European Journal of Social Sciences Studies
ISSN: 2501-8590
ISSN-L: 2501-8590
Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/soc
Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
doi: 10.5281/zenodo.236461
THE DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
Ünsal Tazegüli
İstanbul Gelişim University, Vocational High School, Turkey
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to determine the narcissism and positive thinking scores of the
disabled athletes. The sample of the study was selected by a total of 40 physically
disabled athletes from the branches of swimming, football, basketball and athletics who
voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. In the study, Positive Thinking Scale,
which was validated and trusted by Akın et al. in
, and Narcissistic Personality
Inventory (NPI-16) which was validated and trusted by Salim ATAY in 2009, were used
as data collection tool. For analyses of the data, Portable IBM SPSS Statistics v20
software package was used. Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was applied in order to decide
whether data has normal distribution and it is observed that data has not normal
distribution. "ANOVA-Homogeneity of variance" was applied to test the homogeneity
of variances and it is determined that data is homogenous. For analyses of the data,
Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis were applied in the
analysis of the data. As a result of the statistical analysis carried out, it was determined
that there is a positive relationship between the scores of narcissism and the positive
thinking skill of physically disabled athletes.
Keywords: physically disabled, narcissism, positive thinking
1. Introduction
Narcissistic personality is defined as the person who admires his physical and
psychological characteristics and is so much full of himself
Hançerlioğlu,
:
(Güney, 1998: 198,
.
Correspondence: email utazegul@gelisim.edu.tr
Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved.
© 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group
1
Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
According to Freud, he describes narcissism as libidinal investment from the
outside world by pulling one's self directed and he talks about two kinds of narcissism.
Primary narcissism is described as the child's libidinal investment in external objects,
not of selfdirected and that all children have to go through such a specific maturation
process. According to Freud, primary narcissism and libidinal energy are found in
self/ego from the start and they are not directed to the objects. This situation is followed
by swelling of the self accompanied by feelings of being powerful and precise. Freud
also defined secondary narcissism as relationship difficulties and frustrations as a result
of acts of the next process, which is made of the libidinal investment in the outside
World and withdrawing from people, directed to self/ego (Geçtan, 2004:254).
Narcissistic athletes are the people who admire themselves physically and
mentally, see themselves above, expect continuous appreciation, interest and approval,
they will meet exclusive of interest wherever they go and think that they deserve the
superior place. Such intense narcissistic injuries and disappointments in expectations is
also often the inevitable reality. Narcissistic self-esteem of individuals are fed from
outside interests, tastes, approvals. People in question can not stand criticisms and
anticipate for constant praises. For this reason, their apperances and manners are
formed to grasp all these. Since they make use of the others for glorifiying, seem to be
superior and reveal themselves; their friendships are just to get benefit from the others
in this way. Narcissistic athletes are known as selfish, egocentric since they do not show
empathy towards emotions, thoughts and needs of others (Tazegül, 2013).
A specific way of thinking can be defined as the way in which individuals choose
and process information when interpreting the events they face in their lives. This style
varies according to individual differences. While some individuals interpret an event in
a positive way, another one may interpret the same event negatively (Erez et al., 1995).
The way of thinking is a kind of preference for the use of the talents that individuals
possess. They choose a form of expressing or controlling themselves in any situation in
which they meet (Çubukcu, 2004). Individuals, who have a positive thinking and are
able to positively evaluate the events that they are experiencing on their surroundings,
have more positive experiences than others and they are more successful in their lives
and feel more energetic and happy in their activities Öğretir,
.
According to Freitag (2003), an individual's thinking is one of the essential
elements of her existence and has important functions like her organs. The general
function of the ideas is to facilitate the adaption of the individual to the society and
environment where he lives in, thereby increasing the possibility of subsistence.
Individuals need to think positively depending on two important factors. Positive
European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
2
Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
thinking is an important source of motivation and an important means of raising the
quality of existence for the individual to continue his daily life. Positive thinking can be
considered as the way of looking on the bright side of events. Positive thinking, a
concept that includes general features, can be defined as a comprehensive attitude that
reflects in the individual's speech, behavior, feelings, and thoughts (McGrath, 2004).
Positive thinking, which is a cognitive process, helps individuals to use their skills
effectively, to create positive images, to develop optimistic ideas, to find solutions to
problems, to make positive decisions and to find more happiness in their lives. Positive
thinking can be defined as using skills but it does not ignore the need to make realistic
assessments. On the contrary, positive thinking is a positive focus and interpretation
after acknowledging the positive and negative aspects of events and situations that
individuals face (Bekhet and Zauszniewski, 2013; Tod et al., 2011).
The aim of this study is to determine the narcissism and positive thinking scores
of the physically disabled athletes and to find out the relationship between narcissism
and positive thinking.
2. Method
2.1 The Sample
The sample of the study was selected by a total of 40 physically disabled athletes from
the branches of swimming, football, basketball and athletics who voluntarily agreed to
participate in the study.
2.2 Data Collection Tools
2.2.1 Positive Thinking Skills Scale
Positive Thinking Skills Scale was developed by Bekhet and Zauszniewski in 2013. The
Cronbach alpha value for internal consistency coefficient of the scale was found to be
.
Akın et al.,
.
2.2.2 Narcissistic Personality Inventory
Narcissistic Personality Inventory composed of 16 questions and translated into Turkish
by Salim Atay in 2009 was used as a scale factor. NPI composed of 16 questions was
arranged by Daniel R. Ames, Paul Rose ve Cameron P. Anderson in 2005 translated into
Turkish by Salim Atay. After the pilot application by Atay Cronbach's Alpha value was
determined as 0,57 in the first performed study. Reliability coefficient below the values
expected due to the presence of each factor scale, the negative correlation is detected
European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
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Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
and evaluated and determined not provide additive scale of four, were revised
statement. After the measurements performed this change Cronbach's Alpha value was
raised to 0,652. The questions in 16 questions scale factor translated into Turkish by
Atay also distributed in 6 factors as superiority, authority, pretension, self sufficiency
and exploitation similar to the 16 questions NPI English version. The points that can be
gained from NPI are: extent of authority 0-2, extent of exhibitionism 0-3, extent of
exploration 0-3, extent of pretension 0-2, extent of self-sufficiency 0-3, extent of
superiority 0-3, total narcissism is between 0-16 points. As the point increases the level
of narcissism also increases (Atay, 2010).
2.3 The Analysis of Data
For analyses of the data, Portable IBM SPSS Statistics v20 software package was used.
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was applied in order to decide whether data has
normal distribution and ANOVA-Homogeneity of variance was applied to test the
homogeneity of variances and it is observed that data is homogeneous and has a normal
distribution. After this initial analysis, it was decided to use the parametric test method
in statistical analysis of the data. For the analysis of data, the descriptive statistics and
Pearson Correlation and regression analysis were used to analyze the collected data.
3. Findings
Table 1: The Findings of Descriptive Statistics
Narcissism
Positive thinking
±
7,2059
2,02678
18,9286
5,00317
According to the results of descriptive statistical analysis, physically disabled athletes’
narcissism score was found to be
,
± ,
while physically disabled athletes’
positive thinking score was found to be (18,9286±5,00317).
Table 2: Correlation analysis
Positive thinking
Narcissism
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
-,497**
0,01
4
Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
As a result of the correlation analysis carried out, it was determined that there is a
positive relationship between the scores of narcissism and the positive thinking skill of
physically disabled athletes.
4. Discussion and Conclusion
According to the results of descriptive statistical analysis, physically disabled athletes’
narcissism score was found to be
,
± ,
while physically disabled athletes’
positive thinking score was found to be (18,9286±5,00317). As a result of the correlation
analysis, it was determined that there is a negative correlation of a moderate degree
between the narcissism score and the positive thinking scores of physically disabled
athletes within the sample of study. This result is thought to be normal when it is
evaluated according to the concept of positive thinking and narcissism. Because the
readings reveal that the most prominent feature of individuals with narcissistic
personality is that they perceive themselves as special and superior. Therefore, they
exploit other people for their own interests because they see themselves superior to
others. Individuals with a high level of positive thinking tend to empathize in general.
It is normal to see a negative relationship between narcissism and the level of positive
thinking, which is why it allows people to communicate well. They also try to establish
close rapport, so it is thought to be normal a negative relationship between narcissism
and positive thinking.
When a literature review was performed, it was observed that there is no study
showing the relationship between the narcissism and positive thinking scores of
physically disabled athletes. However, there are several studies in the literature that
include non-disabled athletes' narcissism levels and positive thinking levels. Some of
these studies are given below:
Emmons (1984) reveal that narcissists exceedingly give the importance to their
appearances and they extremely motivate through when they achieve good physical
appearance. Jackson and et al. (1992) and Davis and et al. (2001) found that narcissists
are extremely obsessed with their appearances. Davis (1992) reported that narcissistic
individuals significantly focus on their body appearances and exercise is considered as
a mean on this. Davis and et al. (1995) found that high level of narcissism is related with
good body image.
Hook (2007) found a relationship between narcissism and self-esteem in his
work. Roberts et al. (2013) also found that the narcissism score of ice-skaters was to be
18.18. Miller and Mesagno (2014) found the narcissism score for individuals engaging in
European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
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Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
sport on a regular basis to be 16.55. Yavari (2014) found the level of narcissism of the
athletes engaged in bodybuilding sports to be 27.37. Tazegül and Soykan (2013) found
that athletes, whose sports age is more than 8 years, have a higher narcissism score than
the women athletes, whose sport age is less than 8 years. Tazegül and Güven (2015)
reveal that narcissism score of bodybuilding athletes is higher than other athletes in
boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, athletics, swimming, basketball, karate and football
branches and individuals who are not engaged in sports.
Çeçen (2008) found that self-esteem was a significant contributor to life
satisfaction as a result of research. The high self-esteem of the individual is the result of
the individual perceiving herself more positively and in the event that the belief in his
or her competence in relation to any event or situation is high, the life satisfaction of the
individual will increase. In an experimental study revealing the effect of self-control on
archery, it was found that young people subject to a program that promotes self-control
skills have greater satisfaction and higher internal motivation than control group
(Kalovelonis et al., 2010). Trish and et al. (2002) conducted a study evaluating athletes'
psychological skills training program with their intelligence. In the study, a total of 14
athletes who are seven girls, seven boys, aged between 15.8-27.1, and aged between 7
and 13.7 with an age of 1-6 years; two female coaches, two psychologists, and one
sports psychologist also guided them. Each athlete was interviewed for 3 hours for 3
months. Topics in the negotiations were about breathing techniques, stress management
and positive thinking. At the end of the program, athletes participating in the
programme have increased their success both in the basketball champions and skill
training programme. Scott (1997) studied the attitudes and principles of female athletes,
called sub-elites, in his work. As a result, it was determined that female athletes have a
greater desire to win rather than their talents. When the athletes' thoughts were
examined, it was observed that they had the opinion like "you cannot do it if you do not
plan to do something very well. If you really want to achieve it then you can achieve it".
Therefore, women athletes have achieved success due to positive thinking.
As a result, it has been found that there is a negative relationship between the
positive thinking and narcissism scores of the physically disabled athletes. When this
result is evaluated according to the concept of narcissism and positive thinking, it is
thought that this result is normal. As a result of the literature review, no study was
found to reveal the relationship between the positive thinking and narcissism scores of
the physically disabled athletes. In this respect, it is thought that this work will
contribute greatly to the literature and it will constitute an example of more
comprehensive work to be done thereafter.
European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
6
Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
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PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
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European Journal of Social Sciences Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
8
Ünsal Tazegül
SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTRA-URBAN POVERTY OF ADO- EKITI, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIATHE
DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND POSITIVE THINKING LEVELS OF
PHYSICAL DISABLED ATHLETES
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