Do performance enhancers give an athlete a psychological advantage as well as a physical one? – Secondary 11

Question: Do performance enhancers give an athlete a psychological advantage as well as a physical one?
- Keywords:
  athlete,
  physical,
  psychology,
  sports doping
Asked by gio777 to John on 22 Jun 2012.
- John Perry answered on 22 Jun 2012:
  
  That’s a good question, @gio777. It’s also one that I have never thought of before.
  
  I suppose the answer is yes. Confidence has a clear, positive effect on sports performance and you would expect that someone who had been taking performance enhancing drugs would have a greater belief that they would be successful than if they had not taken them – or they wouldn’t have taken them.
  
  There are of course many negative psychological affects of drugs as well. The increased aggression may well have a negative effect on an athlete’s ability to relax, which is typically related to a good performance.
  
  John

gio777 commented on 27 Jun 2012:

Thanks John! Very helpful answer – so far you have my vote.

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Question: Do performance enhancers give an athlete a psychological advantage as well as a physical one?