A Day in the Life of a Male College Athlete: A Public Perception and Qualitative Campus Investigation

    Authors

    S. M. Lawrence; C. K. Harrison;J. Stone

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J.Sport Manage.

    Keywords

    RACIAL STEREOTYPES; WHITE; THREAT; PERFORMANCE; FACULTY; RACE; MEN; Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism; Management; Sport Sciences

    Abstract

    Perceptual confirmation paradigm (PCP) rooted in social psychology, can be implemented to frame sport science research questions (Stone, Perry, & Darley, 1997). Public perception of college athletes' lives has been scarcely investigated in the sport sciences (Keels, 2005) using the PCP to prime stereotypes. The purpose of this study was to prime stereotypes about a day in the life of a college athlete by using qualitative inquiry to assess college students' (N = 87) perceptions. Participants provided written responses about a day in the life of a college athlete. Two different college athlete targets were used "Tyrone Walker" (n = 44) and "Erik Walker" (n = 43). Four major themes and one minor theme emerged which are descriptive of the participants' perceptions. Findings were related to the leadership responsibilities of sport management practitioners in higher education. Future research inquiries and relevant suggestions were articulated for sport management scholars in the 21st century.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Sport Management

    Volume

    23

    Issue/Number

    5

    Publication Date

    1-1-2009

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    591

    Last Page

    614

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000269754300003

    ISSN

    0888-4773

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