A sophomore slump or sophomore jinx or sophomore jitters refers to an instance in which a second, or
sophomore, effort fails to live up to the relatively high standards of the first effort.
It is commonly used to refer to the apathy of students (second year of high school, college or university), the performance of athletes (second season of play), singers/bands (second
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
), television shows (second seasons), films and video games (sequels/prequels).
In the United Kingdom, the "sophomore slump" is more commonly referred to as "second year blues", particularly when describing university students. In Australia, it is known as "second year syndrome", and is particularly common when referring to professional athletes who have a mediocre second season following a stellar debut.
The phenomenon of a "sophomore slump" can be explained psychologically, where earlier success has a reducing effect on the subsequent effort, but it can also be explained statistically, as an effect of the
regression towards the mean
In statistics, regression toward the mean (also called reversion to the mean, and reversion to mediocrity) is the fact that if one sample of a random variable is extreme, the next sampling of the same random variable is likely to be closer to ...
.
Industry-specific terms
In music, a similar trend to the sophomore slump is the difficult second album, difficult third album, or second album syndrome, which is often characterized by struggles in changing musical style. Examples include
the Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
' ''
Waiting for the Sun
''Waiting for the Sun'' is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors. The album's 11 tracks were recorded between January and May 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles. Released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968, it became the ba ...
'',
's ''
Beat Crazy
''Beat Crazy'' is the third album by Joe Jackson, released in October 1980 and credited to the Joe Jackson Band. It was a relative disappointment commercially, peaking outside the Top 40 in both the UK and the United States, with its singles ...
'',
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
' ''
The Sky's Gone Out
''The Sky's Gone Out'' is the third studio album by English gothic rock band Bauhaus, released in 1982 by record label Beggars Banquet.
Music
''NME'' said about the music: "inger Peter Murphy comes across like David Bowie imitating Jacques Bre ...
'', and
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
's ''
Revelations''.
Artists such as
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...
,
Dr. Strangely Strange
Dr. Strangely Strange are an Irish experimental folk group, formed in Dublin in 1967 by Tim Booth (born 6 September 1943, County Kildare, Ireland), vocals and guitar, and Ivan Pawle (born 17 August 1943, England), bass and keyboards.
Career
A ...
,
Black Reindeer,
Roddy Ricch
Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (born October 22, 1998), known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame in 2018 with his single, " Die Young", which peaked at number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...
' ''
Live Life Fast
''Live Life Fast'' (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by American rapper Roddy Ricch. It was released on December 17, 2021, through Atlantic Records and Bird Vision Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Future, ...
'', and more recently
Jack Harlow
Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. He started his career in 2015 and released several EPs and mixtapes before he was signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now in 201 ...
' ''
Come Home the Kids Miss You
''Come Home the Kids Miss You'' is the second studio album by American rapper Jack Harlow. It was released on May 6, 2022 through Generation Now and Atlantic Records. The production was handled by multiple producers including Harlow himself, Phar ...
'' have referenced the effect in their respective album titles and artwork. American
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Grandaddy
Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden, until Garcia's death in 2017 following a stroke.
After several ...
used a
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
for their second album, titled
The Sophtware Slump
''The Sophtware Slump'' is the second studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy. It was released in May 2000 by record label V2. It is seen by some as a concept album about problems concerning modern technology in society. The album was ...
.
In
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
, second season syndrome is the phrase that is used to describe a downturn in fortunes for a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club in its second season after its promotion to the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, particularly if the first season after promotion had brought a strong finish.
See also
*
Regression toward the mean
*
Second-system effect
The second-system effect or second-system syndrome is the tendency of small, elegant, and successful systems to be succeeded by over-engineered, bloated systems, due to inflated expectations and overconfidence.
The phrase was first used by Fred ...
External links
oward Wainer (2007), "The Most Dangerous Equation", ''American Scientist'' 95
References
English phrases
Terminology used in multiple sports
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