The Influence of Cortisol, Flow, and Anxiety on Performance in E-Sports: A Field Study
Joint Authors
Schmidt, Steffen C. E.
Woll, Alexander
Gnam, Jens-Peter
Kopf, Maximilian
Rathgeber, Tobias
Source
Issue
Vol. 2020, Issue 2020 (31 Dec. 2020), pp.1-6, 6 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2020-01-29
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
6
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Background and Objectives.
Most performance theories were tested under controlled laboratory settings and offer therefore only limited transferability to real-life situations.
E-sport competitions offer a relatively controllable while at the same time competitive setting, and our aim was to examine different influencing factors on competitive performance.
Design and Methods.
Salivary cortisol was measured immediately before, after, and 30 minutes after a game of 23 computer players during e-sport tournaments.
The players answered the Flow Short Scale, which consists of the two subdimensions “flow experience” and “anxiety” subsequent to their game.
The performance was assessed by the result of each player’s game (win or loss).
Results.
Mean cortisol levels increased significantly during the game but response patterns were inconsistent.
Winners and losers differed significantly in anxiety with winners showing higher anxiety levels.
After dividing the sample into three groups of different cortisol response patterns, significant differences in performance and anxiety were found, with low to moderate levels of cortisol being associated with the highest performance and anxiety.
Conclusions.
A low to moderate physiological arousal and a simultaneously high level of anxiety represent a favorable state for achieving optimal performance during e-sports.
Anxiety seems to exert a stronger influence on performance than physiological arousal.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Schmidt, Steffen C. E.& Gnam, Jens-Peter& Kopf, Maximilian& Rathgeber, Tobias& Woll, Alexander. 2020. The Influence of Cortisol, Flow, and Anxiety on Performance in E-Sports: A Field Study. BioMed Research International،Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1138220
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Schmidt, Steffen C. E.…[et al.]. The Influence of Cortisol, Flow, and Anxiety on Performance in E-Sports: A Field Study. BioMed Research International No. 2020 (2020), pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1138220
American Medical Association (AMA)
Schmidt, Steffen C. E.& Gnam, Jens-Peter& Kopf, Maximilian& Rathgeber, Tobias& Woll, Alexander. The Influence of Cortisol, Flow, and Anxiety on Performance in E-Sports: A Field Study. BioMed Research International. 2020. Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1138220
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1138220