ABSTRACT
Biddle and Hill (1992) have demonstrated the importance of considering subjective performance outcomes (the individual’s own assessment of his/her performance) in sport psychology research. However, Cox and Kerr (1989) and Males and Kerr (1996) measured only objective performance outcomes (performance finishing time or position). Considering this, and the equivocal support for the reversal theory proposals outlined above, it seems that further empirical inquiry is required into these proposals across a range of sports contexts, performers and outcomes. This is particularly important if reversal theory is to be used as a framework for sport psychology interventions as Kerr (1993) suggested it can be. Therefore, using a sample of elite youth badminton players, this study investigated the following hypotheses: pre-game arousal discrepancy is associated with poor objective and subjective performance outcomes, and, pre-game discrepancy between tension and effort stress is associated with poor subjective and objective performance outcomes.
