Emotion, concentration and performance in a Swedish female handball team : Development and implementation of the team specific instrument

The present study is a mixed method longitudinal design, containing three objectives. Object one was to develop a team-specific survey instrumentin order to measure emotion, concentration and performance during a game. Object two was to examine the dynamics of emotion, concentration and performance in successful and less successful games. Object three was to study the relationship between emotion, concentration and performance in successful and less successful games. The participants (n= 15, age= 22.8) in the study consisted of 15 women, all players in the same elite handball team.Qualitative data was obtained by two workshops in order to construct the instrument. Quantitative data was collected after games, using the team specific instrument. The study includes data over a six game period containing four successful games and two less successful games. Results showed a significant difference between successful and less successful games regarding all three variables measured. Both positive and negative relationships were found. The results also showed different relationships regarding successful and less successful games. Several practical team-specific applications were suggested, such as working with emotional regulation to enhance performance. Investigating if athletes are more prone to be influenced emotionally by their performance when performing poorlyis one of several suggestions proposed for future directions.