title: He Dies, He Scores: Evidence That Reminders of Death Motivate Improved Performance in Basketball.
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.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Arizona.
authors.forename: Colin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Zestcott
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Arizona.
authors.forename: Uri
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lifshin
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Arizona.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Helm
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Arizona.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000523:psychology*; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001490:Basketball / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: mortality salience; motivation; self-esteem; sport; terror management