JOHN MCENROE

Can we point to one part of the brain and say, “that is where choking under pressure happens?” For a long time, scientists thought that the prefrontal cortex , which is really important for a lot of...

The Role of Working Memory

Scientists who study memory have described different processes, or types, of memory. One type is called long-term memory, which lasts basically forever and can store a...

Working memory is the one we use for completing tasks and getting information into and out of long-term memory. For example, we use working memory to do things like mental math or to piece a story together after listening to a sequence of events.

Working memory plays a big role in learning ...

How Can We Avoid Choking Under Pressure?

Luckily, there are some steps we can take to prevent choking under pressure. Recent studies have shown that writing about your thoughts before taking a test is very helpful in preventing choking, probably because it frees up the work...

Difficulty breathing, “choking” under pressure happens when feelings of stress, worry, and anxiety work together to cause someone to perform worse than they normally would.

In the example above, the test can either give you a great reward (getting an A+) or a punishment (getting a bad grade...

While the idea of choking under pressure might seem pretty straightforward, the science behind it is complicated. For example, scientists think that choking under pressure involves memory—specifically, a type of memory called

Stressful situations can affect even the smartest students, by lowering the amount of space in their working memory. Remember that working memory already cannot hold much information.

When students are placed in high-pressure situations (like on a test day), worrying about the pressure they...

There is a highway in the brain called the meso-limbic-cortical pathway.

A reward pathway in the brain that plays a role in processing reward information. That plays a role in how rewarding a situation feels to us. This part of the brain would be partly responsible for the ...

What Does It Mean to “Choke” Under Pressure?

Imagine sitting in class taking a test. You studied really hard, but you suddenly forget an important piece of information that you need to solve a problem. You panic. Your heart races, you start to sweat, & you cannot seem to think clearly anymo...

Why do some people perform worse under pressure, even when using a familiar skill to complete a task? This is called choking under pressure, and it happens to many people and in many different situations.

Understanding when and why people choke under pressure can help us pe...