The role of emotional convergence in sport: A scoping review.

Abstract

Emotional convergence describes the transfer of emotions between individuals. Complementing recent research that has highlighted the importance of considering the social nature of emotions in sport psychology, the purpose of the present review was to provide an overview of the role of emotional convergence in sport and, based on this, to set an agenda for future research. Through a search of the databases Scopus, APA PsycInfo, SPORTDiscus, PubMed, and Web of Science, 18 relevant articles were identified for indepth analysis. While the results of all studies are generally supportive of the phenomenon of emotional convergence in sport, some situational (e.g., type of activity, time point within competition) and personal (e.g., emotional contagion susceptibility, power status) factors were identified as relevant antecedents for emotional convergence. The evidence further suggests that the convergence of positive emotions might facilitate team performance, whereas the convergence of negative emotions is considered to be a key feature of team collapse. Additionally, it is suggested that individuals can employ intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies that either mitigate the effects of dysfunctional or enhance the effects of functional emotional convergence. These results are discussed in relation to relevant theoretical frameworks and findings from other areas of psychology. For the antecedents of emotional convergence, future research may particularly benefit from considering the cooperativeness of individuals, the hierarchy within a relationship, and individual's appraisal processes. To better understand the effects of emotional convergence on sports performance, research may focus on the underlying mechanisms and intergroup emotional convergence processes.

Examining the relation between emotional experiences and emotional expressions in competitive tennis matches

“…At the same time, considering the reciprocal relation between the emotional experiences and emotional expressions (Adelmann and Zajonc, 1989;Price et al, 2012), tennis players may also use their body language for regulating their subjective experience. This strategy can also be useful when playing doubles tennis, as emotions can transfer between players (for a review on emotional convergence in sport see Fritsch et al, 2023b).…”