Higher, Faster, Further: Performance Heterogeneity and Social Facilitation in Professional Track and Field

Finn Spilker

Journal of Sports Economics, 2025, vol. 26, issue 3, 268-289

Abstract: To explore the effects of COVID-19-related spectator variations on elite track and field athletes, the current article measures individual outcomes according to World Athletics Scores and then leverages these measures in fixed effects regression models to gauge athletes’ performance. Using a dataset of 5284 observations over 6 years and controlling for athlete, venue, and discipline fixed effects, as well as competition characteristics, we address task complexity and task experience. Thereby, we establish that field (in more complex tasks) but not track athletes (in simpler tasks) benefit from spectator exclusion. Furthermore, younger rather than older (more experienced) track athletes benefit from the lack of spectators, implying that experienced athletes handle social pressure better.

Keywords: social pressure; attendance; individual outcome; spectator effects; home advantage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jospec:v:26:y:2025:i:3:p:268-289

DOI: 10.1177/15270025241289403

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