Superstitious beliefs in sport

Abstract

Superstitious beliefs in sport are defined as formal, repeated, successive actions which are characterized by athletic performance level. Athletes adopt such beliefs because they consider them an internal force enabling them to control luck and other external factors affecting their performance (Bleak & Frederick, 1998). The aim of this review is to record the aspects related to the use of these superstitious beliefs in sport as well as the factors that contribute to their development and preservation according to international literature references. Stress and locus of control were proved to be of major importance on the utilization of superstitious beliefs. Nevertheless, considerable differences were detected regarding to gender, kind of sport and athletes‟competition level. Finally, suggestions are made about future research including further and more thorough investigation of this phenomenon.