Psychophysiological stress in esports

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Franziska Lautenbach
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: from 2021 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 470343231

Psychophysiological stress has been investigated in various sport contexts (e.g., Norris et al., 2017) informing evidence-based sport psychological interventions and thereby, maintain or improve athletes’ performance. This knowledge, however, is missing in electronic sports (esports) that experienced an increasing number of players, spectators, and media coverage over the past decade (Cunningham et al., 2017). Whereas politics as well as researchers are discussing whether esports constitute sports (e.g., Holden et al., 2017), in our recent position paper (Leis, Raue, Dreiskämper & Lautenbach, in press) we highlighted that sorely focusing on this debate keeps us from finding an evidence-based answer to these questions and keeps us from using opportunities in researching esports. For example, applying existing sport psychological theories to new situations of competitive and cooperative activities could result in testing and adapting these theories to esports. Based on the competitive element of esports, psychophysiological stress–that is known to influence (motor and cognitive) performance–seems to be important to understand. Our recent systematic review has provided first insights into stress in esports, highlighted various theoretical and methodological limitations within previous quantitative studies (e.g., no inclusion of actual competitive settings), and informed future studies (Leis & Lautenbach, 2020). Although qualitative studies have shown the necessity to research psychological (e.g., Smith et al., 2019) and (experienced) physiological stress in esports (Leis, Lautenbach, Birch & Elbe, submitted), further research is needed to gain a greater understanding of stress in esports and inform intervention strategies. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate subjective and objective stress responses during training and during actual competition using a within-subject design. In doing so, subjective parameters including subjective stress, experienced affect, and emotions as well as objective parameters including cortisol, heart rate, and heart rate variability of 44 esports players will be assessed on two different days prior to gameplay, during , and after training/competition. Considering identified limitations within previous quantitative studies, this study will provide a greater understanding of stress in esports. In contrast to previous studies, psychological as well as physiological stress responses will be included and assessed during training and competition using adequate baseline measurements. In particular, the low level of physical activity in esports makes it possible to better assess the influence of psychological processes on physiological stress responses, and thereby, could inform existing theoretical models.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Anne-Marie Elbe