Psychology of the Hot Hand (HV+)

The coaching implications of hot hands and heat checks

The original hot hand study

In 1985, Thomas Gilovich, Robert Vallone, and Amos Tversky examined the “hot hand” in an academic paper that became the key piece of literature on the subject.

The original study was conducted in a controlled environment — members of the Cornell men’s and women’s basketball teams shot free throws. In the study, the researchers …