The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Athletes' Effective Decision Making

Year 2025, Volume: 15 Issue: 78, 455 - 465, 20.09.2025

Gökhan Çakır , Nihal Akoğuz Yazıcı , Özhan Can Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.17066/tpdrd.1502522

Abstract

For coaches to create successful intervention techniques, it is essential to approach sport performance in a multifaceted framework and to uncover the connection between players' emotional and mental components. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to find out how emotional intelligence affects athletes' ability to make wise decisions. A total of 281 licensed athletes from Rize province participated in a descriptive-correlational study designed using quantitative methods. Data was collected using the Traits of Emotional Intelligence Scale (Short Form), the Effective Decision Making in Sport Scale, and a demographic information form covering sport-related variables. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0. First, percentage and frequency distributions were analyzed to profile the athletes. Then, descriptive statistics were calculated for the scales and their subscales. Lastly, basic linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between emotional intelligence and decision-making efficacy at a significance threshold of p=0.05. The findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between athletes' emotional intelligence levels and both intrapersonal and extra personal decision-making skills. Both aspects of decision-making were shown to be significantly predicted by emotional intelligence. In conclusion, athletes with greater emotional intelligence tend to make healthier and more successful decisions based on internal considerations and have fewer problems making decisions because of external circumstances.

Keywords

Sport , Athlete , Emotional Intelligence , Effective decision-making

References

• Abd-Elrhaman, E., Zaki, H. and Ghoneimy, A. (2018). The Effect of Emotional Intelligence Program on Decision Making Style., 6, 524-532. https://doi.org/10.12691/AJNR-6-6-21 .
• Abdullah, M., (2023). The Effects of Emotional Intelligence-Oriented Psycho-Education Programme on Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills. International Journal of Disabilities Sports and Health Sciences, 6(2), 193-203.
• Afonso, J., Garganta, J., & Mesquita, I. (2012). A tomada de decisão no desporto: o papel da atenção, da antecipação e da memória. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria & Desempenho Humano, 14, 592-601.
• Ajilchi, B., Amini, H. R., Ardakani, Z. P., Zadeh, M. M., & Kisely, S. (2019). Applying mindfulness training to enhance the mental toughness and emotional intelligence of amateur basketball players. Australasian Psychiatry, 27(3), 291-296.
• Albayrak, A.S. (2006). Applied Multivariate Statistical Techniques. Ankara: Asil Publishing.
• Alkozei, A., Schwab, Z. J., & Killgore, W. D. (2016). The role of emotional intelligence during an emotionally difficult decision-making task. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 40, 39-54.
• Altunışık, R., Boz, H., Gegez, E., Koç, E., Sığrı, Ü., Yıldız, E., & Yüksel, A. (2023). Research methods in social sciences: New perspectives. Seckin Publishing.
• Alzoubi, H. M., & Aziz, R. (2021). Does emotional intelligence contribute to quality of strategic decisions? The mediating role of open innovation. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(2), 130.
• Ashford, M., Abraham, A., & Poolton, J. (2021). Understanding a player’s decision-making process in team sports: a systematic review of empirical evidence. Sports, 9(5), 65.
• Bayraktar, B., & Kurtoğlu, M. (2009). Performance in sports, effective factors, evaluation and enhancement. Journal of Clinical Development, 22(1), 16-24.
• Birwatkar, V. P. (2014). Emotional intelligence: The invisible phenomenon in sports. Eur. J. Sports Exerc. Sci, 3(19), 31-31.
• Bonnar, D., Bartel, K., Kakoschke, N., & Lang, C. (2018). Sleep interventions designed to improve athletic performance and recovery: a systematic review of current approaches. Sports medicine, 48, 683-703.
• Brown, C., George-Curran, R., & Smith, M. L. (2003). The role of emotional intelligence in the career commitment and decision-making process. Journal of career assessment, 11(4), 379-392.
• Cakir, G. (2022). Emotional Intelligence and Leadership in Coaching. Efe Akademi Publications.
• Çetin, M. Ç., & Kara, M. (2024). Effective Decision Making Scale in Sports (SEKVÖ): Validity and Reliability Study. Gazi Journal of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, 29(1), 40-52.
• Chauhan, R. (2016). Role of Emotional Intelligence in Decision Making. Available at SSRN 2797345.
• Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (eight edition). Abingdon, Oxon.
• Cuéllar-Molina, D., García-Cabrera, A. M., & Déniz-Déniz, M. D. L. C. (2019). Emotional intelligence of the HR decision-maker and high-performance HR practices in SMEs. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 28(1), 52-89.
• Deniz, M.E., Özer, E. ve Işık, E., (2013). Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form: Validity and Reliability Studies. Education and Science, 38(169), 407-419.
• Ganaie, M. R., & Jain, R. (2020). Study of emotional intelligence and sports performance.
• George, D. ve Mallery, M. (2010). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference, 17.0 update (10th. Ed.). Boston: Pearson.
• Hair, Jr, F. J., vd. (2016). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). New Delhi: Sage Publications.
• Hepler, T. J. (2015). Decision-making in sport under mental and physical stress. International Journal of Kinesiology and Sports Science, 3(4), 79-83.
• Hess, J. and Bacigalupo, A. (2011). Improving judgment and decision making through the application of emotional intelligence skills. Management Decision , 49, 710-721. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741111130805. İslamoğlu, A. H. , Alnıaçık, Ü. (2019). Sosyal Bilimlerde Araştırma Yöntemleri, (4. Bs.) İstanbul : Beta Basım Yayım Dağıtım A.Ş.
• Jekauc, D., & Brand, R. (2017). How do emotions and feelings regulate physical activity?. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 267690.
• Kaya, A., Balay, R., and Göçen, A. (2012). Teachers' levels of knowledge, application and training needs regarding alternative measurement and evaluation techniques. International Journal of Human Sciences, 9(2), 1303-5134.
• Khalisah, N. (2023). The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Effective Decision Making. Journal of Management and Administration Provision. https://doi.org/10.55885/jmap.v3i1.220.
• Laborde, S., Dosseville, F., & Allen, M. S. (2016). Emotional intelligence in sport and exercise: A systematic review. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 26(8), 862-874.
• Lane, A. M., Thelwell, R. C., Lowther, J., & Devonport, T. J. (2009). Emotional intelligence and psychological skills use among athletes. Social behavior and personality: an international Journal, 37(2), 195-201.
• Lazarus, R. S. (2000). How emotions influence performance in competitive sports. The sport psychologist, 14(3), 229-252.
• Marsh, H. W. (2007). Handbook of sport psychology. Tenenbaum and RC Eklund: New Jersey.
• Mercader-Rubio, I. and Ángel, N. G. (2023). The importance of emotional intelligence in college athletes: analysis of its relationship with anxiety. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20 (5), 4224.
• Mert, Z. C. (2019). The relationship between emotional intelligence levels, depression and multiple intelligence profiles in patients diagnosed with specific learning disabilities (Master's thesis, Istanbul Gelişim University Social Sciences Institute).
• Özdemir, K. (2021). The effect of motivation on students studying in sports departments. International Education Studies, 14(3), 72-81.
• Petrides, K. V. & Furnham, A. (2000). On the dimensional structure of emotional intelligence. Personality and individual differences, 29(2), 313-320.
• Robazza, C., & MC, R. (2018). Emotional self-regulation in sport and performance. In Oxford research encyclopedia of psychology (pp. 1-35). Oxford University Press.
• Royal, K. A., Farrow, D., Mujika, I., Halson, S. L., Pyne, D., & Abernethy, B. (2006). The effects of fatigue on decision making and shooting skill performance in water polo players. Journal of sports sciences, 24(8), 807-815. Santos, A., Wang, W., & Lewis, J. (2018). Emotional intelligence and career decision-making difficulties: The mediating role of career decision self-efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 107, 295-309.
• Sevdalis, N., Petrides, K. V., & Harvey, N. (2007). Trait emotional intelligence and decision-related emotions. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(7), 1347-1358.
• Silva, A. F., Conte, D., & Clemente, F. M. (2020). Decision-making in youth team-sports players: A systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(11), 3803.
• Sit, C. H. P., & Lindner, K. J. (2005). Motivational orientations in youth sport participation: Using Achievement Goal Theory and Reversal Theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(3), 605–618.
• Soflu, H. G., Esfahani, N., & Assadi, H. (2011). The Comparison of emotional intelligence and psychological skills and their relationship with experience among individual and Team athletes in superior league. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 2394-2400.
• Solanki, S., & Ahallawat, K. (2023). Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Communication: An Empirical Study. Journal of Informatics Education and Research, 3(2).
• Sukys, S., Tilindienė, I., Cesnaitiene, V. J., & Kreivyte, R. (2019). Does emotional ıntelligence predict athletes’ motivation participate in sports? Perceptual and Motor Skills, 126(2).
• Tatar, A., & Ayhan, D. (2023). Careful Decision Making, Emotional Intelligence and Relationships Between Socio-Demographic Variables in Young People. Manisa Celal Bayar University Journal of Social Sciences, 21(4), 1-12.
• Tenenbaum, G., Basevitch, I., Gershgoren, L., & Filho, E. (2013). Emotions–decision-making in sport: Theoretical conceptualization and experimental evidence. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11(2), 151-168.
• Torre, D., & Daley, B. (2023). Emotional intelligence: Mapping an elusive concept. Medical Teacher, 45(7), 698-700.
• Travassos, B., Araujo, D., Davids, K., O'hara, K., Leitão, J., & Cortinhas, A. (2013). Expertise effects on decision-making in sport are constrained by requisite response behaviours–A meta-analysis. Psychology of sport and exercise, 14(2), 211-219.
• Turner, J. H., & Stets, J. E. (2006). Moral emotions. Handbook of the sociology of emotions, 544-566. Vallerand, R. J., & Blanchard, C. M. (2000). The study of emotion in sport and exercise: Historical, definitional, and conceptual perspectives.
• Vaughan, R., Laborde, S., & McConville, C. (2019). The effect of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence on decision-making. European journal of sport science, 19(2), 225-233.
• Widayati, C. C., Arijanto, A., Widjaja, P. H., & Fintura, A. T. (2021). The effect of emotional intelligence, communication and teamwork on employee performance. Dinasti International Journal of Digital Business Management, 2(3), 554-568.
• Zaki, H. N., Abd-Elrhaman, E. S. A., & Ghoneimy, A. G. H. (2018). The effect of emotional intelligence program on decision making style. American Journal of Nursing, 6(6), 524-532.
• Zarei, S., Gharayagh Zandi, H., & Mohebi, M. (2018). The effectiveness of emotional intelligence training on mental toughness in elite taekwondo athletes. Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning, 9(4), 547-562.