The effects of different types of crowd noise on penalty taking performance in football

Oldfield, Jeremy; Oldfield, Rob; Holmes, Danny

Abstract

Crowd noise impacts sporting performance, although little is known about this effect on penalty taking in football. This study explored the effect of crowd noise (positive, negative, stress-inducing, or no sound) on penalty-taking performance (accuracy and ball speed), and whether psychological skills contributed to this relationship. Twenty-four footballers took 20 unopposed penalties (with no goalkeeper present) whilst listening to pre-recoded crowd noises (5 penalties per the four conditions, presented in a counterbalanced order). After each condition, the same 16-item psychological skill questionnaire was completed by participants that measured, self-talk, imagery, relaxation, and emotional control. The results indicated that penalty-taking accuracy, although not ball speed was worse when listening to negative crowd noise. Self-talk is used more by players who were less accurate, and no psychological skill was able to moderate any negative effects of noise type on penalty taking. Encouraging players to train under different crowd noises might enhance performance and decision-making when in competition.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 11, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 2, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 12, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 12, 2024
• Journal: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1612-197X
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-251X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197x.2024.2432996
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13517526
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rijs20; Received: 2024-01-05; Accepted: 2024-11-11; Published: 2024-12-02