Perceptions of momentum in college and high school basketball: an exploratory, case study investigation.

Burke, Kevin L. ; Burke, Michelle M. ; Joyner, A. Barry 等

Despite the popularity and frequency of use of the term "momentum" in sport, it has been described by researchers as an elusive (Burke & Houseworth, 1995) or subjective (Cornelius, Silva, Conroy, & Peterson, 1997) phenomenon. One of the earlier cited definitions of momentum was provided by Iso-Ahola and Mobily (1980) who stated that momentum is a gained psychological power which may change interpersonal perceptions and influence physical and mental performance. Taylor and Demick (1994) defined momentum as a multidimensional construct in which a negative or positive change in cognition, physiology, affect, and behavior is caused by one or more events which results in a change in performance and competitive outcome. Recently (Burke, Edwards, Weigand, & Weinberg, 1997) momentum has been described in two ways. Positive momentum was defined as a psychological state of mind affecting performance in a positive direction where most everything seems to "go right" for the performer(s). Negative momentum was defined as a psychological state of mind affecting performance in a negative direction where most everything seems to "go wrong" for the performer(s) (Burke et al., 1997).

Researchers began to study momentum less than 20 years ago. Some of the sports that have been investigated are football, racquetball, tennis, volleyball, and even laboratory studies have been conducted. {For an exhaustive review of the literature on momentum, please see Burke et al., 1997} In the sport of basketball, one study by Gillovich, Vallone and Tversky (1985) investigated the "hot hand" phenomenon. This study analyzed past shooting records of the Philadelphia 76ers, free throw shooting records of the Boston Celtics professional basketball teams, and conducted a controlled investigation of the women's and men's Cornell University basketball teams. Although the Cornell athletes' predictions of making future shots were influenced, their performance was not. However, no support was found for the commonly accepted notion that a basketball player who has hit several shots in a row is more likely to continue making subsequent shots. based upon one aspect of a momentum model (Vallerand, Colavecchio, & Pelletier, 1992), recently, one goal of a momentum study (Burke, et al., 1997) was to investigate spectators' views of momentum who watched a video tape of one quarter portion of a professional basketball play off game. The study asked spectators to identify the beginning and ending game events (i.e., steal, blocked shot, dunk, 3-point shot) in momentum periods. Results indicated a lack of agreement of events that began or ended momentum.

The Burke et al. (1997) study utilized many (N = 78) basketball-experienced observers who watched a video tape of the same quarter of a professional game and failed to show agreement of momentum perceptions. The purpose of the present exploratory investigation was to discover if momentum may be perceived consistently by one basketball-experienced, momentum-trained observer across several entire high school and college basketball games.

Method

Participant

Data were collected by one trained observer (TO). The TO was a 28-year-old female who had a significant amount of basketball playing and coaching experience. The TO had played high school basketball and left the high school ranks as one of the top thirty scorers in her state. She then played two years of college basketball. She has also served as head and assistant coach to high school varsity, junior varsity, and junior high teams. She was provided the Burke et al. (1997) definitions of momentum and was briefed on other definitions of momentum and the history of momentum research. The TO observed men's and women's junior college and N.C.A.A. Division III level contests (N = 11). The high school games observed (N = 3) were all boys' contests. The games chosen for observation were dependent upon the TO's ability to attend certain athletic events.

Procedure

The TO attended each contest in person. She had a momentum chart (see Appendix) which asked the following question: "Was momentum begun by a good performance by one team, poor performance by one team, or a combination of both?" The TO was then to indicate a) the game event(s) that began the momentum period; b) the game event(s) that occurred during the momentum period; c) and the game event(s) that led to the end of the momentum period. Items listed on the chart were game events that basketball-experienced individuals agreed were most likely to be involved in a momentum period. However, the TO was informed that any game event (whether or not appearing on the chart) that she perceived as part of a momentum period should be indicated. The TO was instructed that there were no correct or incorrect perceptions. Also, she was informed to record all acts of momentum that she perceived.

Results

A total of 50 momentum acts were observed in 11 college and 3 high school basketball games. The TO recorded actions that accompanied the beginning of momentum, occurred during momentum, and were present at the end of momentum. Although given both definitions for positive and negative momentum, the TO only recorded what she perceived to be positive momentum periods. The beginning of momentum was most often characterized (84.0%) as a combination of good performance by one team and poor performance by the other team. Good performance by one team was perceived as beginning momentum 13.7% of the time and poor performance by one team 2.3%. The five most frequently occurring actions at the beginning of perceived momentum were: 3-point shot (26%), defensive stop (24%), steal (20%), fastbreak (14%), and turnover (10%). During momentum, the five most frequently occurring actions were: turnover (72%), crowd noise (66%), defensive stop (60%), steal (58%), and string of unanswered points (24%). The five actions most frequently present at the end of momentum were: turnover by momentum team (36%), missed shots by momentum team (30%), time out (18%), fouls (10%), and end of the half or game (10%).

The number of points scored by each team during a time of perceived momentum was analyzed to determine if there was a significant difference in the number of points scored by the momentum team and the other team. The score was recorded at the beginning of perceived momentum and at the end. An independent t-test revealed the momentum team (7.58 [+ or -] 3.66 points) scored significantly more points (p [less than] .0001) than the other team (2.62 [+ or -] 2.32 points).

Discussion

The purpose of this exploratory study was to discover if momentum may be perceived consistently by a basketball-experienced, momentum-trained observer across several entire high school and college basketball games. Unlike some previous studies (see Burke, et al., 1997) in which little agreement on when momentum occurs has been reported, this investigation found that momentum conditions could be distinguished from other occurrences in basketball games. Because of the previous consistent lack of defining periods of momentum in actual game contests, the use of one trained observer attending and recording game events over several contests seemed to be a logical initial step in trying to define momentum periods more objectively. At least in high school and college basketball games, this study reported that a TO could identify specific game events, or a combination thereof, that led to the occurrence of momentum.

Two conclusions may possibly be drawn from the findings in this study concerning the beginning of momentum. First, three of the five most often recorded basketball events that seem to begin and continue a momentum period were related directly to defensive movements (defensive stop, steal, and a turnover). Although, a turnover can occur without defensive "pressure," the defense usually benefits from the offense's unforced error (at the very least) by gaining possession of the ball. The other two events (3-point shot &, especially a fastbreak) often may come immediately after these defensive moments in beginning a momentum period. Crowd behavior and a string of "unanswered" points were usually involved in continuing momentum periods. Although it is too early in this type of research to draw a well-connected inference, it could be stated that momentum in basketball occurs usually because of good game events by one team and poor game events by the opposing team. This is in agreement with Burke et al. who found momentum in basketball usually began in this manner 27% of the time. However, this is also somewhat contradictory to the Burke et al. basketball investigation where momentum was reported to begin 70% of the time by good play of the momentum team only. In the current study good performance by one team only began momentum 13.7% of the time. It should be stated again that in the Burke et al. investigation there were numerous spectators watching the same portion (one quarter) of one game (professional) via a video tape recording. In the present study the TO actually attended entire games (college & high school). The types of games observed and methods of observation may account for the differences between the results of the two studies.

Secondly, it may be concluded that 60-80% of momentum events (starting and continuing) were specific plays mostly related to defense! Often, these types of plays may have led to "unanswered" points that excited the crowd. This study indicated that the momentum team scored only five more points than the opposing team. Although this may not seem like much of an objective advantage, this investigation did not consider the length of time the momentum period lasted (i.e., 3 minutes, 20 seconds) or at the time during the game that the momentum period occurred. Gaining momentum during the closing minutes of a game may be more advantageous than having momentum early in the contest. Again, further research in this area is needed before these types of definite conclusions may be confidently stated. However, the results of this investigation do provide an impetus for additional research into specific game events that may assist in defining momentum. At the very least this type of information should interest basketball coaches. Momentum seemed to end in most situations when the momentum team committed a turnover or missed a shot, or, otherwise a stop in play (i.e., time out, end of playing period, or a foul called) occurred.

The next step in future studies should attempt to replicate these findings by having several trained observers, seated in different locations at the same basketball contests charting potential momentum occurrences. If the TOs show consistent agreement in measuring momentum periods and events in this manner, researchers may be better able to argue that momentum actually can be defined by game events. If a lack of agreement occurs, it may show that momentum is truly a psychological feeling/emotion that may escape objective evaluation by specific basketball game events. Future momentum research should also attempt to use momentum trained/sport-specific experienced observers who attend contests to record specific game events that may lead to objectively quantifying this phenomenon in other sports.

References

Burke, K. L., Edwards, T. C., Weigand, D. A., & Weinberg, R. S. (1997). Momentum in sport: A real or illusionary phenomenon for spectators. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 28, 79-96.

Burke, K. L. & Houseworth, S. (1995). Structural charting and perceptions of momentum in intercollegiate volleyball. Journal of Sport Behavior, 18, 167-182.

Cornelius, A., Silva, J. M., Conroy, D. E., & Peterson, G. (1997). The projected performance model: Relating cognitive and performance antecedents of psychological momentum. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 84 (2), 475-485.

Gilovich, T., Vallone, R., & Tversky, A. (1985). The hot hand in basketball: On the misperception of random sequences. Cognitive Psychology, 17, 295-314.

Iso-Ahola, S. E., & Mobily, K. (1980). "Psychological momentum": A phenomenon and an empirical (unobtrusive) validation of its influence in a competitive sport tournament. Psychological Reports, 46, 391-401.

Taylor, J. & Demick, A. (1994). A multidimensional model of momentum in sports. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 6 (1), 51-70.

Vallerand, R. J., Colacecchio, P. G., & Pelletier, L. G. (1988). Psychological momentum and performance inferences: A preliminary test of the antecedents-consequences psychological momentum model. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 10 (1), 92-108.