Many athletes suffer from yips, which is defined as “a psycho-neuromuscular movement disorder, which affects sports in which fine motor precision skills (Clarke et al., 2015, p. 156).” Yips is one reason for significant performance decrements in sports. Several case studies, surveys, and experimental studies have been conducted to clarify this phenomenon. These studies can increase the understanding of yips and help athletes, coaches, and practitioners improve this problem during practice and competitions. Therefore, we reviewed 62 articles published from 1981 to 2021 reporting assessment, symptoms, and treatments of yips in sports. As a result, we identified four types of assessments: (1) self-assessments, (2) observations by others, (3) kinematic and physiological assessments using motion capture and electromyography, and (4) responding to assessment scales. The studies were also categorized in terms of symptoms, as psychological (e.g., anxiety, attention, and personality) and physio-behavioral (e.g., kinematics, muscular activity, and brain activity). The studies on yips treatment could be classified into imagery techniques, pharmacotherapy, and other psychological skills. Furthermore, specific studies indicated post-traumatic psychological growth through yips experiences. The implications of these studies for future research on yips are discussed based on this review.

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Interpersonal synchronization in competitions has been proposed according to the result of an analysis of a race in which a 100-meter sprint world record was set; however, the phenomenon has not been experimentally verified. In this study, we investigated this phenomenon using a simple reciprocating movement of the body in a laboratory setting. Synchronization was examined from the relative phase values obtained from the normalized time-series coordinate data of the two participants who engaged in periodic movement of the arms (participating in competition with one another). The results showed that, in trials where in-phase or anti-phase synchronization occurred, three patterns emerged: the movement time (MT) of both subjects decreased, the MT of both subjects increased, and the MT of one subject decreased and the MT of the other subject increased. The relationship between synchronization and MT in competition, as shown by the results, is not uniform and has not yet been clarified; however, it shows that synchronization occurs between two subjects in competition, despite being thought to move independently.

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The purpose of this study was to develop the Emotion Regulation Strategies scales in Sports competition (ERSS), and to investigate the patterns of tendency to use emotion regulation strategies during games with the competition results. In Study 1, a total of 513 athletes were investigated using a preliminary scale, and through exploratory factor analysis, six factors (positive refocusing, self-blame, conversion of viewpoint, emotional suppression, problem-solving, and rumination) were extracted, and the ERSS was developed. In Study 2, a total of 327 athletes, who different from the subjects in Study 1, completed the ERSS to confirm its validity, together with its related scales. All the subscales correlated with their relevant subscales in the expected directions, and the test–retest reliability was .41–.71 (p < .01). In addition, we analyzed ERSS subscale scores with cluster analysis, and the participants were classified into four clusters. The first cluster consisted of athletes who were more likely to use all the emotion regulation strategies; the second cluster consisted of athletes who were less likely to use all the strategies; the third cluster consisted of athletes who were more likely to use positive refocusing; and the fourth cluster consisted of athletes who were more likely to use problem-solving and emotional suppression. We conducted a chi-square test to investigate the association between the clusters and the level of competition. While we found no significant differences in any of them, we did identify a marginally significant difference in the first cluster.

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