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…
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…
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…
Playing his first major final, against Fergal O’Brien in the Masters, Hunter was well down at the interval. In a notorious stunt, his manager Brandon Parker instructed him to revert to “Plan B” – which, as Hunter reiterates with determined…
[voor een Nederlandse vertaling van dit bericht klik hier] In sports, long the idea has prevailed that sexual abstinence, that is, no sex before competition, is good for sports performance. Recent research however shows that healthier people have more sex.…
Imagine you’re coaching a big football game, against an undefeated team that has beaten your team in all your previous matches. Your 11-year-olds are playing well and are ahead. Then, in the closing minutes, the official makes a bad call…
Dr. Paul Zak explains how morality (read: important decisions when we work together with other people, such as in team sports), is linked to the neuro-peptide oxytocin. Taken from the BBC documentary Horizon: Are you Good or Evil.
Tactile Communication, Cooperation, and Performance. A quick hug, fist pound, high five or belly bump can communicate a wide range of emotions, sometimes more accurately than words. Psychologists have long studied the grunts and winks of nonverbal communication, the vocal tones and…
Perception, Action, and Emotions in Performance 