From Scientific American comes research into avoiding choking under pressure, be it in sports, on the job or anywhere else in your life. Some concepts seem counterintuitive, but have been borne out somewhat by studies.
We choke under pressure because such conditions thwart the normal brain processing of tasks that are so well learned they have become “automatic.”
Trying to concentrate on monitoring the quality of your performance is counterproductive because the cerebellum, which controls complex motor tasks, is not consciously accessible.
Ratcheting up the pressure at your practice sessions is the best way to avoid failing when it counts.
The article is an interesting look at coping mechanism when facing a pressure-packed situation. I found this part very germane to sports:
The best way to make a performance situation feel like rehearsal, says Raôul R. D. Oudejans, a psychologist at Free University Amsterdam, is to subject yourself to the same anxiety-packed conditions during practice that you expect to encounter during your moment in the spotlight.
I imagine that’s why football teams pipe in artificial noise at practice to simulate a hostile crowd. I am curious as to what strategies people use when facing a pressurized situation? I try to calm down and focus on something totally unrelated, which often acts to distract my mind.
Hat tip to Deadspin.
on Feb 12th, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Hmm, we could also ask the advice of porn stars. I mean, they do choke, but not because of crowd pressure…
on Feb 13th, 2009 at 12:49 AM
This is an outstanding article.
Thanks
on Feb 13th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Take a deep breath, remind yourself that you’ve done this hundreds of times before, imagine success, and go.
on Feb 13th, 2009 at 4:10 PM
This makes me think of shooting pool in a tourney, league play bowling, competitive archery/pistol shoots and trap/skeet shooting. If I over think or really even think at all I can screw up but if I just let muscle memory run on auto pilot I kick butt. I guess I am focused and can ignore ambient noise and stuff on the periphery of my vision. I know these are more odd ball activities than sports but are classic times to choke. I am a bit of a yipper (sp?)on my short game at golf and can’t get past that. I am open to any and all suggestions.
Oh, I remember specifically playing baseball in college and not being able to clear my head in a couple games and just stinking it up at the plate. Choke city. Most other times I wasn’t mentally preoccupied (grades and assignments, girls/guys) and picked up some base hits or went yard
I don’t choke playing softball and suspect it’s because I don’t feel the pressure or the need to prove myself.