Take Your Pick! March Madness Reading List

Bring your A game this season. APS journals offer the latest research on sports — for competitors and fans.

Psychological Science

Your favorite team’s loss might not be as heartbreaking as you anticipated.

• The Accuracy or Inaccuracy of Affective Forecasts Depends on How Accuracy Is Indexed: A Meta-Analysis of Past Studies

Psychological Science

A lucky charm — like the old college basketball jersey Michael Jordan used to wear under his NBA uniform — may boost game-time performance.

• Keep Your Fingers Crossed! How Superstition Improves Performance

Psychological Science

Forgoing the office pool this March won’t necessarily stifle your excitement for the NCAA basketball tournament.

• Feelings Not Forgone: Underestimating Affective Reactions to What Does Not Happen

Courtesy of the Daily Tar Heel

Psychological Science

Who can predict which teams are going to make it to the Final Four? Experts who think about the tournament unconsciously, says this study.

• Predicting Soccer Matches After Unconscious and Conscious Thought as a Function of Expertise

Perspectives on Psychological Science

Self-talk training may help athlete hone their skills, especially fine skills such as hand-eye coordination.

• Self-Talk and Sports Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Current Directions in Psychological Science

The rituals that athletes count on to win a tip off or sink a free throw might teach us something about beliefs in superstitions and divine intervention.

Current Directions in Psychological Science

An obsession with perfection doesn’t necessarily turn average athletes into champions

• The Perils of Perfectionism in Sports and Exercise

Coming Soon! Psychological Science

Basketball players who look directly at the hoop without moving their eyes are better at making free throws because looking directly at a target creates the illusion that the target is bigger.

• Visual Illusions Improve Sports Performance