Do positive emotions reduce interfering thoughts in youth sport performers?

Our emotions permeate our being, indelibly inscribed in every action in sport. Some athletes seize every advantage to perform well, especially to manage emotions and concentrate solely on a task. Concentrating, while so many distractions abound,challenges each athlete to control his/her emotions so they aid rather than hinder his/her performance. Researchers indicated that negative emotions (e.g.anxiety) disrupt how well athletes concentrate;however, positive emotions enhance concentration(Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005: Cognition and Emotion, 19, 313–332). This study examined the association between youth athletes’ emotions and interfering thoughts in sports.