The usefulness of the useless: How ritualized behavior improves self-control under competition pressure

Pre-match ritualized behavior have long been a topic of study in applied sport psychology. However, most of the above studies focus on pre-established rituals that make it difficult to explore the clear causal relationship of the ritualized behavior, particularly its underlying mechanisms. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of athletes' ritualized behavior on self-control under competition pressure. One hundred and forty-six college athletes were recruited. This study used a two-factor between design 2 (competition pressure: low vs. high) x 3 (behavior type: ritualized behavior vs. random behavior vs. control group). Based on the Shooter-type Go/No-go task, the dependent variable was the average number of loops and the error rates of 10-meter air pistol task in virtual reality. We found that ritualized behavior had a moderate impact on the average number of loops [F(1, 140) = 5.13, p = .007, eta(2)(p) = 0.068] and error rates [F(2, 140) = 11.29, p < .001, eta(2)(p) = 0.139], and it was more beneficial for error rate under competition pressure [F(2, 140) = 3.18, p = .045, eta(2)(p) = 0.043], while the symbolic meaning of ritualized behavior promotes self-control by improving self-efficacy and autonomous motivation via a top-down processing system. The psychological feature of ritualized behavior may serve as an important explanatory mechanism for its enhancing effect on self-control under competition pressure. This study supports and integrates the Precaution Theory and Self-determination Theory. In the future, researchers can design unique ritualized behaviors based on embodied cognition to help athletes in different sports groups.Lay Summary: In the arena, the audience cannot only see the athletes' wonderful sports movements, but also, all kinds of ritualized behaviors. Through engaging in ritualized behavior as a "pregame booster", athletes can improve self-control on shooting performance. Compared with the low-pressure situation, ritualized behavior was more beneficial for self-control under high competition pressure situations.