AFRICAN-AMERICANS - RACE AS A SELF-SCHEMA AFFECTING PHYSICAL-ACTIVITYCHOICES

The overrepresentation of African Americans in particular sport activi ties has been the focus of numerous theories and research studies. Res earchers have provided anthropometric, physiological, psychological, a nd sociological explanations for the observed disparity. In this paper , theoretical and empirical contributions to racial differences in spo rt performance are examined, and a framework for viewing race as a mov ement self-schema is described. The influence of racial self-schemata on movement self-schemata and how this influence may account for much of the variability in sport performance and activity choices between A frican Americans and Euro-Americans is examined. The roles of televisi on, modeling, expectation theory, and sociological influences are disc ussed as possible activators of racial movement self-schemata.