The present study examined the impact of reputation information on athletes' behavioral responses to coaches within a naturalistic, field-based setting. Using a between-group design, male soccer players (n = 35) were assigned to one of three experimental conditions (i.e., experienced reputation, inexperienced reputation, no reputation) prior to taking part in a coaching session delivered by an unknown coach. Participants' behaviors indicative of attention to coach instruction, effort and persistence, and willingness to participate in demonstrations were video recorded throughout the coaching session. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that participants in the experienced reputation condition exhibited significantly greater attention to coach instruction, and greater effort and persistence during free practice than participants in the inexperienced reputation condition. Results related to participants' willingness to participate in demonstrations failed to yield any significant differences. The results provide further evidence to support the contention that athletes use reputation information as a basis for their initial expectancies of coaches, and such expectancies have the potential to influence athletes' behavior during coach-athlete interactions. The findings also indicate that expectancies based on positive information may be more powerful than negatively framed expectancies, and can be harnessed by coaches as a means of developing effective relationships with their athletes.
Keywords: coach-athlete relationship; first impressions; interpersonal perception; nonverbal communication; reputation bias.
© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.