Choking in Sports
Choking in Sports
Sports Psychology
13 December 2011
Choking
In 2007, Reeves, Tenenbaum, and Lidor conducted research in order to study what causes talented athletes to often fail to perform to the best of their abilities when placed under stressful situations. The purpose of the study was to discover whether athletes who participate in self-consciousness training adapt to pressure situations better than players who do not. To measure this, the researchers examined “choking” during kicking a soccer ball with participants of two different skill levels, low-skill and high-skill. The participants had to complete two different tasks, kicking a soccer penalty and a breakaway. They were placed under two pressure situations, both low and high, and the experimenters also had three different training conditions – single task, dual task, and self-consciousness. The high-skill players were members of a NCAA Division 1 women’s soccer team at a southeastern, United States university with at least ten years playing experience. There were 18 participants in the high-skill group ranging from 18 to 22 years of age. The low-skill players were junior varsity girl soccer players from two southeastern high schools. There were 19 participants in this group, ranging from age 14 to age 16. All of these participants were randomly assigned to one of the three training conditions. On the first day of the experiment, participants were told the purpose of the study and were asked to fill out performance information sheets as well as sign informed consents. Participants then warmed up and began performing the simple task of penalty kicks under low-pressure conditions. Before each kick, participants filled out the part of the psychological grid for that kick, and then performed the task. On the second day, the participants were split into two teams and told they would be competing for a prize. They were told that their competition would be videotaped and that a sports psychologist
Sports Psychology
13 December 2011
Choking
In 2007, Reeves, Tenenbaum, and Lidor conducted research in order to study what causes talented athletes to often fail to perform to the best of their abilities when placed under stressful situations. The purpose of the study was to discover whether athletes who participate in self-consciousness training adapt to pressure situations better than players who do not. To measure this, the researchers examined “choking” during kicking a soccer ball with participants of two different skill levels, low-skill and high-skill. The participants had to complete two different tasks, kicking a soccer penalty and a breakaway. They were placed under two pressure situations, both low and high, and the experimenters also had three different training conditions – single task, dual task, and self-consciousness. The high-skill players were members of a NCAA Division 1 women’s soccer team at a southeastern, United States university with at least ten years playing experience. There were 18 participants in the high-skill group ranging from 18 to 22 years of age. The low-skill players were junior varsity girl soccer players from two southeastern high schools. There were 19 participants in this group, ranging from age 14 to age 16. All of these participants were randomly assigned to one of the three training conditions. On the first day of the experiment, participants were told the purpose of the study and were asked to fill out performance information sheets as well as sign informed consents. Participants then warmed up and began performing the simple task of penalty kicks under low-pressure conditions. Before each kick, participants filled out the part of the psychological grid for that kick, and then performed the task. On the second day, the participants were split into two teams and told they would be competing for a prize. They were told that their competition would be videotaped and that a sports psychologist
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