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Decide like L ionel M essi! The impact of regulatory focus on divergent thinking in sports
Author(s) -
Memmert Daniel,
Hüttermann Stefanie,
Orliczek Josef
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12159
Subject(s) - regulatory focus theory , promotion (chess) , focus (optics) , psychology , athletes , social psychology , public relations , advertising , political science , business , medicine , physics , optics , physical therapy , politics , creativity , law
According to H iggins, the regulatory focus theory states that in terms of motivational information processing, it makes a difference whether people have a promotion or prevention focus. A focus on aspirations is labeled as promotion focus, whereas a focus on responsibility is called prevention focus. In our study, the theory will be applied to the area of sport decision making. We showed that soccer players make different decisions in a sport‐specific divergent‐thinking task depending on their regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention). Promotion‐framed athletes were able to produce more original, flexible, and adequate solutions than prevention‐framed athletes. Theoretical and practical implications for sport psychology are discussed.