Citation

Zestcott CA, Lifshin U, Helm P, Greenberg J. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 2016; 38(5): 470-480.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Human Kinetics Publishers)

DOI

10.1123/jsep.2016-0025

PMID

27736277

Abstract

This research applied insights from terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) to the world of sport. According to TMT, self-esteem buffers against the potential for death anxiety. Because sport allows people to attain self-esteem, reminders of death may improve performance in sport. In Study 1, a mortality salience induction led to improved performance in a "one-on-one" basketball game. In Study 2, a subtle death prime led to higher scores on a basketball shooting task, which was associated with increased task related self-esteem. These results may promote our understanding of sport and provide a novel potential way to improve athletic performance.

Language: en