The Specificity of Status Crystallization and its Meaning in Sport

Abstract

Sport appears to be particularly geared to test out contradictory results in status crystallization research as it allows the identification of conditioning variables with a high level of specificity (Malewski). The potentials of extending crystallization theory and research to rank crystallization, i.e. within group/team ranks, is outlined but not followed in the present analysis. Results based on samples of adults and of athletes in 6 different individual and team sports show that participants in sport up to age 32 are lower in status crystallization with a tendency of lower crystallization by level of sport (recreational, competitive, top sport). Regression analysis for the age group of 27-32 shows that the low status crystallization of athletes, of and those at the top in particular, is mainly to be explained by the interaction of and not the singularly tested major effects, although the latter show some power of explanation as well.