Ready, Steady, Go: Competition in Sport

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Electronic versions

  • Maria Kavussanu
    University of Birmingham
  • Andrew Cooke
  • Marc Jones
    Manchester Metropolitan University
Competition is an integral part of sport. In this chapter, the authors discuss some of the research conducted in the context of sport that is directly relevant to competition. First, the authors briefly introduce the different types of competition and “appropriate” competition. Then, they discuss the effects of sport competition on select athlete outcomes, specifically performance, enjoyment, anxiety, choking, prosocial behavior, and antisocial behavior. In this discussion, the authors consider the mechanisms that explain the effects of competition on performance, with particular attention to team competition, how extreme anxiety can lead to choking, the theoretical explanations of choking under pressure, and how certain sports could facilitate some types of prosocial behavior. Next, the authors discuss challenge and threat states in sport competition and continue with an overview of how certain personality traits and motivational orientations could influence psychological and behavioral outcomes in sport competition. The authors conclude the chapter with a section on how to create an optimal competitive environment in sport.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationOxford Handbook of Psychology and Competition
EditorsStephen Garcia, Avishalom Tor, Andrew Elliot
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages545-568
Number of pages24
ISBN (electronic)9780190060831
ISBN (print)9780190060800
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Oct 2021

Publication series

NameThe Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Competition
PublisherOxford University Press
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