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: robgray@asu.edu
 
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