What do economics, psychology, and soccer have in common? It may sound like the opening of a joke, but the "4th Biennial Conference on the Economics and Psychology of Football" deals with just those three topics in a serious light every two years shortly before or during the European World Championships and World Cups.

(© picture-alliance/dpa)

This year around 40 researchers from 13 countries will be attending the conference to discuss topics such as the behavior of players, trainers, managers, and fans; their judgement and decision-making processes; who bears the costs of corruption; and the impact of "calciopoli" on fans and players in Italy. The conference, which runs from June 28 to 30, is organized by the Institute of Sports and Sports Sciences (ISSW) of Heidelberg University and the Institute of Cognitive Team/Racket Sport Research of the German Sport University of Cologne.
Three keynote speakers will give lectures on topics such as home advantage and the causes of wrong offside decisions. Participants in the fields of sport sciences, psychology, and economics will all be represented, but it is a topic with broad appeal.
"The event is meant not just for sport scientists but also for economists and psychologists who refer to football topics in their research," said ISSW Sport Psychologist Professor Henning Plessner. "Studying judgemental phenomena in and about football may not only enrich our knowledge of how decisions are made in natural settings, but also provide valuable empirical tests of the validity of judgement and decision-making theories. Such a research endeavor benefits from interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives."

source : germany.info