It is well documented that competition can affect performance and emotion in sport. However, our understanding of the comparative effects of individual and team competitions on performance and emotion is limited. We also know little about emotion-based mechanisms underlying the…
Where good ideas come from – and what happens when ideas have sex! What’s relevant to a society is how well people are communicating their ideas, and how well they’re cooperating, not how clever the individuals are. Matt Ridley An idea is a…
If you think that you can judge by examining someone’s facial expressions if he has just hit the jackpot in the lottery or lost everything in the stock market — think again. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and…
Is playing football like falling in love? That question, which would perhaps not occur to most of us watching hours of the bruising game this holiday season, is the focus of a provocative and growing body of new science examining…
When you need to perform, emotions either help you, or they throw a spanner in the works. Just ask Arjen Robben who missed a penalty in the final of the Champions League in May. Dr. Gert-Jan Pepping, a researcher at the…
For the 6th time since 1990, the British football team has been knocked out of a major tournament by losing the decisive penalty shootout. In the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 against Italy last Sunday, England seemed to finally put an…
“I think, I suppose, when you are younger, you’re always …you’re a bit more advanced than the kids your age, so there are times on the pitch where you can see different things, but they can’t obviously see it. So…
As a football player you have to be able to deal with pressure. The worst is the mental pressure in an important match. What exactly is the impact of mental stress on your sports performance – and on the performance of your teammates? Researchers of the University of Groningen and the professional football…
Emotional contagion refers to the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions, vocalisations, postures and movements with those of another person’s and consequently to converge emotionally. Contagion of positive emotions is thought to play an important role in achieving successful…
A scientific poster, presented at Mastery of Manual Skill, UMCG, April 2012.
Perception and Action in Ageing and Performance 