The role of superstition among professional footballers in Ghana

Abstract

Superstitious behavior and beliefs are evident in all sports. The present study examines the self-report of superstitious behavior among 120 male professional footballers in Ghana. The Superstitious Ritual Questionnaire and Sport Attributional Style Scale were the instruments used to measured superstitious behavior and attributional styles of elite Ghanaian footballers. Significant negative correlations (p<. 05) were found between number of rituals and scores for positive-internality (-0.27) and negative-internality (-0.17). A significant positive correlation was found between superstitious behaviour and positive-controlllability (0.20). Simple correlations and multiple regression showed that scores for attributional styles significantly but weakly predicted scores on the Superstition Ritual Questionnaire, accounting for 11% of the variance with the latter measured. This is important in understanding professional footballers‟ usage of superstitious rituals. Follow up work needs to address cross-cultural differences among Africans and Western professional athletes.