The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Athletes' Effective Decision Making

For coaches to create successful intervention techniques, it is essential to approach sport performance in a multifaceted framework and to uncover the connection between players' emotional and mental components. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to find out how emotional intelligence affects athletes' ability to make wise decisions. A total of 281 licensed athletes from Rize province participated in a descriptive-correlational study designed using quantitative methods. Data was collected using the Traits of Emotional Intelligence Scale (Short Form), the Effective Decision Making in Sport Scale, and a demographic information form covering sport-related variables. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0. First, percentage and frequency distributions were analyzed to profile the athletes. Then, descriptive statistics were calculated for the scales and their subscales. Lastly, basic linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between emotional intelligence and decision-making efficacy at a significance threshold of p=0.05. The findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between athletes' emotional intelligence levels and both intrapersonal and extra personal decision-making skills. Both aspects of decision-making were shown to be significantly predicted by emotional intelligence. In conclusion, athletes with greater emotional intelligence tend to make healthier and more successful decisions based on internal considerations and have fewer problems making decisions because of external circumstances.