Emotions in Group Sports: A Narrative Review From a Social Identity Perspective

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Sport Psychology

Background:

• Emotions in sport arise from complex psychosocial processes.
• Limited research examines how group membership shapes athletes' emotional experiences.
• This review builds upon previous work on social identity in sport.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize research on identity-based emotions in sport.
• To clarify the nature of emotions stemming from social identity.
• To propose future research directions in sport psychology.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of existing literature.
• Analysis of social psychology and sport psychology research.
• Discussion of meta-theories of social identity.

Main Results:

• Identifies and clarifies terminology for identity-based emotions.
• Explains the mechanisms linking social identity to emotional experiences.
• Highlights existing knowledge gaps in sport psychology.

Conclusions:

• Social identity is a crucial factor in understanding athletes' emotions.
• Further research is needed to explore identity-based emotions in sport.
• A theoretical approach integrating social identity is proposed for sport psychology.