The Impact of Anxiety Experienced in Competition on Decision-Making: A Study on Individual Sports Competitions

Aim: Individuals who are exposed to anxiety, which is a type of stress response, can have negative effects on their behavior. Anxiety is divided into two sub-dimensions as physical (somatic) and cognitive anxiety. In this study, anxiety was addressed from its cognitive aspect (worry and concentration disruption). Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to reveal the impact of anxiety experienced by athletes in competition on their decision-making behavior. Methods: SmartPls program was used for data analysis. A questionnaire form including anxiety and decision-making scales was applied to the athletes. Data was collected from 189 athletes using the survey technique. The collected data was examined with structural equation modeling. Results: As a result of the analysis made; worry experienced by the athletes in the competition negatively affects their rational, intuitive, avoidant, dependent, and spontaneous decision-making behaviors. Accordingly, if the athletes are worried in the competition they perform, all decision-making behaviors are negatively affected by this situation. Conclusion: The concentration disruption experienced by the athletes in the competition negatively affects the decision-making situation dependent on their decision-making behavior. In this sense, the fact that the athletes experience concentration disruption in the competitions in which they perform negatively affects the decisions they make in line with the recommendations and directions of others.