title: Situation criticality and basketball officials' stress levels.
abstract: Officials are expected to perform impeccably despite the wide range of stressors they experience. A stressor that officials frequently report is situation criticality. Situation criticality is comprised of score differential (i.e., more pressure in close games) and time remaining in a game (i.e., more pressure as time expires), which affects athletes' stress levels. The present study explored the effect of situation criticality on officials' stress levels. High school basketball officials (n = 108) with an average of 18.1 (SD = 11.2) years of officiating experience were given a survey packet containing game situations that varied in criticality. For each game situation (n = 9) officials completed the overall stress and appraisal portions of the Stress Appraisal Measure (SAM). Results revealed that situation criticality has an effect on officials' perceived stress levels. Both threat and challenge appraisals were positively correlated with perceived stress. Overall, these findings indicate that officials' stress levels fluctuate within games depending on score differential and time of game. The findings encourage officials to recognise and manage their stress, possibly through their appraisals. Additionally, the findings can affect the training of officials in the management of stress, as well as prompt the consideration of potential rule changes that reflect the increased situational demands on officials in critical situations (e.g., expanded instant replay).
authors.affiliation: a College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems , Florida State University , Tallahassee , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.affiliation: b Sport and Exercise Sciences , Anglia Ruskin University , Cambridge , UK.
authors.forename: Itay
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Basevitch
authors.affiliation: c College of Education, Department of Sport Management , Florida State University , Tallahassee , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodenberg
authors.affiliation: a College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems , Florida State University , Tallahassee , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Gershon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tenenbaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001490:Basketball / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D013315:Stress, Psychological
keywords: Stress; appraisals; criticality; officials; referees