Experienced Golfers’ Perspectives on Choking Under Pressure

Abstract

Although researchers have experimentally examined the mechanisms underlying pressure-induced forms of suboptimal performance, or "choking under pressure," there is a lack of research exploring the personal experience of this phenomenon. In an attempt to fill this void in the literature, this study explored experienced golfers' perceptions of the choking experience within a personal construct psychology (Kelly, 1955/1991) framework. Both male and female golfers participated in either a focus group (n = 12; all males) or one-on-one interview (n = 10; female = 7, male = 3) using experience cycle methodology (Oades & Viney, 2000) to describe their perceptions of the choking experience. Discussions were transcribed verbatim and subsequently analyzed using grounded theory analytical techniques (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Analyses revealed five central categories representing the personal experience of choking under pressure: antecedents, personal investment, choking event, consequences, and learning experiences. The findings reported here suggest that the choking phenomenon, which can involve acute or chronic bouts of suboptimal performance (relative to the performance expectations of the athlete), is a complex process involving the interplay of several cognitive, attentional, emotional, and situational factors. Implications of the findings for a construct definition of choking are discussed, and several applied considerations are offered.

Thoughts and attention of athletes under pressure: skill-focus or performance worries?

“…This resulted in a list of 431 statements, thus, about six on average per report, ranging between 2 and 21. On the basis of several possibilities for attentional focus as reported in the literature (e.g., Gucciardi et al, 2010;Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000;Jackson et al, 2006;Kirschenbaum, 1987;Mesagno et al, 2008Mesagno et al, , 2009, each statement was categorized in one of the five following categories: movement execution (statements that concerned skill-focus); worries (statements that concerned distracting thoughts and worries); external task-relevant (e.g., statements concerning the ball or the opponent); external task-irrelevant (e.g., statements concerning the audience or cameras); and positive monitoring. ''Positive monitoring'' is a positive form of internal attention referring to positive self-talk statements as well as statements about the attentional focus that athletes adopt to enhance concentration and performance (e.g., I focus on my strengths, I make sure to look confident, I make sure that I work harder, I concentrate on my breathing).…”

“…To be able to prevent choking, it is important to understand the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. There is converging evidence that pressure-induced anxiety causes shifts in attention that lead to decrements in performance (e.g., Behan & Wilson, 2008;Gucciardi et al, 2010;Murray & Janelle, 2003;Nieuwenhuys, Pijpers, Oudejans, & Bakker, 2008;Pijpers, Oudejans, Bakker, & Beek, 2006;Vickers & Williams, 2007). With respect to perceptual-motor tasks, self-focus theories claim that with increased anxiety there are shifts in attention to internal matters.…”

“…Because it is difficult, if not impossible, to directly measure focus of attention in a competitive sports setting, two retrospective methods were employed (cf. Edwards et al, 2002;Gucciardi et al, 2010;Hill et al, 2009). The first method concerned a verbal report questionnaire similar to the Verbal Thought Questionnaire that was used to map the thoughts of individuals during a high-pressure test (Beilock, Kulp, Holt, & Carr, 2004).…”

“…Findings were again obtained in an experimental setting as well as with only three expert bowlers and three basketball players, respectively. Gucciardi et al (2010) investigated choking and accompanying thoughts and attention of expert golf players. The results provided most support for the occurrence of distracting thoughts and worries prior to and during choking.…”

“…Recently, Hill, Hanton, Fleming, and Matthews (2009) provided a contemporary definition of choking on the basis of the opinion of expert applied sport psychologists: ''Choking in sport is a process whereby the individual perceives that their resources are insufficient to meet the demands of the situation, and concludes with a significant drop in performance Á a choke' ' (p. 206;cf. Beilock & Gray, 2007;Gucciardi, Longbottom, Jackson, & Dimmock, 2010;Hill, Hanton, Matthews, & Fleming, 2010). To be able to prevent choking, it is important to understand the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.…”