Athletes may perform better when reminded of something grim - such as their impending death, say scientists who found that locker room pep talk may not be as effective to encourage sports persons.
In two studies, basketball-playing participants scored more points after being presented with death-related prompts, either direct questions about their own mortality or a more subtle, visual reminder of death.
Researchers said the improved performance is the result of a subconscious effort to boost self-esteem, which is a protective buffer against fear of death, according to psychology's terror management theory.
"Terror management theory talks about striving for self-esteem and why we want to accomplish things in our lives and be successful," said Uri Lifshin, psychology doctoral student at University of Arizona in the US.
"Everybody has their own thing in which they invest that is their legacy and symbolic immortality," said Lifshin.
The reason people do not live in constant fear of their inevitable death is because they have this system to help them deal with it, Lifshin said.
"Your subconscious tries to find ways to defeat death, to make death not a problem, and the solution is self-esteem," he said.
"Self-esteem gives you a feeling that you are part of something bigger, that you have a chance for immortality, that you have meaning, that you are not just a sack of meat," Lifshin said.
Participants in the studies were male college students who indicated that they enjoy playing basketball and care about their performance in the sport. None of them played for a formal college basketball team.
"Our idea was that the study effect should only work for people who are motivated to perform well in sports. For individuals that derive less self-esteem from sport, whether they win or lose shouldn't matter as much," said Colin Zestcott, a doctoral student at Arizona.
While it may seem strange that something as dark as death could be motivating, coaches have in some ways intuitively known this for years, the researchers note.
For example, a coach at halftime who says, 'You win this and they will remember you forever,' plays into the human desire for immortality, Zestcott said.
The study appears in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.
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