“Looking from the outside in” – Emotional and cognitive reactions of sport, non-sport and ex-sport playing adults to initiation practices

Abstract

Research examining hazing and the motives behind the events have received significant focus over recent years. While research has enhanced the understanding and provided interesting insight of hazing events, it has been done exclusively with those directly involved in the events. However, to date, research is yet to examine the perceptions from the wider general public and understand their opinions of hazing. The present study was an exploration in order to gain understanding of the general public’s emotional and cognitive response to modern day hazing events in the United Kingdom. Sixty-Seven participants of a mixed general public population completed quantitative and qualitative questions based on their experiences of watching hazing videos. Following each video, participants completed a self-report measure of arousal and I-PANAS-SF. In addition, participants were then required to answer 3 short qualitative questions on their perceptions of the videos viewed. Results of quantitative measures revealed that participant’s self-reported arousal and I-PANAS-SF scores were significantly effect by hazing videos. In addition, results of qualitative questioning revealed that participants provided a mixture of responses regarding hazing. In general, participants were accepting of events that involved no physical harm however, were also quick to highlight their disapproval of events where they perceived issues of hierarchy and power. While participants noted issues of hierarchy, participants generally, neglected any aspect of psychological harm that may occur following involvement in hazing events.