
Sep 16, 2024
First and foremost, a disclaimer: I’m not an Eagles fan (nor am I not an Eagles fan) and have no intention of throwing anyone under the bus as we explore these topics (and more like this in the future)
But, what I am interested in is the psychology of sports – and why in some cases, like this year’s Philadelphia Eagles, the psychology seems to be a bit off and limit the ceiling of the team. In coming editions, we’ll explore things like the psychology of getting ready for an NFL playoff game, or how to maintain consistency in March Madness.
The storyline of the Eagles playing a bit uptight has persisted since Week 12 when the team started down a rough patch of losing 5 out of 6 games. Last year’s Super Bowl runner-up looked destined to make another run before then and quickly deteriorated after a blowout loss to the 49ers.
As Troy Aikman (who may have a lingering bias here) pointed out during the broadcast:
This team looked defeated when the game began.
So what happened?
The main psychology at play here is the principle of avoidance motivation, or, in sports talk: playing not to lose.
When we’re motivated to avoid a particular outcome, our behavior is guided by fear. Fear, functionally, makes us tight, restricts our focus, and directs our attention toward threats versus opportunities.
You saw this playing out during the game. If you’re an Eagles fan, chances are you read about it during the season as the fanfare and excitement around the team turned tumultuous. The team shifted from free and playing to win to playing to lose.
Here’s how playing not to lose affects you:
Unfortunately, playing more and more uptight as each week went by was systematically undermining the players’ performance. From the outside looking in, my guess would be that signs of vitality or joy were also looked down upon or not welcomed in the spirit of being serious about losing. As a result, the environment also knocked out some of the very things the team would need to be successful.
There’s also a leadership and social dimension to playing not to lose.
When a team is trying hard to avoid bad outcomes, they’re oriented toward less effective behaviors and primed to underperform.
Here’s how leadership behaviors that promote avoidance motivation can undermine team performance:
On the other side of avoidance motivation is “approach motivation.” Though it can be challenging in the face of defeat or when we’re worried about a particular outcome, approach motivation is what we’d like to instill in our teams. It’s the proverbial playing to win.
Playing to win tends to lead to better mood, decision-making, and social performance (like being a good teammate). And, some data suggests people with approach motivation learn and perform better.
To instill more approach motivation, we want to focus on:
There’s a complex relationship between motivation and human behavior, and avoidance vs. approach motivation is only one dimension to consider in why a team might underperform. However, you can see how consistently playing not to lose systematically undermines team performance and ultimately, leads to an otherwise great team taking an early exit.
If you want to reach your goals, your best bet is to play to win.
References
Booth, B., & Cates, K. (2012). Growing Managers: Moving from Team Member to Team Leader. . https://doi.org/10.1108/case.kellogg.2016.000143.
Roskes, M., Elliot, A., & Dreu, C. (2014). Why Is Avoidance Motivation Problematic, and What Can Be Done About It?. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 133 – 138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414524224.
Elliot, A. (2006). The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 30, 111-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11031-006-9028-7.
Sep 16, 2024
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