Crowd Size and Competitive Aspects of Aggression in Ice Hockey: An Archival Study

Abstract
The season's records of a Canadian ice hockey league provided the data for an investigation of aggression in relation to crowd size and competition. Crowd size was positively related to aggression in one season but not in the preceding year. Aggression increased over the three periods of game play but not across the season. League standing and the score existing during play were both significantly related to aggression. However, the aggression displayed by a team in a match was unrelated to their league standing vis a vis that of their opponents. The results are generally discussed within a frustration-aggression framework.
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