Skill-based differences in the cognitive mechanisms underlying failure under stress

Abstract

Studies of “choking under pressure” suggest novices choke because attention is distracted away from the primary task. In contrast with the traditional research on stress and performance, where additional resources made available with increasing skill can ameliorate the effects of stress, experts are thought to degrade because stress draws attention to, and disrupts, previously proceduralized performance. Two kinds of dual-tasks, extraneous and skill-focused, were used to examine skill-based differences in attentional demands of a live-fire, handgun shooting task. Expert and novice police officers completed shooting trials under moderate time pressure. Contrary to choking research findings, the performance of experts was not adversely affected by skill-focused attention whereas novices were. This pattern was also reflected in a range of process measures. The results challenge currently accepted explanations of choking under pressure, and suggest that the degree to which expert performance is cognitively mediated may be greater than previously assumed. Implications for traditional theories of skill acquisition and for training to perform in stressful environments are discussed.

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