16,025
Views
125
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Choking in sport: a review

, , &
Pages 24-39 | Received 23 Dec 2008, Published online: 09 Feb 2010

References

  • Baddeley , A.D. 1966 . The capacity for generating information by randomization . Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology , 18 : 199 – 129 .
  • Baumeister , R.F. 1984 . Choking under pressure: Self consciousness and paradoxical effects of incentives on skilful performance . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 46 : 610 – 620 .
  • Baumeister , R.F. , Hamilton , J.C. and Tice , D.M. 1985 . Public versus private expectancy of success: Confidence booster or performance pressure? . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 48 : 1447 – 1457 .
  • Baumeister , R.F. and Showers , C.J. 1986 . A review of paradoxical performance effects: Choking under pressure in sports and mental tests . European Journal of Social Psychology , 16 : 361 – 383 .
  • Beilock , S.L. and Carr , T.H. 2001 . On the fragility of skilled performance: What governs choking under pressure . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 130 : 701 – 725 .
  • Beilock , S.L. and Carr , T.H. 2005 . When high-powered people fail: Working memory and choking under pressure in math . Psychological Science , 16 : 101 – 105 .
  • Beilock , S.L. , Carr , T.H. , MacMahon , C. and Starkes , J.L. 2002 . When paying attention becomes counter-productive: Impact of divided versus skill-focused attention on novice and experienced performance of sensorimotor skills . Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied , 8 : 6 – 16 .
  • Beilock , S.L. and Gray , R. 2007 . “ Why do athletes choke under pressure? ” . In Handbook of sports psychology , 3rd ed , Edited by: Tenenbaum , G. and Eklund , R.C. 425 – 444 . Hoboken : New Jersey. Wiley & Sons .
  • Beilock , S.L. and McConnell , A.R. 2004 . Stereotype threat and sport: Can athletic performance be threatened? . Journal Sport and Exercise Psychology , 26 : 597 – 609 .
  • Beilock , S.L. , Kulp , C.A. , Holt , L.E. and Carr , T.H. 2004 . More on the fragility of choking under pressure in mathematical problem solving . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 133 : 584 – 600 .
  • Beilock , S.L. , Jellison , W.A. , Rydell , R.J. , McConnell , A.R. and Carr , T.H. 2006 . On the causal mechanisms of stereotype threat: Can skills that don't rely heavily on working memory still be threatened? . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 32 : 1059 – 1071 .
  • Bennett , S.J. 2000 . Implicit learning: Should it be used in practice? . International Journal of Sport Psychology , 31 : 542 – 546 .
  • Berry , D.C. and Dienes , Z. 1993 . “ Towards a working characterization of implicit learning ” . In Implicit learning: Theoretical and empirical issues , Edited by: Berry , D.C. and Dienes , Z. 1 – 18 . Hove : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .
  • Carver , C.S. and Scheier , M.F. 1981 . Attention and self-regulation , New York : Springer .
  • Chalabaev , A.S. , Sarrazin , P. , Stone , P. and Cury , J. 2008 . Do achievement goals mediate stereotype threat? An investigation on females' soccer performance . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 30 : 143 – 158 .
  • Clark , T.P. , Tofler , I.R. and Lardon , M.T. 2005 . The sport psychiatrist and golf . Clinics in Sports Medicine , 24 : 959 – 971 .
  • Cooper , C.L. , Dewe , P.J. and O' Driscoll , M. 2001 . Stress and work organizations: A review and critique of theory, research and applications , California : Sage .
  • Cox , R. and Orford , J. 2004 . A qualitative study of the meaning of exercise for people who could be labelled as ‘addicted’ to exercise – Can ‘addiction’ be applied to high frequency exercising? . Addiction Research & Theory , 12 : 167 – 188 .
  • Easterbrook , J.A. 1959 . The effects of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior . Psychological Review , 66 : 183 – 201 .
  • Edwards , T. , Kingston , K. , Hardy , L. and Gould , D. 2002 . A qualitative analysis of catastrophic performances and the associated thoughts, feelings, and emotions . The Sport Psychologist , 16 : 1 – 19 .
  • Eysenck , M.W. and Calvo , M.G. 1992 . Anxiety and performance: The Processing Efficiency Theory . Cognition and Emotion , 6 : 409 – 434 .
  • Fitts , P.M. and Posner , M.T. 1967 . Human performance , Belmont : CA, Brooks/Cole .
  • Gray , R. 2004 . Attending to the execution of complex sensorimotor skill: Expertise differences, choking and slumps . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 10 : 42 – 54 .
  • Grove , J.R. 2004 . Performance slumps in sport: Prevention and coping . Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology , 2 : 833 – 841 .
  • Gucciardi , D.F. and Dimmock , J.A. 2008 . Choking under pressure in sensorimotor skills: Conscious processing or depleted attentional resources? . Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 9 : 45 – 59 .
  • Hardy , L. 1996 . Testing the predictions of the CCM of anxiety and performance . The Sport Psychologist , 10 : 140 – 156 .
  • Hardy , L. , Mullen , R. and Jones , G. 1996 . Knowledge and conscious control of motor actions under stress . British Journal of Psychology , 87 : 621 – 636 .
  • Hardy , L. , Mullen , R. and Martin , N. 2001 . Effect of task-relevant cues and state anxiety on motor performance . Perceptual and Motor Skills , 92 : 943 – 946 .
  • Hardy , L. , Parfitt , G. and Pates , J. 1994 . Performance catastrophes in sport: A test of the hysteresis hypothesis . Journal of Sports Sciences , 12 : 327 – 334 .
  • Hardy , L. , Woodman , T. and Carrington , S. 2004 . Is self-confidence a bias factor in higher-order catastrophe models? An exploratory analysis . Journal of sport and exercise psychology , 2 : 359 – 368 .
  • Hill , D.M. , Hanton , S. , Fleming , S. Matthews , N. 2009 . A re-examination of choking in sport . European Journal of Sport Science , 9 , 203 212 .
  • Jackson , R.C. , Ashford , J.J. and Norsworthy , G. 2006 . Attentional focus, dispositional reinvestment and skilled performance under pressure . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 28 : 49 – 68 .
  • Jones , G. , Hanton , S. and Connaughton , D. 2002 . What is this thing called mental toughness? An investigation of elite sport performers . Journal of Applied Sport Psychology , 14 : 205 – 218 .
  • Jordet , G. 2009 . Why do English players fail in soccer penalty shootouts? A study of team status, self-regulation, and choking under pressure . Journal of Sports Sciences , 2 : 97 – 107 .
  • Jorna , P.G.A.M. 1992 . Spectral analysis of heart rate and psychological state: A review of its validity as a work load index . Biological Psychology , 34 : 237 – 257 .
  • Koedijker , J.M. , Oudejans , R.R.D. and Beek , P.J. 2007 . Explicit rules and direction of attention in learning and performing the table tennis forehand . International Journal of Sport Psychology , 38 : 227 – 244 .
  • Lam , W.K. , Maxwell , J.P. and Masters , R.S.W. 2009 . Analogy versus explicit learning of a modified basketball shooting task: Performance and kinematic outcomes . Journal of Sports Sciences , 27 : 179 – 191 .
  • Law , J. , Masters , R.S.W. , Bray , S.R. , Eves , F. and Bardswell , I. 2003 . Motor performance as a function affability and meta-knowledge . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 25 : 484 – 500 .
  • Lewis , B.P. and Linder , D.E. 1997 . Thinking about choking? Attentional processes and paradoxical performance . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 23 : 937 – 944 .
  • Liao , C. and Masters , R.S.W. 2001 . Analogy learning: A means to implicit motor learning . Journal of Sport Sciences , 19 : 307 – 319 .
  • Liao , C. and Masters , R.S.W. 2002 . Self-focused attention and performance failure under psychological stress . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 24 : 289 – 305 .
  • Masters , R.S.W. 1992 . Knowledge, knerves and know how: The role of explicit versus implicit knowledge in the breakdown of a complex sporting motor skill under pressure . British Journal of Psychology , 83 : 343 – 358 .
  • Masters , R.S.W. 2000 . Theoretical aspects of implicit learning in sport . International Journal of Sport Psychology , 31 : 530 – 541 .
  • Masters , R.S.W. and Maxwell , J. 2008 . The theory of reinvestment . International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 1 : 160 – 184 .
  • Masters , R.S.W. , Poolton , J.M. , Maxwell , J. and Raab , M. 2008 . Implicit motor learning and complex decision making in time-constrained environments . Journal of Motor Behavior , 40 : 71 – 79 .
  • Masters , R.S.W. , Polman , R.C.J. and Hammond , N.V. 1993 . Reinvestment: A dimension of personality implicated in skill breakdown under pressure . Personality and Individual Differences , 14 : 655 – 666 .
  • Mesagno , C. , Marchant , D. and Morris , T. 2008 . A pre-performance routine to alleviate choking in ‘choking-susceptible’ athletes . The Sport Psychologist , 22 : 439 – 457 .
  • Maxwell , J.P. , Masters , R.S.W. and Eves , F.F. 2000 . From novice to no know-how: A longitudinal study of implicit motor learning . Journal of Sports Sciences , 18 : 111 – 120 .
  • Morgan , T.K. and Giacobbi , P.R. 2006 . Towards two grounded theories of the talent development and social support processes of highly successful collegiate athletes . The Sport Psychologist , 20 : 295 – 313 .
  • Mullen , R. , Hardy , L. and Oldham , T. 2007 . Implicit and explicit control of motor actions: Revisiting some early evidence . British Journal of Psychology , 98 : 141 – 156 .
  • Mullen , R. , Hardy , L. and Tattersall , A. 2005 . State anxiety and motor performance: Testing the conscious processing hypothesis . Journal of Sports Sciences , 18 : 785 – 799 .
  • Murray , N.P. and Janelle , C.M. 2003 . Anxiety and performance: A visual search examination of the Processing Efficiency Theory . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 25 : 171 – 187 .
  • Neville , A.M. and Holder , R.L. 1999 . Home advantage in sport: An overview of studies on the advantage of playing at home . Sports Medicine , 28 : 221 – 236 .
  • Pijpers , J.R. , Oudejans , R.R.D. , Holsheimer , F. and Bakker , F.C. 2003 . Anxiety-performance relationships in climbing: A process-orientated approach . Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 4 : 283 – 304 .
  • Pollard , R. 2006 . Home advantage in soccer: Variations in its magnitude and a literature review of the inter-related factors associated with its existence . Journal of Sport Behavior , 29 : 169 – 89 .
  • Poolton , J.M. , Maxwell , J. and Masters , R.S.W. 2004 . Rules for reinvestment . Perceptual and Motor Skills , 99 : 771 – 774 .
  • Poolton , J.M. , Masters , R.S.W. and Maxwell , J. 2006 . The influence of analogy learning on decision making in table tennis: Evidence from behavioral data . Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 7 : 677 – 688 .
  • Sarason , I.G. 1988 . Anxiety, self-preoccupation and attention . Anxiety Research , 1 : 3 – 7 .
  • Schmader , T. and Johns , M. 2003 . Converging evidence that stereotype threat reduces working memory capacity . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 85 : 440 – 452 .
  • Smith , N.C. , Bellamy , M. , Collins , D.J. and Newell , D. 2001 . A test of Processing Efficiency Theory in a team sport context . Journal of Sports Sciences , 19 : 321 – 332 .
  • Smith , A.M. , Malo , S.A. , Laskowski , E.R. , Sabick , M. , Cooney , W.P. Finnie , S.B. 2000 . A multidisciplinary study of the yips phenomenon in golf: An exploratory analysis . Sports Medicine , 30 : 423 – 437 .
  • Smith , A.M. , Adler , H.C. , Crews , D. , Wharen , R.E. , Laskowski , E.R. Barnes , K. 2003 . The yips in golf: A continuum between a focal dystonia and choking . Sports Medicine , 33 : 13 – 31 .
  • Spence , J.T. and Spence , K.W. 1966 . “ The motivational component of manifest anxiety: Drive and drive stimuli ” . In Anxiety and behavior , Edited by: Spielberger , C. 291 – 326 . New York : Academic Press .
  • Spencer , S.J. , Steele , C.M. and Quinn , D.M. 1999 . “ Stereotype threat and women's math performance ” . In Readings in the psychology of gender: Exploring our differences and commonalities , Edited by: Hunter , A.E. and Forden , C. 54 – 68 . Needham Heights, MA, , US : Allyn & Bacon .
  • Stone , J. 2002 . Battling doubt by avoiding practice: The effects of stereotype threat on self-handicapping in White athletes . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 28 : 1667 – 1678 .
  • Stone , J. , Lynch , C.I. , Sjomeling , M. and Darley , J.M. 1999 . Stereotype threat effects on Black and White athletic performance . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 77 : 1213 – 1227 .
  • Tenenbaum , G. and Becker , B. 2005 . Is self-confidence a bias factor in higher-order catastrophe models? An exploratory analysis – A critique . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 27 : 375 – 381 .
  • Thomas , O. , Mellalieu , S.D. and Hanton , S. 2009 . “ Stress management in sport: A critical review and synthesis ” . In Advances in applied sport psychology: A review , Edited by: Mellalieu , S.D. and Hanton , S. 161 – 124 . New York : Routledge .
  • Thomas , S. , Reeves , C. and Bell , A. 2008 . Home advantage in the six nations rugby union tournament . Perceptual and Motor Skills , 106 : 113 – 116 .
  • Vickers , J. and Williams , M. 2007 . Performing under pressure: the effects of physiological arousal, cognitive anxiety and gaze control in biathlon . Journal of Motor Behavior , 39 : 381 – 394 .
  • Wallace , H.M. , Baumeister , R.F. and Vohs , K.D. 2005 . Audience support and choking under pressure: A home disadvantage? . Journal of Sport Sciences , 23 : 429 – 438 .
  • Wang , J. , Marchant , D. and Morris , T. 2004a . Coping style and susceptibility to choking . Journal of Sport Behavior , 27 : 75 – 92 .
  • Wang , J. , Marchant , D. and Gibbs . 2004b . Self-consciousness and trait anxiety as predictors of choking in sport . Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport , 7 : 174 – 185 .
  • Williams , A.M. , Vickers , J. and Rodrigues , S. 2002 . The effects of anxiety on visual search, movement kinematics, and performance in table tennis: A test of Eysenck and Calvo's processing efficiency theory . Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology , 24 : 438 – 455 .
  • Wilson , M. 2008 . From processing efficiency to attentional control: A mechanistic account of the anxiety-performance relationship . International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 1 : 184 – 202 .
  • Wilson , M. , Chattington , M. , Marple-Horvat , D.E. and Smith , C.N. 2007a . A comparison of self-focus versus attentional explanations of choking . Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 29 : 439 – 456 .
  • Wilson , M. , Smith , N.C. and Holmes , P.S. 2007b . The role of effort in influencing the effect of anxiety on performance: Testing the conflicting predictions of Processing Efficiency Theory and the Conscious Processing Hypothesis . British Journal of Psychology , 98 : 411 – 428 .
  • Yerkes , R.M. and Dodson , J.D. 1908 . The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation . Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology , 18 : 459 – 482 .
  • Zajonc , R.B. 1965 . Social facilitation . Science , 149 : 269 – 274 .
  • Zilstra , F.R.H. 1993 . Efficiency in work behavior: A design approach for modern tools , Delft : Delft University Press .

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.