How do scouts, coaches, and trainers alike decide which players deserve to get their further attention and which don’t? This is a very pertinent question when you consider that it is often on the basis of the ‘expert’ eye that…
How do scouts, coaches, and trainers alike decide which players deserve to get their further attention and which don’t? This is a very pertinent question when you consider that it is often on the basis of the ‘expert’ eye that…
This article about our research into the biopsychology of team performance recently appeared in The Lancet (Diabetes and Endocrinology). Check it out! A review argues that the hormone oxytocin affects athletic performance, because of its role in modulation of emotional and social…
How can an apostle, a greek sculpture and his creation shed light on the (un)fairness that our children are surrounded by when they take part in their favourite sport. Here’s a great paper I think any parent, and trainers and…
In a recent NY-Times Opinion it it is argued that losing is good for you. I think that educators should stop focussing on some end-result and start finding out how to make children happy – then learning will follow. In a recent Opinion…
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…
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.
[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.…
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.
Perception, Action, and Emotions in Performance 