Choke (sports)

In sports, a choke is the failure of an athlete or an athletic team to win a game or tournament when the player or team had been strongly favored to win or had squandered a large lead in the late stages of the event. Someone who chokes may be known as a choker or, more derisively, as a choke artist. Choking in sport can be considered a form of analysis paralysis. It is often an over-used term in the sports world, where "choke" status is assigned to a team or player that only lost a small lead or was not heavily-favored to win.

Choking under pressure decreases the standard level of athletic performance, of an athlete when they may be at their peak performance. Symptoms of choking may include, tightening up of the muscles, an increase level of anxiety and a decrease in self-confidence. Choking can leave an athlete feeling embarrassed or frustrated.

Choking is caused when an athlete becomes distracted, their thoughts become negative or unproductive and when they worry about things they cannot control. Anxiety is built up from negative self-talk and doubt which leads to choking.

The explicit monitoring theory provides an explanation for athlete’s under-performance at the precise moment they need to be at their best. Sian Beilock and Tom Carr suggest that “pressure raises self-consciousness and anxiety about performing correctly, which increases the attention paid to skill processes and their step-by-step control. Attention to execution at this step-by-step level is thought to disrupt well-learned or proceduralized performances.”

Distraction theory was first suggested by Wine to explain under-performance in performance pressure situations. Distraction theorists argue that pressure creates a dual task situation which draws attention away from the task at hand. Attention is then focused towards irrelevant stimuli such as worries, social expectations, and anxiety Wine first tested his hypothesis with academic tests but it has since been applied to athletics.

Research has found that distraction theory is supported in situations where working memory is used to analyze and make decisions quickly. Short term memory is used to maintain relevant stimuli and block irrelevant information as it relates to the task at hand.

Predicts, a decrease in performance is due to attention being shifted to movement execution. Any combination of factors that increase the importance of performing is considered performance pressure. Baumeister’s self-focus theory suggests responding to performance pressure can lead to an increase in self-consciousness which then results in choking. There is more focus on the motor components of performance, consciously controlling movements with step-by-step control.

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Wikipedia