"Why We 'Choke'
Under Pressure, According To Neuroscience"
By: Carolyn Gregoire
Source: The Huffington Post
All
eyes were on the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team in 2012 during the Summer
Olympics, specifically on one U.S. gymnast: McKayla Maroney. She was a
sixteen-year-old gymnast who took part in the Olympics, because of her impressive
skill in vaulting. Everyone guaranteed that she was going win gold in the
event. But when the time came for her to show her skills and win the gold, she
choked. Choking is common for many athletes and performers, even professionals.
And it does not necessarily mean that the individual does not have skill, but
rather, the immense pressure of what is at stake. Scientists are trying to
understand why individuals choke under pressure, and how they might be able to
prevent such mistakes. Some new research done from neuroscientists in John
Hopkins University, believe that Maroney choked because she was too attached to
winning. When individuals choke under pressure, it most likely has to do with
their motivation. To what extent is an individual willing to go through to win
or to avoid losing? If one is loss-averse, meaning that they hate losing more
than they love winning, then their chances of choking will be lower, but for
the individuals who value winning more than they value losing, the likelihood
of choking is often higher. "The Johns Hopkins study found that those who
hated losing the most choked when told that they stood to win the most, while
those who cared more about winning choked when they stood to lose something
significant. In other words, it's all about how you frame the incentive: as a
loss or as a gain" (Gregoire, 1). The researchers explain this phenomenon
through study done on the ventral striatum, a region of the brain. They even
proved the study with specific experiment done on adults. This study showed the
researchers, that the ventral striatum moderates the relationship between
incentives and performance.
This
article is important as it provides new research done on human behavior. It
provides us with details about a certain experiment that was designed to help
us understand why we choke under pressure, so we can apply that information to
improve our performances.
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