Do superstitious minds help or hinder athletes?
Do superstitious minds help or hinder athletes?
When Michael Phelps gets ready to race, he walks to
the block, takes off his headphones, swings his arms three times, steps
on to the block and he is off. His routine never changes.
Tennis player Serena Williams, five-times Wimbledon
champion, who, like Phelps, begins competition on Saturday, always takes
her shower sandals to the court, ties her shoelaces in a specific way
and bounces the ball five times.
Tiger Woods wears a red shirt in the final rounds of
golf tournaments which he has said is because his mother told him red
was his power colour.
Despite all the science and massive budgets involved in
sport, many sportsmen and women at all levels of sport swear by
superstitions or elaborate event rituals to enhance their game with many
examples of these on display at the London Olympics.
British diver Tom Daley has a lucky orange monkey and
British BMX rider Shanaze Reade always carries a picture of her family.
Psychologists say people often become superstitious
when faced with unknown and stressful situations, which explains why so
many athletes are superstitious and frequently bound to rigid
preparation routines.
"When the stakes are high and there is a great deal of
uncertainty - as in top-level sport - then people will try anything to
get the outcome they want," Richard Stephens, a senior lecturer in
psychology at Keele University, told Reuters.
"When there is a low cost of carrying out an action but there is possibly a high gain then you may as well."
But does it make a difference?
A study by psychologists at the University of Cologne
in Germany found in two experiments that superstition triumphed in both
cases.
In one experiment, participants were given either a
lucky golf ball or an ordinary one before being asked to sink a putt.
Those with a so-called lucky ball were more successful.
Participants were also asked to bring along a lucky
charm but these were confiscated from half of the participants before
making them take a memory test. Those who kept their lucky charm
performed better, the scientists reported in 2010 in Psychological
Science.
HARMFUL DISTRACTION
Some sports psychologists warn, however, that
superstitions can be harmful to an athlete's performance if they are
taken too far and become a distraction, particularly if they have no
link to their actual performance.
Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice says she is a firm
believer in superstition and karma, and will do eight arm swings, four
goggle presses, four cap touches before a face.
But it is shoulder problems have led Rice to play down
her chances in London of repeating her Beijing success when she won
three gold medals, two individual and one relay.
Andrew Lane, professor of sport psychology at Britain's
Wolverhampton University, said routines were important for athletes as
the hour before an event could be very stressful and go slowly.
British women footballers have spoken about their set
routines with Kelly Smith putting her boots on last and leaving the
dressing room last while Kim Little always puts her socks and shin pads
on her left side before her right.
"It is the reliance on these routines that can be critical to keeping them level-headed," Lane said.
"But if it becomes an fixation on something that is not relevant to performance, you might need to change that."
London-based sports psychologist Victor Thompson said
athletes needed enough flexibility to cope with something going wrong
with their routine such as losing their lucky shirt or an iPod
malfunction so they cannot listen to their pre-game music.
"This can create anger, stress, anxiety, and physical
tension," Thompson told Reuters. "It becomes a distraction and causes a
drop in confidence... all of which leads to a higher chance of
performing poorly. They can't rely on false self-confidence or
reassurances."
Keele University's Stephens agreed.
"If you start to spend too much time focusing on these
irrational things to improve your performance rather than the important
things, such as your swing or being relaxed, then these superstitious
techniques can take away from the outcome," he said.
Some athletes are wary of relying too much on superstitions for their performance.
"I'm superstitious about having any superstitions. I do
my best to quash any of that start creeping up on me," Australian diver
Matthew Mitcham, who won gold in Beijing, is quoted as saying on his
official Olympic profile.
