Does Guilt Affect Performance? Evidence from Penalty Kicks in Football

Abstract

Does guilt affect performance? In our study, we exploit a new measure of justification for penalty decisions in football and find that unjustified penalty calls negatively impact penalty conversion rates. This effect escalates in relation to social norms of trust. To add a layer of complexity, we incorporate the variance originating from players who do not play in their countries of origin. This allows us to include the norms of both the league and the kickers’ countries of origin. From this, we divide the constraints on egoism into two categories: internal sanctions, such as guilt, and external sanctions, such as shame. Our findings reveal that both guilt and shame significantly influence the performance of penalty kickers.