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The Guardian:
Why finishing as runner up may be the worst place of all

16 July 2016

British athletes heading for the Rio Olympics next month will be dreaming of winning a gold medal. But those who cannot bag the top spot may find they are happier with a bronze than coming second. For those who do end up with silver, it might have been better for their mental state if they had been soundly beaten - sometimes, it seems, it is better to lose by a lot than a little. New research suggests that athletes' perception of their achievements is dependent on what they think might have been. A team at the Centre for Economic Performance, based at the London School of Economics, examined the perceived happiness levels of Team Great Britain medallists at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

This article was published by The Guardian on July 16, 2016
Link to article here

Related publications
Without My medal on My Mind: Counterfactual Thinking and Other Determinants of Athlete Emotions, Paul Dolan, Chloe Foy, Georgios Kavetsos and Laura Kudrna, Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No.1436, June 2016

Related links
Georgios Kavetsos webpage
Paul Dolan webpage
Wellbeing Programme webpage

Read more... The Guardian