Beginner and elite hockey players' perception of rule infractions in hockey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in perceptions of rule infractions in hockey between beginner and elite hockey players. Seven categories (“legal,” “logical,” “value non-moral,” “contextual,” “value moral,” “authority” and “knowledge”) were used to clarify the reasons(s) behind the perceived legitimacy o f rule infractions. The instrumentation was a video of hockey clips and a questionnaire regarding the clips. The first part of the study dealt with whether or not participants could identify when an infraction was occurring. Both the elite and the beginner sample groups were successful in identifying when rule infractions occurred. Beginner athletes had less success than elite athletes in identifying which specific rule was being broken. The second part of the study examined what reason(s) participants gave for perceiving rule infractions as “okay to do.” The reasons given most often by elite participants for rule infractions as “okay to do” were “contextual” with 25%, “value moral” with 20% and “authority” with 18%. Beginner athletes gave “value moral,” “authority” and “legal” as the most frequent reasons at 19% for rule infractions being “okay to do.” Elite athletes perceived rule infractions as “not okay to do” 54% of the time whereas the beginner athletes perceived rule infractions as “not okay to do” only 50% o f the time “Value moral” at 73% and “logical” at 57% were the two most frequently chosen reasons by elite athletes for why rule infractions are “not okay to do.” Beginner athletes chose “value non-moral” at 54% and “logical” at 55% as the two most frequent reasons why rule infractions are “not okay to do.”