Scientific American points to recent studies in performance and "choking" under pressure. It has interesting implications for those involved in learning and training. The studies indicate that if we engage our critical mindset while attempting to perform a high-pressure task, we are more likely to fail.
"The idea that too much self-monitoring hinders performance aligns with the well-established theory of how the brain learns to perform complex motor skills—anything from speaking to typing to cradling a lacrosse ball. The part of our brain that is most involved in learning a new task is the cerebral cortex, which controls higher-order, conscious thought and is adaptable to novel situations. But as we play a piece of music or practice a speech over and over again, we gradually transfer the control of that activity from the cerebral cortex to another area of the brain, the cerebellum, which orchestrates the lightning-fast motor activation needed to perform complex actions"
This is well-known in sports training ("muscle memory"), but not always considered with knowledge work.
In a study of golfers, it was found that those individuals who focused on a holistic single-word cue (e.g. "smooth" or "forceful") performed best (as opposed to those who tried to focus on multiple concepts or those who focused on random words).
In a separate study, it was found that those who practiced under high-pressure conditions (perhaps unsurprisingly), performed best under pressure.
These results indicate that turning up the heat from the very first day of practice may be one of the most effective ways to immunize yourself against blowing it. “Performers train and train, but it’s not that common to specifically train under these kinds of psychological constraints,” Oudejans says. “They’re trained in how to play their game, but they don’t train under pressure, so they fail.”
So, how can you ratchet up the pressure during training... particularly during online training?
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