More in-depth studies were done to figure out the different mind sets according to the sports. .
These studies showed that athletes have a tendency to have better control of situation. Their view of life is different from the next person. Everything to an athlete is a matter of succeed or fail. There are no in betweens.
In many instances you hear about a person succeeding for one reason, for something better. When a person comes from a family that really didn't have much, he or she does one of two things. He either accepts the situation he's in and makes the best of it, or he uses his situation as motivation to achieve something more. Many athletes from middle class households fuel of the "something more" concept. The "Something More" concept is the thought that says "I need to get out of this situation and achieve success on a different level". In many interviews with athletes in the Sport Illustrated magazine, I often read of an athlete determined not receded back into the situation they were once in. Talk about motivation. Athletes from upper class families already have success. Their motivation to succeed in sports is to simply succeed in a different area. .
In the 1960's, sports psychologist began to focus in to the social influence of athletes. In their studies, they found that a lot of external factors decided the level of the athlete's success. One of those factors included the athlete's background. In other word, how the athlete was raised. .
Athletes from families with a lot of problems, such as financial, are found to have a high level of aggression. For these athletes, that aggression is what keeps them fueled. Once they have become successful in their sport and there is no longer a financial burden, the aggression level remains. This gives lower class and middle class athletes an edge to a certain extent. .
Motivation for middle/lower class athletes also come from the family structure, whether good or bad.