Subscribe to Clinical Compass™ Volume 6, Issue 19 - September 6, 2011

Sports, Psychology, and Superstition

by Robert S. Kennedy

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Sport is generally considered a primarily physical endeavor, involving the maximum utilization of bodily resources to complete a variety of specialized, demanding, physical tasks. Physical attributes such as speed, strength, stamina, fitness, coordination, agility, flexibility, and resilience are richly rewarded in competitive sport.(1)

Much attention has been paid to the various physical components of sport performance. Scientists have investigated biomechanical, physiological, nutritional, metabolic, epidemiological, biochemical, pharmacological, and medical aspects of sport. Applied practitioners in exercise physiology, physiotherapy, sport biomechanics, sports medicine, sports nutrition, strength and conditioning, and other disciplines have translated research findings into interventions designed to enhance the physical performance capabilities of athletes.(2)

An emphasis on the physical in the sport sciences is widely established, but sport performance is influenced not only by physical attributes but also by psychological factors.(2)

Some athletes clearly seem to have a mental edge over other athletes with comparable physical abilities and training backgrounds. Differences in the approach to competition are evident, for example, some athletes perform better under pressure, implement strategies more effectively, tolerate discomfort better, concentrate more intensely, identify more creative solutions to challenging sport situations, push themselves harder, learn new skills more quickly, or prepare themselves for competition better than their physically similar peers.(3)

Issues associated with the mental advantage gained by these athletes fall squarely within the domain of sport psychology. If psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, then sport psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes in the context of sport.(2)

Psychological Factors

Sports psychology evaluates five psychological factors that directly affect athletic performance: motivation, confidence, intensity, focus, and emotions. The first two factors (motivation and confidence) prepare athletes for competition, while the next three (intensity, focus, and emotions) directly affect training and competitive performance.(4)

Motivation
Sports psychology evaluates the effect that motivation has on athletes' training and competitive efforts and what consultants, coaches, and athletes can do to maximize motivation. Consultants so greatly value motivation because it can be understood as the factor over which athletes appear to have the most control. Problems with motivation, which can be reflected in feelings of defeat, despair, and dejection (low motivation), is often seen as a halfhearted or unmotivated performance.(5) The opposite, or excessive motivation, can also be a factor. Overtraining and burnout can be the result of motivation in its extreme. These athletes can also be responding to a number of forces, for example, coercive coaching, parental pressures, or an over-identification of self as athlete in the absence of any other source of self-worth.(6)

Confidence
From motivation and preparation comes confidence in athletes' physical, technical, and tactical capabilities and in their ability to perform their best in important competitions. Confidence gives the athletes the desire to compete and the belief that they can achieve their goals. Confidence may be the single most influential psychological contributor to success in sports. Athletes may have all the ability they need to perform well and achieve their goals, but if they do not believe that they have the ability, then they will not fully use that ability. A key goal for all athletes is to ensure that they have a resilient and lasting belief in their abilities.(4)

Despite its obvious importance, confidence is a fragile quality that takes considerable time to gain and can be lost in seconds. Understanding the role that confidence plays in sport competition is essential for those involved with athletes—including the athletes themselves—to help them gain and maintain their confidence in the face of common athletic challenges.(7)

Intensity
The athletes' abilities to manage their intensity and respond positively to the pressures of competition are derived from confidence. This enables them to consistently maintain their ideal level of intensity to be physically capable of performing their best. Once the competition begins, intensity is an important contributor to sports performance. It is critical because all the motivation, confidence, focus, and emotion in the world cannot help if the body is not physiologically capable of doing what it needs to do for athletes to perform their best. Intensity involves the amount of physiological activation felt before and during training and competition, and it lies on a continuum from low to high. Somewhere between those two extremes is the optimal level needed for an athlete to perform best, and each athlete's challenge is to find the ideal level of intensity that works best.(8)

Focus
From intensity comes the ability to focus effectively and concentrate on those things that help athletes perform their best. Focus includes avoiding distractions and shifting concentration when the demands of the situation change. Focus is particularly critical when competing in lengthy or technically complex sports and when there are considerable expectations and pressures. It is critical that athletes maintain focus during competition to achieve optimal performance. Focus and intensity seem to complement each other.(9)

Emotions
The final, important factor for athletes to function well is the ability to master their emotions and ensure that emotions help rather than hurt their competitive performances. Sports can invoke a variety of emotions from pride, exhilaration, and satisfaction to frustration, disappointment, and anger. Emotions are the ultimate determinant of an athlete's ability to perform consistently under the most challenging conditions. Emotions also contribute significantly to an athlete's abilities as a leader and a team member.(10)

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Interventions in Sport Psychology

Currently, two "levels" of sport psychology interventions are commonly employed: problem-solving and basic mental skills training (see Table 1). At Level 1, or problem-solving, many studies have focused on identifying the most effective methods of solving problems common to athletes. On the other hand, mental training at Level 2, which has yet to become "standardized" in the current sports climate, involves dedicating a specific amount of time to learning strategies and improving psychological skills throughout the season.(11)

A third, less employed level is termed "mental peak performance" training. It is perceived as the perfection of strategies and skills acquired by athletes at Level 2, adapting them automatically to any situation and arming them with psychological tools that enable athletes to confront specific situations in their sport (both in training and competition). This method requires daily training and is implemented in parallel with physical preparation, resulting in an integration of both physical and mental aspects of training.(11)

Table 1. Techniques Used in Sports Psychology.(12)
Problem-solving When faced with a problem, sport psychologists provide one or more techniques that allow athletes to find solutions to their problems (e.g., to solve problems with sleeping before competition, effective relaxation techniques are taught).
Basic mental skills training Work with athletes to achieve maximum mental control, producing optimum performance in any circumstance. They have internalized the techniques and apply them consciously or unconsciously in the face of adverse situations (e.g., to develop the ability to sleep in any situation, despite having a companion who snores, noise from the street, little time, etc.).
Mental peak performance training When faced with a problem, sport psychologists provide one or more techniques that allow athletes to find solutions to their problems (e.g., to solve problems with sleeping before competition, effective relaxation techniques are taught).

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Superstition in Sports

Athletes require a great deal of structure and focus, a fact that is evident in the numerous repetitive actions included in the physical preparation of training for a sport. Coaches and trainers recommend establishing rituals to maintain consistent focus and training levels. Psychologically, routines are valuable because they take athletes seamlessly from thinking about something to actually doing it. They improve concentration because they help athletes focus on the job that they have to do, one step at a time. For example, top tennis players tend to bounce the ball a certain number of times before serving. Also, by concentrating on each step of the routine, athletes ensure that they stay in the present moment.(13)

Routines Can Become Rituals What about routines that actually turn into superstitious rituals? The use of superstitious behaviors in sports is a widely accepted practice in athletes from all sports and across cultures. From professional athletic organizations to the local little league team, the use of superstitious behavior in sport is obvious from numerous media reports covering athletics. Rituals vary from ice baths before a football game to listening to a certain song before a gymnastic event. Athletes may have lucky charms, eat special food, have a need to do specific pre- or postgame activities, wear special clothing, or repeat a special phrase before taking a putt or shooting a free throw. These behaviors are prevalent in all major sports.(14)

Superstitious behaviors in sport can be defined as actions that are repetitive, formal, sequential, distinct from technical performance, and that the athletes believe to be powerful in controlling luck or other external factors.(14) "A universal truth about superstition is that superstitious behavior emerges as a result of uncertainty to circumstances that are inherently random or uncontrollable."(15) Buhrmann describes how, for some athletes, the use of superstition in sport serves to lower anxiety levels or enhance the outcomes of performance.(16) It is important to distinguish superstitious behavior and ritual from pre-performance routines. Pre-performance routines are learned behavioral and cognitive strategies that are intentionally used by athletes to facilitate physical performance. Pre-performance routines have been found to help focus attention, reduce anxiety, eliminate distractions, enhance confidence and be extremely helpful to mental preparation for upcoming performance. (17) In a study by Czech and colleagues, the pre-performance routines used by basketball players prior to a free throw shot, was evaluated. The results revealed those athletes who follow a preshot routine had a higher free throw percentage than those who did not follow a preshot routine. (17) A number of studies have had similar findings.(18) Pre-performance routines are developed for an individual or a team by an expert, such as a sport psychologist, so that athletes can directly affect performance outcomes.(19) The inherent competitiveness of athletes and the societal pressure to succeed in sport can influence an athlete to resort to external means, such as superstitious behavior, in an attempt to control the outcome of the athletic contest.(16)

Superstitious ritual has been associated with high-risk activities, where either physical danger to the individual or the possibility of failure is at stake. Womack studied various professional athletic teams and discovered a variety of rituals used to respond to different situations. She postulated that professional athletes used superstition as a means of dealing with stress, anxiety, and danger. Athletes have resorted to ritual to seek stability and control over the sport situation or outcome, especially when confronted with high-stress situations.(14)

A study (n=107) of The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate teams (football, gymnastics and track teams) demonstrated that use of superstitious ritual varies across sports and that the most used behaviors were not necessarily those rated most effective in influencing sport performance. This study showed that, overall, gymnasts reported more superstitious ritual than football or track athletes reported. Although there were commonalities, each sport had rituals specific to it. For example, football rituals centered on clothing and prayer. Although gymnasts also emphasized clothing rituals, team and pregame food rituals were also very important to these athletes. Still different were rituals of track athletes, who focused again on clothing, but who composed the only group that mentioned lucky items on clothing or lucky markings on shoes.(20)

Notable Superstitious Behavior
What are some of the superstitions or rituals that professional athletes possess and are often highlighted in the media?

  • In Boston, the "curse of the Bambino" dominated the 20th Century. By trading Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 before the 1920 season, team lore says that the Boston Red Sox doomed themselves to 86 years of championship futility, during which time the Yankees won 26 titles.(21)
  • The Chicago Cubs "hex" started when pub owner William Sianis showed up at Wrigley Field for the 1945 World Series with his pet goat (for which he had bought a ticket). When he was thrown out of the stadium, Sianis reportedly cursed the team, declaring it would never win again. The Cubs lost the '45 Series and have not won a series since.(22)
  • One of baseball's most hallowed traditions is to back off entirely when a pitcher has a no-hitter going. One cannot talk to him, sit near him, or even think about him while in the dugout with him. If someone does, of course, that person just cost him a chance at history—pitching the perfect game.(23)
  • Baseball player Larry Walker had an obsession with the number 3 that went beyond just his uniform number. Walker was married on November 3rd at 3:33, and he once bought 33 tickets for disadvantaged children to sit in section 333 while he played in Montreal. His last contracts required that $3,333,333 be donated to assorted children's organizations. And he had 3 kids.(23)
  • Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs has long been recognized as one of the most superstitious players in what is a very superstitious sport. It is common knowledge that he always ate chicken before every game, but most do not know that his pre-game rituals were far more complicated than that. Boggs also woke up at the same time every day, took exactly 100 ground balls before batting practice, took batting practice at exactly 5:17, and ran sprints at 7:17. He also took the same route to and from his position, and always drew the Hebrew word "Chai" (life) in the batter's box before each time at-bat.(23)
  • Tennis player Serena Williams once admitted to wearing the same pair of socks throughout a tournament.(24)
  • Golfer Tiger Woods clings to the superstition of wearing a red shirt on Sundays, the usual final-round day of a tournament. Red symbolizes good luck in Thailand, the birthplace of Woods's mother, Kutilda.(25)
  • Throughout his career, basketball player Michael Jordan wore his old, blue University of North Carolina shorts underneath his National Basketball Association uniform for good luck.(24)
Interestingly enough, it is not just athletes but also coaches who adopt superstitious rituals and behavior, believing that they need to perform a certain task before or after a game.(26) In addition, sports fans have superstitions and rituals with fears that they may jinx a game if they change their ritual.(27) Many sports fans will buy team shirts or hats and wear them as a sign of support when attending or watching games. Somehow, for some fans, this evolves into a superstitious ritual where the person believes that "if I don't wear my favorite team outfit, my team will lose."

A recent series of experiments by Damisch and colleagues evaluated the consequences and potential benefits of superstitions. In each noncontrol group, participants were asked to perform a task and given a lucky charm or a lucky golf ball to putt, or were asked to do some other superstitious activity. Participants in the control group in each experiment were simply asked to perform the task as best they could. Results demonstrated that activating a superstition boosts participants' confidence in mastering upcoming tasks, which in turn improves performance. And, according to the researchers, one of the four experiments showed that increased task persistence constitutes one means by which self-efficacy, enhanced by superstition, can improve performance.(24)

And, with respect to truly outstanding performances, the present findings from Damisch and colleagues suggest that it may have been the well-balanced combination of existing talent, hard training, and good-luck underwear that made Michael Jordan perform as well as he did.(24)

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Conclusion

It is certainly possible that many of these factors attributed to sports could also describe an up-and-coming Wall Street business person, an actor auditioning for a part in a play, or anyone striving to achieve a competitive goal.

These concepts can be universally applied to many of life's challenges. The onus is on clinicians to learn about their patients in the context of their lives and what is important to them. This goes beyond "what is the presenting problem?" Success and disappointment, in sports and in other endeavors, change individuals—some for the better, some not. It is the degree of change and the significance that it has to the person that are important to clinicians.

This not only applies to the ones competing, but also to the enthusiastic observers. These are the fans, the sports dads, the stage moms, the ones who cheer on those who are competing or performing and can get swept up in the emotions and pressures of the competition.

Not all negative emotions turn into diagnosable entities, however, low motivation can reveal depression, too much motivation can present as hypomania. A routine can become a ritual, and a ritual can become a compulsion. Most superstitions are harmless and can be fun, but for some, superstition can morph into an obsession, or in the ultimate case, a delusion. Clinicians should ask their patients about competitive behaviors in sports and in other activities of life.

We want to hear from you!

Do you have sports superstitions or rituals that you engage in as either a player or observer? Let us know. Please complete the online survey. We will publish the results.

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Clinical Connections

An emphasis on the physical in the sport sciences is widely established, but sport performance is influenced not only by physical attributes but also by psychological factors.

Five psychological factors that directly affect athletic performance include motivation, confidence, intensity, focus, and emotions. The first two factors (motivation and confidence) prepare athletes for competition, while the next three (intensity, focus, and emotions) directly affect training and competitive performance.

Interventions in sport psychology include:

  • Problem-solving
  • Basic mental skills training
  • Mental peak performance training
Superstitious rituals are very common across all sports. They are used as an attempt to manage stress and maintain control over the sport situation or outcome.

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Post-Compass Questions™

Your responses to this issue's Compass Questions™ will be added to an ongoing needs assessment for educational programming in this important area. Responses to this issue's questions will be reported in an upcoming issue.

Question #1
Has reading this article improved your knowledge of sport psychology?
Extremely
Very much
Somewhat
Slightly
Not at all
N/A – This is not my role

Question #2
Now that you have read this article, will you consider discussing sports behavior more often with patients in your practice?
Always
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
N/A – This is not my role

Question #3
Rate your interest in more educational activities on sports psychology.
Extremely interested
Very interested
Moderately interested
Somewhat interested
Not at all interested

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References

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  2. Brewer BW, ed. Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons; 2009.
  3. Williams JM, ed. Applied Sport Psychology: Personal Growth to Peak Performance. 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill; 2006.
  4. Taylor J [at The Power of Prime]. Do you know what it takes to achieve prime sport? Psychology Today Website [blog]. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/200909/sports-prime-sport-pyramid. Published September 30, 2009. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  5. Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol. 2000;55(1):68-78. PMID: 11392867.
  6. Gould D, Greenleaf C, Krane V. Arousal-anxiety and sport behavior. In: Horn TS, ed. Advances in Sport Psychology. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2002: pp. 207-241.
  7. Martens R, Gill DL. State anxiety among successful and unsuccessful competitors who differ in competitive trait anxiety. Res Q. 1976;47(4):698-708. PMID: 1070742.
  8. Wilson G, Taylor J, Gundersen F, Brahm T. Intensity. In: Taylor J, Wilson GS, eds. Applying Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2005: pp. 33-46.
  9. Stratton RK, Cusimano K, Hartman C, DeBoom N. Focus. In: Taylor J, Wilson GS, eds. Applying Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2005: pp. 51-62.
  10. Jones M, Taylor J, Tanaka-Oulevey M, Daubert MG. Emotions. In: Taylor J, Wilson GS, eds. Applying Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2005: pp. 65-77.
  11. Dosil J. Applied sport psychology: a new perspective. In: Dosil J, ed. The Sport Psychologist's Handbook: A Guide for Sport-Specific Performance Enhancement. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons; 2006: pp. 3-18.
  12. Singer RN, Anshel MH. An overview of interventions in sport. In: Dosil J, ed. The Sport Psychologist's Handbook: A Guide for Sport-Specific Performance Enhancement. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons; 2006: pp. 63-88.
  13. Moran AP. Attention, concentration and thought management. In: Brewer BW, ed. Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons;2009: pp. 18-29.
  14. Womack M. Why athletes need ritual: a study of magic among professional athletes. In: Hoffman SJ, ed. Sport and Religion. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 1992: pp. 191-202.
  15. Vyse SA. Believing in Magic. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1997: p. 201.
  16. Buhrmann HG, Brown B, Zaugg MK. Superstitious beliefs and behavior: a comparison of male and female basketball players. J Sport Behav. 1982;5(4):175-185. [No PMID].
  17. Czech DR, Ploszay AJ, Burke KL. An Examination of the Maintenance of Preshot Routines in Basketball Free Throw Shooting. J Sport Behav. 2004;27(4):323-329. [No PMID]
  18. Lobemeyer DL, Wasserman EA. Preliminary to free throw shooting: superstitious behavior? J Sport Behav. 2004;27(9):70-78. [No PMID]
  19. Cohn PJ. pre-performance routines in sport: theoretical support and practical applications. The Sport Psychologist. 1990;4(3):301-312.
  20. Bleak JL, Frederick CM. Superstitious behavior in sport: levels of effectiveness and determinants of use in three collegiate sports. J Sport Behav. 1998;21(1):1-15.
  21. Booth R. Curses, superstitions and sports. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) Page 2 Website. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=booth/091029. Published October 29, 2009. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  22. Van Riper T. Curses! 13 super sports superstitions. Forbes Website http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/15/sports-baseball-soccer-biz-sports_cx_tvr_0415superstitions.html. Published April 15, 2008. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  23. Rymer ZD. The 25 strangest rituals in sports. The Bleacher Report Website. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/521720-the-25-strangest-rituals-in-sports#/articles/521720-the-25-strangest-rituals-in-sports/page/26. Published November 18, 2010. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  24. Damisch L, Stoberock B, Mussweiler T. Keep your fingers crossed!: how superstition improves performance. Psychol Sci. 2010;21(7):1014-1020. PMID: 20511389.
  25. Aldhous P. Ten sports stars and their bizarre pre-game rituals. NewScientist Website. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17158-ten-sports-stars-and-their-bizarre-pregame-rituals.html. Published May 19, 2009. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  26. King TK [at SEC Football]. SEC football coaches reveal their superstitions. Dawg Sports Website [blog]. http://www.dawgsports.com/2011/7/31/2306542/sec-football-superstitions-mark-richt-georgia-bulldogs-nick-saban-will-muschamp-gene-chizik#comments. Published July 31, 2011. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  27. Inteljumper. What's your fan superstition? Dawg Sports Website [blog].http://www.dawgsports.com/2011/7/31/2308078/whats-your-fan-superstition. Published July 31, 2011. Accessed August 23, 2011.

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