Sociology of Sports Midterm Guide
Sociology of Sport Study Guide
Interrogating Excellence
Chambliss, “The Mundanity of Excellence: An Ethnographic Report on Stratification and Olympic Swimmers.”
“Excellence”- “consistent superiority of performance”
What does NOT produce excellence
Excellence is not the product of socially deviant personalities
Quantitative changes in behavior
Natural talent or ability
What does it come from
Qualitative differentiation
More of what is done than how long
3 dimensions of difference
Technique
Discipline
Attitude
Stratification in sports is discrete, not continuous
Qualitative jumps
Better coaching, technique, etc.
Several worlds, not a hierarchy
Several worlds- each w/ own patterns of conduct
Horizontal differentiation
“sliding down” is difficult
Techniques learned and habitualized and thus don’t deteriorate b/c hard to digress from previous patterns of behavior
Attitudes and competitiveness also learned and not forgotten
Hotshots not welcome at the country club
Talent?
Attributed to athletic success after the fact
Difficult to measure
Fails as an explanation
Other factors better explain success more precisely
It is indistinguishable from its effects
Amount of talent seems low
Hard Work?
Attributing to this common- quantitative changes bring success only w/in levels
Believe top athletes to unbelievable things; superhuman
Gladwell, “Chapter One: The Matthew Effect”
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Merton: a situation where “a false definition in the beginning…evokes a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true”
Here, “false definition” is regarding who is the “best” of these 9&10 year olds but the way they treat those “all stars” ends up making the original false judgment look correct
Matthew Effect
Those deemed “successful” are more likely to be given special opportunity for success
Accumulative advantage
Start out a little better that little difference leads to out a little better, that little difference leads
Interrogating Excellence
Chambliss, “The Mundanity of Excellence: An Ethnographic Report on Stratification and Olympic Swimmers.”
“Excellence”- “consistent superiority of performance”
What does NOT produce excellence
Excellence is not the product of socially deviant personalities
Quantitative changes in behavior
Natural talent or ability
What does it come from
Qualitative differentiation
More of what is done than how long
3 dimensions of difference
Technique
Discipline
Attitude
Stratification in sports is discrete, not continuous
Qualitative jumps
Better coaching, technique, etc.
Several worlds, not a hierarchy
Several worlds- each w/ own patterns of conduct
Horizontal differentiation
“sliding down” is difficult
Techniques learned and habitualized and thus don’t deteriorate b/c hard to digress from previous patterns of behavior
Attitudes and competitiveness also learned and not forgotten
Hotshots not welcome at the country club
Talent?
Attributed to athletic success after the fact
Difficult to measure
Fails as an explanation
Other factors better explain success more precisely
It is indistinguishable from its effects
Amount of talent seems low
Hard Work?
Attributing to this common- quantitative changes bring success only w/in levels
Believe top athletes to unbelievable things; superhuman
Gladwell, “Chapter One: The Matthew Effect”
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Merton: a situation where “a false definition in the beginning…evokes a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true”
Here, “false definition” is regarding who is the “best” of these 9&10 year olds but the way they treat those “all stars” ends up making the original false judgment look correct
Matthew Effect
Those deemed “successful” are more likely to be given special opportunity for success
Accumulative advantage
Start out a little better that little difference leads to out a little better, that little difference leads