Choking interventions in sports: A systematic review

Abstract

Choking under pressure describes suboptimal sport performance in stressful situations, which has led to two fundamental 'choking' models: distraction and self-focus. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of empirical studies that have tested interventions used to alleviate choking. The systematic review includes 47 empirical studies published up to April 2017, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and single-case studies with athletes. These studies encompassed a variety of interventions (n = 13) that were either distraction based or self-focus based. In addition, a third group -acclimatisation interventions -was identified. The results indicate that, in general, choking interventions based on both choking models and on acclimatisation provide a benefit to performance under pressure. The most reported effective interventions were pre-performance routines, quiet eye training, left-hand contractions, and acclimatisation training. The use of dual task was beneficial for performance under pressure but harmful when used in training. Mixed evidence was found for analogy learning, and null effects were reported for goal setting, neurofeedback training, and reappraisal cues. These results may help athletes and coaches select and implement effective strategies and methods to improve performance under pressure. ARTICLE HISTORY

Pressure training for performance domains: A meta-analysis.

“…Therefore, PT enhances 95 existing training rather than introducing a completely new and unfamiliar exercise. 96 Systematic reviews have supported the effectiveness of PT (Gröpel & Mesagno, 2017 Gröpel and Mesagno (2017) also reveals a need to 110 more thoroughly assess PT research. These two reviews included only one of the same PT 111 learned from each other to improve training (Arora et al, 2009;Hanton et al, 2005).…”

Investigating cumulative effects of pre-performance routine interventions in beach volleyball serving

“…Participants might have become accustomed to being filmed while performing. In future studies, a more effective method (or a combination of methods) of pressure induction should be applied, such as simulation of a competitive situation or the presence of audience [7]. In light of the ineffective pressure manipulation, the independent and cumulative PPR effects are discussed under general (i.e., no pressure) conditions since this adds to the current literature.…”

“…Researchers have identified that performance of various skill levels can be improved through PPR use, with positive effects evidenced both in low-pressure and pressurized situations [7,12]. Lidor and Mayan [18] in this context reported that novice volleyball players who used a behavioral PPR were more accurate in their serves than control participants who used technical instructions.…”

“…Athletes, who experience choking, are assumed either to be distracted from (e.g., [2,3]), or too focused on (e.g., [1,4,5]), the execution of their action (see [6] for a review of choking theories). To improve attentional focus and thus help performance under pressure, different preparation strategies have been proposed as possible interventions (see [7] for a review on choking interventions). These interventions have been largely tested in isolation, but, recently, researchers have begun to combine the interventions and test possible cumulative effects [8,9].…”

“…It has been suggested that a combination of different interventions can have great benefits for sport performances [7] but empirical studies testing this proposition are rare. Valuable exceptions are the work by Mesagno and Mullane-Grant [20], who observed that combining different PPR elements is more effective than using the respective elements in isolation, and more recently Mesagno and colleagues [9], who combined PPRs with post-performance routines.…”