NOTELAB
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND DECISION MAKING IN SPORTS

Cognitive Sport Psychology: unlocking new potential

By focusing on recent advances in cognitive (neuro) psychology, there is vast potential to enrich sport psychology. For example, error monitoring is a central topic in contemporary cognitive psychology. Decades of research have explored how people adapt behaviour after making errors. A well-established finding is that errors tend to prompt a more cautious approach in subsequent actions. Translating these insights into sports contexts can enhance crucial in-game elements, such as shot selection and risk assessment. Compared to other established areas like motivational or educational sport psychology, cognitive sport psychology remains relatively undeveloped. This emerging field invites exploration into additional cognitive mechanisms that influence athletic performance. Recent theoretical models and frameworks from cognitive psychology can deepen our understanding of decision-making processes in sports, paving the way for future innovations.

We're excited to introduce three new members to the team!

PhD Student

Hanne Daenen

Hanne Daenen is a new PhD student. She is co-supervised by Catherine Culot and Wim Gevers (ULB). She will investigate how internal body signals are used to evaluate our own performance.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Bram Janssens

Bram starts in January 2026 in our lab as a sports data analyst. Together with Tom Loeys he will apply causal machine learning techniques to large sports data sets.

Sport Psychology Integration Lead

Ellen Schouppe

Ellen Schouppe is joining our team as a research assistant (30%). With her extensive background as a sports psychologist, she will enhance our research efforts and serve as connection to the sports community.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERIES

INCREASED CAUTION AFTER MISSES

After a missed shot professional basketball players are more careful.

DECISION MAKING DURING PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Exploring the inverted U shape: low-intensity physical exercise increases decision making while high intensity training interferes

MODERATE EXERCISE IMPROVES INTEROCEPTION

We demonstrated that people are better at detecting their heart beat when doing moderate physical exercise

DECISION MAKING INTERVENTION

TRAINING ELITE SPORTERS

On the basis of formal decision making models and neural networks we train elite athletes in gaining more control in the decision making process and ultimately in making better decisions.