Abstract
Using the continuum model of person perception the cognitive pattern and structure of opponent perception were compared between Kendo athletes on high and medium performance level, and desirable opponent perception was discussed.
The subjects were 31 college Kendo athletes,9 from high performance level and 22 from medium performance level. The subjects participated in two researches. In Research 1,12 college Kendo athletes, with whom most subjects had not had a match before, were presented with their information about college grade, DAN-I (the expert level in Kendo), and high school from which they graduated. The subjects were asked to describe the 12 college Kendo athletes in free-answer method. Their descriptions were classified into 8 categories corresponding to cognitive processes of the continuum model. From their descriptions 15 bipolar scales for opponent perception were developed. In Research 2, the 12 college athletes were presented as opponents, and the subjects were asked to rate them on the scales. The subjects' responses were factor-analyzed by principal component solution with normal varimax rotation.
The major findings were as follows:
1) The medium performance level athletes were more likely to describe opponents in a stereotyping way than the high performance level.2) Three factors were found for the medium performance level athletes and named as “mightiness” (Factor I ); “style of Kendo”(Factor II), and “offensiveness” (Factor III). On the other hand, four factors extracted for the high performance level athletes were named as “awkwardness” (Factor I ), “style of Kendo” (Factor II), “offensive attitude” (Factor III) and “dexterity in playing a game” (Factor IV).3) Factor II and III for the high performance level athletes were interpreted as corresponding to those for medium perfomrance level athletes. And, “mightiness” for the medium level athletes was interpreted as a mixture of “awkwardness”and “dexterity in playing a game” for high performance level athletes.
The findings showed that the high performance level Kendo athletes tended to recognize opponents in less stereotyping way and had more distinctive cogntive structure than the medium performance level. athletes. Thus, it was concluded high performance level Kendo athletes showed more advanced perception of opponents than medium performance level athletes.
