Selected Cognitive And Emotional Resources Of Untrained Youth And Young Wrestlers: Emotional intelligence and creativity

Introduction. Wrestling is a sport that requires proper physical and mental preparation. The authors present selected psychological resources, emotional intelligence and creative attitude, as factors influencing the broadly defined mastery, both in the area of sport and out of it. These variables guarantee better adaptation to changing conditions and they are also connected with the effectiveness of handling different situations and optimal problem solving. The aim of the study was to diagnose emotional intelligence and creative attitude among young female and male wrestlers. Material and methods. The study included 20 females from the regional team of cadets and juniors and 19 male wrestlers from the sports school. The control group consisted of two deliberately selected groups of untrained students - 20 girls and 19 boys. KANH and INTE questionnaires were used in the study. Results. In the three groups under investigation medium levels of emotional intelligence and creative vs. reproductive attitude were observed. It was only female wrestlers who manifested low levels of emotional intelligence which, similar to the levels of nonconformity, heuristic thinking and creative attitude, were lower than in female students from the control group. The female wrestlers demonstrated higher levels of conformity and reproductive attitude. Female students demonstrated higher levels of emotional intelligence and conformity than male students. No differences between male and female wrestlers were observed. Conclusions. The findings show that it is necessary to conduct longitudinal research on athletes and untrained individuals. Bearing in mind that learning a motoric task depends, inter alia, on intellectual and emotional factors, the authors also recommend another course of research, i.e. the verification of how these variables are related to the effectiveness of learning motoric tasks. The authors' own research results as well as further (planned) investigations will make it possible to profile various educational effects and deliberately strengthen the potential of young wrestlers.