Psychological Momentum: Looking at a debated phenomenon from a different perspective
Psychological Momentum: Looking at a debated phenomenon from a different perspective
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Issue Date
2003
Authors
Plandowski, Joseph A.
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Abstract
How does a last place team end up beating a first place team who are superior in skill? How does a team lose a seven game playoff series when they're ahead in the series three games to none? People talk about the concept of "the come from behind team" or about a team's record when they do or do not score first. From my years of watching sports, in particular ice hockey and football, I have noticed that sometimes one team during the game seems to have everything going for them and the other team cannot seem to do anything right. Also during a game I have seen a team that cannot do anything right all of a sudden make a great play and after that they are the ones dominating the game. The concept that is being discussed here is psychological momentum. One hears athletes and coaches talking about having "rhythm", "the tides are changing", and or they are "on a roll" or are "hot". Also, you hear coaches and players say that "lady luck was with them" or that "the gods were smiling on them". Play by play and color commentary announcers talk about how the momentum of games change. If a player or team does not have momentum they are said to be "cold" or "in a slump", the player or team cannot get it together. When a team or player has this momentum it seems as if they do everything right, everything comes together and the team or individual is playing like a well-oiled machine. The opposing team or player cannot stop the other team or get anything going for themselves. Psychology researchers, such as Iso-Ahola and Mobily (1980), have used the term psychological momentum to describe this situation in the sporting world. Iso- Ahola and Mobily (1980) defined momentum as psychological property that has the ability to change a person's perception of the game and this affects his or her Psychological 4 performance. However psychological momentum is a topic that is under debate as to whether it actually exists.