title: Psychological Momentum During and Across Sports Matches: Evidence for Interconnected Time Scales.
abstract: This study on psychological momentum (PM) in sports provides the first experimental test of an interconnection between short-term PM (during a match) and long-term PM (across a series of matches). Twenty-two competitive athletes were striving to win a prize during a rowing-ergometer tournament, consisting of manipulated races. As hypothesized, athletes who had developed long-term positive PM after two successful races were less sensitive to a negative momentum scenario in the third race, compared with athletes who had developed long-term negative PM after two unsuccessful races. More specifically, the exerted efforts, perceptions of momentum, and self-efficacy were higher for participants who had developed long-term positive PM, and their perceptions of momentum and self-efficacy decreased less rapidly. These results illustrate a typical complex dynamical systems property, namely interconnected time scales, and provide deeper insights into the dynamical nature of PM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ruud J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Den Hartigh
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Van Geert
authors.forename: Nico W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Van Yperen
authors.forename: Ralf F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gernigon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D005082:Physical Exertion; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult