He Dies, He Scores: Evidence That Reminders of Death Motivate Improved Performance in Basketball

Zestcott, Colin A.; Lifshin, Uri; Helm, Peter; Greenberg, Jeff

dc.contributor.author	Zestcott, Colin A.
dc.contributor.author	Lifshin, Uri
dc.contributor.author	Helm, Peter
dc.contributor.author	Greenberg, Jeff
dc.date.accessioned	2017-03-23T00:31:14Z
dc.date.available	2017-03-23T00:31:14Z
dc.date.issued	2016-10
dc.identifier.citation	He Dies, He Scores: Evidence That Reminders of Death Motivate Improved Performance in Basketball 2016, 38 (5):470 Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology	en
dc.identifier.issn	0895-2779
dc.identifier.issn	1543-2904
dc.identifier.pmid	27736277
dc.identifier.doi	10.1123/jsep.2016-0025
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10150/622838
dc.description.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.
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	HUMAN KINETICS PUBL INC	en
dc.relation.url	http://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/10.1123/jsep.2016-0025	en
dc.rights	© 2016 Human Kinetics, Inc.	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.subject	sport	en
dc.subject	terror management	en
dc.subject	motivation	en
dc.subject	mortality salience	en
dc.subject	self-esteem	en
dc.title	He Dies, He Scores: Evidence That Reminders of Death Motivate Improved Performance in Basketball	en
dc.type	Article	en
dc.contributor.department	Department of Psychology, University of Arizona	en
dc.identifier.journal	Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology	en
dc.description.note	no embargo	en
dc.description.collectioninformation	This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.	en
dc.eprint.version	Final accepted manuscript	en
refterms.dateFOA	2018-08-19T01:27:12Z
html.description.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.