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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Keep your cool and win the game: Emotion regulation and performance in table tennis.

Boris EgloffJeanette KubiakSonja Rother

subject

Feel AnxiousAdultMale050103 clinical psychologySocial PsychologyAdolescentEmotions050109 social psychologyAnxietyAthletic PerformanceYoung AdultCognitionCognitive changeGermanyHumans0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesAgedbiologyAthletes05 social sciencesRacquet SportsPersonality researchMiddle Agedbiology.organism_classificationEmotional RegulationTable (database)FemalePsychologyCognitive psychology

description

Objective People often feel anxious prior to performance situations, and this can lead to performance decrements. Thus, applying effective emotion regulation strategies could be crucial for achieving maximum performance. Method We investigated the relation between dispositional precompetition emotion regulation and competition performance. Participants were 310 table tennis players (240 men, Mage = 39.07, SD = 15.99). Self-reported emotion regulation behavior was matched with objective performance data. Results We found that positive cognitive change strategies were positively related and negative cognitive change strategies were negatively related to winning in competitions. Furthermore, athletes with a higher performance status more often used situation modification, positive cognitive change, and response modulation strategies. Conclusions Our findings contribute to personality research by providing evidence for the (non)effectiveness of certain emotion regulation strategies.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2019-02-13Journal of personalityREFERENCES
10.1111/jopy.12451https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30638260