We have all seen it.  A great athlete has a chance to win a championship.  All that is required for them to do something they have done hundreds of times before…sink a 3 foot putt, make a free throw, kick a 20 year field goal. And they miss!  In this episode I explore the fascinating topic of choking under pressure. Why do some athletes excel in these situations while others fail?  What causes choking and want can an athlete do to prevent it?

Research confessions: Choking under pressure while talking about choking under pressure

 Links to articles discussed:

Test anxiety and direction of attention

Choking under pressure: self-consciousness and paradoxical effects of incentives on skillful performance

Paradoxical effects of supportive audiences on performance under pressure: The home field disadvantage in sports championships

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

Attending to the Execution of a Complex Sensorimotor Skill: Expertise Differences, Choking, and Slumps

On the fragility of skilled performance: what governs choking under pressure?

Knowledge, Knerves and Know-How - the Role of Explicit Versus Implicit Knowledge in the Breakdown of a Complex Motor Skill under Pressure

Changes in putting kinematics associated with choking and excelling under pressure

The influence of anxiety on visual attentional control in basketball free throw shooting

Quiet Eye Training: Effects on Learning and Performance Under Pressure

Choking under pressure: the neuropsychological mechanisms of incentive-induced performance decrements

More information:

http://www.perceptionactionpodcast.libsyn.com/

My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles)

My ASU Web page

Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)

Twitter: @Shakeywaits

Email: [email protected]

Credits:

 The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action

Bellevue – Pressure

Eric & Magill – Don’t Worr

Wyldlife – She’s Making Me Nervous

Mouthbreathers - Anxiety

John Collins – Watching Over Me

Farmertan – Ugly Truth

 via freemusicarchive.org and jamendo.com