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Investigating Stress-relaxation and Failure Responses in the Trachea
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Choking under pressure: multiple routes to skill failure.

Marci S DeCaro1, Robin D Thomas, Neil B Albert

  • 1Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA. marci.decaro@vanderbilt.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|May 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Choking under pressure occurs due to distraction or explicit monitoring, impacting skills differently based on working memory and attentional control demands. Understanding these mechanisms helps prevent performance decrements.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Performance Psychology

Background:

  • Choking under pressure is explained by distraction theories (task-irrelevant thoughts) and explicit monitoring theories (disruptive self-focus).
  • The specific conditions under which each theory applies remain unclear.
  • Pressure situations can differentially affect skills based on working memory and attentional control requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how different types of pressure influence performance by inducing either distraction or explicit monitoring.
  • To determine how these pressure-induced mechanisms selectively impair or benefit different types of cognitive skills.
  • To develop interventions to mitigate choking under pressure.

Main Methods:

  • Four experiments were conducted using category learning and a serial reaction time task.
  • Pressure was manipulated to induce either distraction (performance-contingent outcomes) or explicit monitoring (monitoring by others).
  • Performance was assessed on tasks varying in their reliance on working memory and attentional control.

Main Results:

  • Pressure inducing distraction impaired rule-based category learning, which requires high attentional control.
  • Pressure inducing explicit monitoring impaired information-integration category learning, which benefits from less working memory load.
  • Interventions based on these findings were designed to reduce choking.
  • Selective effects of monitoring pressure were replicated in a serial reaction time task.

Conclusions:

  • The type of pressure and its impact on attentional control and working memory are critical factors in performance under pressure.
  • Distraction harms tasks high in attentional control demands, while explicit monitoring harms tasks low in such demands.
  • Tailoring interventions to the specific pressure mechanism can prevent choking and improve performance.