ABSTRACT
There are several senses in which the term relationship is used in sport and exercise psychology, all of them based on some kind of bond, connection, or COMMITMENT between two or more constructs, types of behavior, or people. For purposes of clarity, we can APPROACH them in terms of (1) conceptual and (2) human relations. Relationship 1: Conceptual. Most commonly a relationship between two
concepts conveys the way in which they are associated. For example, several studies have concluded that there is a relationship between PERFECTIONISM and procrastination. A type of behavior, for example, GAMBLING, might be related to a CONSTRUCT, such as LOCUS OF CONTROL. In both cases, the relationship is an invisible link that ties the two phenomena together in such a way that change in the one will result in change in the other. This gives rise to different possible types of relationship. If change in the one always leads to change in the other and this
feature remains invariantly under all conditions, then it is assumed that it acts as a CAUSE, in which case there is a causal relationship. Donald Williamson et al. for instance, write of the need ‘‘to empirically test the extent to which individual traits are causal in the development of EATING DISORDERS.’’ Where there are several possible causal factors to be studied, multicausal relationships are said to exist. When Ann Boggiano describes a ‘‘causal relationship among perceived competence, motivational orientation, attibutional style, and achievement processes,’’ she suggests the possibility of several relationships affecting each other, or several combining to produce one causal outcome. There are, as we know, several known causes of cancer, and several more as-to-yet-unknown causes. Where there is a mutual connection with no clear indication that
one causes the other, a CORRELATION is said to exist; as in, for instance, a correlation between pre-game ANXIETY and poor performance. If changes in the one are accompanied by changes in the other, there is a suggestion that changes in one will produce changes in the others, though this is not necessarily implied. For instance, a study might find a correlation between EXERCISE BEHAVIOR and MOOD state. These may well be correlated, but statistics can only suggest this.
