players participated in this study. The age mean of participants was found to be 20.29±1.87. 46.8% of participants was female (n=37), 53.2% was male (n=42). %79.7 of participants have reported that they are satisfied with their department (n=63). % 8.9 have reported they are not satisfied with their department while %11.4 have reported that they are partially satisfied with their department. %46 of participant have reported that sporting activities are enough (n=37). %21.5 of them have reported that sporting activities are not enough (n=17) while %31.6 have reported that they are partially enough (n=25). Significant difference was found between genders in terms of emotional appraisal (p<0.01), emphatic sensitivity (p<0.01), positive utilization (p<0.05), respect for social conventions (p<0.05), respect for rules and officials (p<0.05), respect for one’s full commitment toward sport participation (p<0.05). Female volleyball players have reported higher scores than males in terms of all variables. It has been found that emotional intelligence predicts sportspersonship orientation of students participating in university volleyball second division competitions.