Cognitive Functioning in individual sports vs. team sports

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/cpd.696371
Keywords: executive functions, working memory, cognitive flexibility, neuropsychology, athletes

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Abstract

Success in sports depends on physical, technical, tactical, and cognitive factors, the latter allowing athletes to attend to, process, analyze, and use information from their environment to solve problems. Each sport has different cognitive demands, which can be grouped into individual and team disciplines. The literature has shown that there are differences in executive functioning between athletes from different sports; however, these differences generally use other classifications. The objective of this study was to compare executive function performance between team sport athletes and individual sport athletes. Fifty 14-year-old athletes from various disciplines were evaluated using three tests from the BANFE-2. The results showed significant differences between the two groups. Team sport athletes scored higher on cognitive flexibility (t=3.40; p < 0.001; d= 0.96). In contrast, individual athletes performed better in decision-making compared to team athletes (t= -2.64; p<0.01; d= -0.74), while no significant differences in inhibitory control were identified between the two groups. The findings suggest that the type of sport practiced is associated with specific EF profiles, with team sports favoring cognitive adaptability in dynamic environments, while individual sports enhance accurate evaluation and self-control processes. These results provide evidence from the Latin American context on the relationship between sports and cognitive development.

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Author Biography

Xóchitl Angélica Ortiz-Jiménez, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León

PhD in Psychology from the Complutense University of Madrid. She is a full-time professor-researcher and deputy director of postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Psychology of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León. Her area of expertise is Clinical Neuropsychology, especially the assessment and rehabilitation of patients with brain damage. She founded the Animal-Assisted Therapy Service at USP in 2012. She has won several research awards, including the UANL Award in 2015 in the area of Humanities and Behavioral Science, as well as awards for young researchers with her undergraduate students. She belongs to the National System of Researchers at Level I, is a member of various national and international societies such as the International Neuropsychological Society, and serves on the scientific committees of international journals such as Frontiers in Psychology.

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Published
22-04-2026
How to Cite
Gómez-Rosales, A. de J., Ortiz-Jiménez, X. A., & Barradas-Chacón, L. A. (2026). Cognitive Functioning in individual sports vs. team sports. Sport Psychology Notebooks, 26(2), 193–208. https://doi.org/10.6018/cpd.696371
Issue
Vol. 26 No. 2 (2026): CPD2(2026)
Section
Psicología del Deporte

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