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Using imagined partners to enhance esports performance

  • Samuel Thomas Forlenza ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: March 1, 2023

Abstract

With the growing popularity of esports, performance psychology consultants – and players themselves – are looking at how esports athletes can perform better. Many esports are team-based, meaning that performance depends not just on an individual’s skill level, but on how well each individual works with their teammates. While several group dynamics processes have been identified in esports settings that could play a role in team performance, these processes may also affect individuals. Esports athletes can use imagery to simulate partner and team interactions to help improve their individual performance, in turn helping their team succeed. This article will outline relevant group dynamics processes that affect esports teams and individuals, discuss how esports athletes can combine imagery with group dynamics, and close with several recommendations for using imagined teammates to enhance effort and performance.


Corresponding author: Samuel Thomas Forlenza, Exercise Science, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA, USA, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: None declared.

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

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Received: 2022-09-30
Accepted: 2023-02-15
Published Online: 2023-03-01

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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