Setting the scientific stage for esports psychology: A systematic review

This systematic review examined the psychological foundations of esports performance and positioned esports as a relevant domain for sport and exercise psychology. The review synthesized 52 empirical studies on cognitive and game performance, showing that esports expertise is shaped by the interaction of cognitive processes, in-game skills, training habits, and psychosocial factors. Key findings highlighted the role of working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, perceptual-motor expertise, decision-making, and adaptation across different esports titles. The review also emphasized that game-specific performance indicators, such as rankings, results, KDA, gold per minute, action latency, and telemetry data, should be interpreted carefully and linked to the specific demands of each game.

Citation: Pedraza-Ramirez, I., Musculus, L., Raab, M., & Laborde, S. (2020). Setting the scientific stage for esports psychology: a systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 13(1), 319–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2020.1723122 

Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1723122