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Expectations, gender, and choking under pressure: Evidence from alpine skiing

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  • Bühren, Christoph
  • Gschwend, Martin
  • Krumer, Alex

Abstract

In alpine skiing competitions, one of the coaches of the participating countries sets the course. This may provide an advantage, but it may also exert higher pressure on the racers. We analyze 45,467 men’s and 41,221 women’s performances from all competitions in alpine skiing’s Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super Giant disciplines that took place in the World Cups, World Championships, and Olympic Games between the 2001/2002 and 2019/2020 seasons. We compare the performance of racers when competing on a course that was set by their compatriot to the performance of the same racers in the same season when the course was set by a coach from another country. Having a compatriot course setter only has an effect in the second (and decisive) run of the most technical discipline Slalom. We find that men fail significantly more often to complete their run when their compatriots set the course, whereas women fail significantly less in the same situation. The most likely drivers of our results relate to gender differences in response to expectations and choking under pressure in skill-based tasks.

Suggested Citation

  • Bühren, Christoph & Gschwend, Martin & Krumer, Alex, 2024. "Expectations, gender, and choking under pressure: Evidence from alpine skiing," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:100:y:2024:i:c:s0167487023000934
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2023.102692
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Alpine skiing; Choking under pressure; Gender differences; Panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Z20 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - General

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