Sports perfomance and cognition

• Pressure


  Causes choking
• Moderators of pressure and performance

  • self-consciousness
  • dispositional reinvestment
  • trait anxiety
  • self-confidence
  • skill level
  • task properties
  • the presence of an audience
  • stereotype threat
  • coping style
  • public status
• Assumption has been that performance is worse in high pressure condition
• Manipulations of pressure


  • Non-contingent feedback about poor performance
  • Highlighting consequences of poor performance
  • Performing in front of others
• The association between pressure and anxiety is often smaller than assumed
• Pressure induced through performance-contingent monetary incentive

  Did not increase either cognitive or somatic anxiety, but was associated with enhanced performance
• It seems how pressure is interpreted matters. Perceptions of 'what is at stake' vary across individuals.
• Pressure produced by a competitive scenario does not usually remain constant
• The assumed causal sequence between pressure and anxiety is dynamic and interactive than sequential
• Pressure influences performance, and performance influences perceived pressure
• The issue of dependence vs independence of performance over time is controversial
• Evidence for 'hot hand' effect in basketball

  • Gilovich et al. (1985) concluded it was a myth, but a re-analysis showed clear evidence
  • Yaari and Eisenmann (2011) found success rate for the second throw was higher following a successful first throw
• Some tennis players performed better on high-pressure points and had greater overall career success, while others showed no effects or the opposite
• Expert performance


  Becomes 'proceduralised' and does not require the same degree of attention and control as at lower levels of practice
• Theoretical Frameworks


  • Drive theories
  • Attentional theories
  • Self focus theories
• Theoretical explanations for choking

  • Arousal/ Drive Theories
  • Attentional Theories
• Self-focus theories of choking


  Pressure situation increases anxiety and self-consciousness, which increases attention paid to skill processes and their step-by-step control, leading to performance disruption
• Evidence of expert 'skill focus' under pressure in real world settings is not robust
• Attentional Control Theory (ACT)

  • Distinguishes between performance effectiveness (quality of performance) and processing efficiency (relationship between performance effectiveness and resources used)
  • Anxiety impairs processing efficiency more than performance effectiveness, by increasing the influence of the stimulus-driven attentional system and reducing that of the goal-directed system
  • Negative effects of anxiety on processing efficiency are mediated by the working memory system, especially the central executive functions of inhibition and shifting