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What We’ve Learned Through Sports Psychology Research
Since the early years of this century, it has been commonplace for computerized analyses of athletic statistics to guide a baseball manager’s choice of pinch hitter, a football coach’s decision to punt or pass, or
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Identifying Talent in Business, Sports, and Education
A new paper published in Frontiers in Psychology: Performance Science led by Andy Parra-Martinez at the University of Arkansas “describes the general status, trends, and evolution of research on talent identification across multiple fields globally over the last 80 years,” by
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The Black Mamba Effect: Psychological Science Says Adopting an Alter Ego Boosts Confidence, Determination, and Performance
For years, whenever we asked each other for advice, my daughters and I often replied, “What would Granddaddy Haden do?” Usually, that would end the problem-solving: My dad would have chosen the hard way through
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Your Brain Looks for ‘Winning Streaks’ Everywhere—Here’s Why
Basketball players, coaches, and fans agree: a person is more likely to make a shot after they’ve successfully completed one or multiple consecutive shots than after they’ve had a miss. Players therefore know to “feed” the teammate who’s
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How Did Lebron James Break the NBA All-Time Scoring Record? By Playing the Long Game
Say you’re LeBron James and your long-term goal is to score 38,388 points and break the NBA all-time scoring record. Scoring 30 points in a forgettable mid-season game early in your career was great, but was also just a drop in the 30,000-plus points bucket. Success has, until last
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What World Cup Penalty Shootouts Can Teach You About Performing Well Under Extreme Pressure? A Lot, Considerable Science Says
If you think you’re capable of diving deep into rabbit holes, consider psychologist Geir Jordet. He spent five years watching every penalty shootout of every major men’s international soccer tournament (of which the World Cup
