Resources tagged as "Choking"
Competing with Superstars
Apr 9th, 2010
"Tiger Woods is such a dominating golfer that his presence in a tournament can make everyone else play significantly worse. Because his competitors expect him to win, they end up losing; success becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Competition expert Jennifer Brown argues that this superstar effect de-motivates athletes in almost all forms of competition. The presence of a superstar makes other competitors nervous, and they over-analyze actions better performed on auto-pilot.
By IntelliSport
Don't Choke
Feb 6th, 2010
Why do some athletes choke under pressure, while others thrive? Mark Otten from Cal State Northridge may have the answer. Otten has shown that when pressure causes athletes to “reinvest” attention in a task (i.e. over-think), anxiety increases. This anxiety results in higher self-consciousness and impairs performance. However, increased feelings of control under pressure, or confidence in one's ability to determine outcomes, do improve performance.
By IntelliSport