What is Complacency in Sport Performance?
With Liverpools run in to the league title one challenge for the team and coach is complacency. Complacency is a psychological state where an athlete or team becomes overly comfortable, leading to a decrease in effort, focus, or intensity. It often stems from past successes, underestimating an opponent, or feeling secure in a position.
Academic research links complacency to self-regulation failure (Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996) and overconfidence bias (Moore & Healy, 2008), where individuals misjudge their preparedness or skill level. From a sport psychology perspective, complacency can manifest as reduced attention to detail, lack of urgency, or failure to adapt to new challenges.
The Function of Complacency: A Functional Contextualist Perspective
According to Functional Contextualism, a core principle of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), all behaviors serve a function in a given context. Complacency is no exception—it is often a natural response to success, acting as a psychological shortcut to conserve energy or reduce perceived threats.
For example, after a big win, a player might subconsciously ease off in training, assuming their past effort was enough. Or a team facing a perceived weaker opponent might not prepare with the same intensity as they would for a top-ranked rival. In this way, complacency can be seen as an adaptive response—but only if the context justifies it.
How to Spot Complacency in Your Team
Over the next few weeks, consider potential moments where complacency might creep in:
- Fixture difficulty shifts: A game against a lesser-ranked opponent following a high-stakes match against a top team.
- Travel fatigue: Playing away from home for two consecutive weeks, leading to reduced preparation intensity.
- Recognition & rewards: A player receiving “Player of the Match” and unconsciously dropping their intensity in training.
- Momentum shifts: A winning streak causing a false sense of security, leading to decreased urgency in preparation.
One way to proactively plan for these moments is by mapping out the next six weeks and identifying key psychological flashpoints where complacency might emerge. By anticipating these risks, teams can adjust their preparation and mindset accordingly.
What to Do About It: The Challenge vs. Threat State
To counter complacency, we can apply Challenge vs. Threat Theory (Jones et al., 2009). A challenge state occurs when an athlete views a situation as an opportunity to grow, while a threat state arises when they feel overwhelmed or defensive.
To keep players in a challenge mindset, set weekly themes and challenges to maintain freshness and engagement:
- Week 1: Focus on execution under fatigue (if travel is a factor).
- Week 2: Create internal competition in training to avoid overconfidence.
- Week 3: Mental reset after a big game—shift focus to controllables.
- Week 4: Tactical adaptability—adjusting to a different opponent style.
- Week 5: Leadership challenge—task senior players with setting intensity.
- Week 6: Mastery focus—review key learnings from the previous weeks.
By integrating these themes, teams maintain psychological sharpness and avoid the drop in intensity that comes with complacency.
Final Thought
Complacency is not simply a lack of motivation—it is a function of past success and context. The best teams recognize when it might appear and implement strategies to stay in a challenge state. By planning ahead, setting weekly challenges, and reframing complacency as a psychological habit to manage, teams can maintain consistent performance regardless of external circumstances.
