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…
People can reliably read a dog’s facial expressions, suggesting humans are finely tuned to detect emotions even in other creatures. Behavioral scientists have long known that people can accurately read other humans’ emotions, but this study suggests our empathy extends…
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…
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…
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…
[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.…
Emotional contagion is an important process to consider in the context of elite sport performance and training. A talk at 13th FEPSAC European Congress of Sport Psychology July 2011 on Madeira, Portugal. Research has shown that teams that show more positive and team…
A talk at 13th FEPSAC European Congress of Sport Psychology July 2011 on Madeira, Portugal. We examined the association between celebratory responses after successful football penalty kicks and the outcome of a penalty shootout. Method: Individually displayed post-shot behaviours in…
When you think about chances it is easy to think about gambling. But also in science chances are important. Scientists use statistics to discover which theories are more likely then others. But the notion of chance always remains relatively abstract.…
With never-before-seen video, primatologist Isabel Behncke Izquierdo (a TED Fellow) shows how bonobo ape society learns from constantly playing — solo, with friends, even as a prelude to sex. Indeed, play appears to be the bonobos’ key to problem-solving and…
Perception, Action, and Emotions in Performance 