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Do professional athletes choke when they don't have time to stop and (over) think?

Author

Listed:
  • Agustín Indaco

    (Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar)

  • Ira Teqja

    (Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar)

Abstract

Previous research suggests that professional athletes choke when performing unopposed high-pressure tasks, such as taking penalty kicks. This article extends the literature by studying whether football (soccer) players choke when they have an opportunity to score in late-game open-play situations. These situations are markedly different because in such instances players do not have time to stop and (over) think. We suggest that these situations closely resemble high-pressure professions and mirror many of the stressful scenarios we regularly experience. We find that players consistently underperform relative to expectations in late-game situations when their team is down by one goal. However, players perform to expectations when the game is tied. This finding is consistent with players being loss averse.

Suggested Citation

  • Agustín Indaco & Ira Teqja, 2025. "Do professional athletes choke when they don't have time to stop and (over) think?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(1), pages 357-369.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-24-00457
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jose Apesteguia & Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, 2011. "Corrigendum: Psychological Pressure in Competitive Environments: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1636-1636, June.
    2. Genakos, Christos & Pagliero, Mario & Garbi, Eleni, 2015. "When pressure sinks performance: Evidence from diving competitions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 5-8.
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    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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