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Performing best when it matters the most: Evidence from professional handball

Author

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  • Christoph Buehren

    (Clausthal University of Technology)

  • Marvin Gabriel

    (University of Kassel)

Abstract

We analyze the impact of psychological pressure on individual performance with handball penalties thrown in the decisive stage vs. the rest of the game. Contrary to the phenomenon of choking under pressure, we observe that most of the analyzed players perform best when it matters the most. The positive effect of pressure on performance is especially pronounced when the score is level or when the thrower’s team is lagging. We control for gender and psychological traits assessed with a survey. Female players score with a higher probability than male players in our sample. The positive impact of pressure is not significantly higher for female players.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Buehren & Marvin Gabriel, 2021. "Performing best when it matters the most: Evidence from professional handball," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202119, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    • Handle: RePEc:mar:magkse:202119
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    File URL: https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/fb02/research-groups/economics/macroeconomics/research/magks-joint-discussion-papers-in-economics/papers/2021-papers/19-2021_buehren.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Marcella Cartledge & Luke Taylor, 2022. "Incentive pay and decision quality: evidence from NCAA football coaches," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(30), pages 3505-3520, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Performance under pressure; sports data; psychological traits; survey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D - Microeconomics

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