This study examines the relationship between emotion recognition, eating attitudes, and eating disorders. It aims to reveal how environmental factors and individual perceptions can affect both team and individual performance in athletes. In this context, the study also seeks to demonstrate the effects of impairments in emotion recognition processes on competitive performance. The study specifically intends to investigate the relationship between eating disorders—developed in athletes through punishment avoidance and reward expectation—and impairments in emotion recognition processes. By uncovering the effects of these impairments on team and individual performance, it aims to lay the foundation for future cognitive intervention programs. A biopsychosocial human being, in addition to movement and eating, needs relationships and interaction with others to survive. Therefore, one of the ways to maintain survival in an environment is to recognize and understand emotions. Although these topics have mostly been studied separately in the literature, there is no study that simultaneously addresses emotion recognition, eating attitudes, approach to reward, and avoidance of punishment. Thus, this study examines the differences between individual and team athletes in terms of emotion recognition, the behavioral inhibition/activation system, and eating attitudes. The study was conducted with participants aged 18–25, including 28 individual athletes and 30 team athletes who have been competing professionally for at least six months. To measure the participants' emotion recognition performance, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test was administered; to evaluate reward approach and punishment avoidance scores, the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System Test was used; and to assess eating attitudes, the Eating Attitudes-40 Test was applied. The Independent Samples T-Test was used to determine the differences between groups, and the Pearson Correlation Analysis was used to evaluate the relationships among the variables. According to the findings, no significant differences were found between individual and team athletes in terms of Reading the Mind in the Eyes, Behavioral Inhibition, Reward Sensitivity, Fun-Seeking, and Impulsivity, while individual athletes scored higher in eating attitudes compared to team athletes. Moreover, a positive relationship was detected between Reward Sensitivity and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, and a positive relationship was also observed between Fun-Seeking and Reward Sensitivity. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that while individual and team athletes exhibit similarities in their cognitive and emotional processes, there are notable differences in eating attitudes. By examining the relationship between sports and individuals' reward sensitivity, emotion recognition, and eating attitude processes, the study makes an important contribution to the literature.