Mood and emotions in sport

Abstract

There is no doubt that sport generates powerful emotional responses among participants and spectators alike. The sight of professional soccer players and their supporters overwhelmed by euphoria or reduced to despair during penalty shoot-outs is ample testament to this fact. There is also strong anecdotal and scientific evidence that the emotions experienced by athletes prior to and during sport performance have a profound effect upon the quality of their performances (see Jones & Hardy, 1990; Hanin, 2000). The purpose of this chapter, which is divided into four sections, is to explore the nature of the link between emotional responses and sport performance.