Thinking about Choking? Attentional Processes and Paradoxical Performance

Abstract

When pressure to perform is increased, individuals commonly perform worse than if there were no pressure ("choking under pressure'). Two mechanisms have been proposed to account for this effect-distraction (cognitive load), wherein pressure distracts attention from the task, and self focus, wherein attention shifts inward interfering with performance. To distinguish between these two competing explanations, the current experiment manipulated pressure by offering performance-contingent rewards. For half the participants, cognitive load was increased by requiring participants to count backward from 100. Additionally, adaptation to self awareness was manipulated by videotaping half the participants during practice trials. Results show that pressure caused choking when participants were not distracted and had not been adapted to self awareness. This effect was attenuated when cognitive load was increased or when self-awareness adaptation had occurred. These results support self focus mediated misregulation as the mechanism for choking and disconfirm the distraction hypothesis.

Learning by Analogies: Implications for Performance and Attentional Processes Under Pressure

“…Distraction theories suppose that pressure creates a distracting environment that shifts attention away from skill execution to task irrelevant cues, for example, worries about the situation [e.g. 5,[6][7][8]. On the contrary, self-focus theories (also termed explicit monitoring theories) suggest that performance pressure raises self-consciousness and causes the expert performer to pay attention to the process of performing and its step by step control [e.g.…”

“…On the contrary, self-focus theories (also termed explicit monitoring theories) suggest that performance pressure raises self-consciousness and causes the expert performer to pay attention to the process of performing and its step by step control [e.g. 1,2,8]. These contrasting predictions about the underlying processes of choking under pressure have been addressed in many studies.…”

Attention et performance sportive : état de la question en psychologie du sport appliquée

“…Au contraire, si la tâche est de faible difficulté sur le plan cognitif, l'anxiété cognitive pourra avoir des effets positifs sur la performance, en jouant un rôle de monitoring, favorable à une quantité d'effort investie plus importante. L'autre grande catégorie de théories explicatives, les théories du contrôle explicite (« explicit monitoring theories »), suggèrent que la pression, facteur d'anxiété et de gêne, augmente l'attention portée à l'exécution de la tâche car l'individu cherche à contrôler chaque étape du processus (Baumeister, 1984 ;Lewis et Linder, 1997). Si les habiletés des experts sont automatisées, cette augmentation de l'attention portée sur le geste provoque le passage d'un contrôle inconscient à un contrôle conscient qui déstabilise ces acquisitions.…”

Competing Under Pressure: State Anxiety, Sports Performance and Assessment

“…The conscious processing hypothesis, sometimes also referred to as selffocused hypothesis or explicit monitoring (Beilock & Carr, 2001) has to date received increasing support as an explanation for performance deteriorations of anxiety in sports (Beilock & Carr, 2001;Beilock, Carr, MacMahon, & Starkes, 2002;Beilock, Wierenga, & Carr, 2002;Lewis & Linder, 1997;Mullen & Hardy, 2000;Pijpers, Oudejans, & Bakker, 2005;Pijpers, Oudejans, Holsheimer, & Bakker, 2003). The idea behind the hypothesis comes from theories on skill acquisition, suggesting that development of skills proceeds through different cognitive phases.…”

“…In sport psychology research, support has been presented particularly for the conscious processing hypothesis (Beilock & Carr, 2001;Beilock et al, 2002a,b;Lewis & Linder, 1997;Mullen & Hardy, 2000;Pijpers et al, 2003Pijpers et al, , 2005, which states that harmful effects on motor-tasks result when anxiety increases selffocus and thereby athletes' attempts to consciously control well-learned movements. Thus, this "self-focus" mechanism is included in the model as one possible explanation.…”