Performing best when it matters the most: evidence from professional handball

Abstract

We analyze the impact of psychological pressure on performance with over 5500 handball penalties thrown in either the decisive stage or the rest of the game during matches of the 2019/2020 season in the first three German handball leagues. Contrary to the choking under pressure phenomenon, most of the analyzed players perform best when it matters the most. The positive effect of pressure on performance is highest when the score is even or when the thrower’s team is trailing. We control for gender and psychological traits assessed with a survey. In our sample, female players score with a higher probability than male players. The positive impact of pressure is not significantly higher for female players.