Choking under pressure : The role of fear of negative evaluation
- Authors: Mesagno, Christopher , Harvey, Jack , Janelle, Christopher
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychology of Sport and Exercise Vol.13 , no.1 (2012), p.60-68
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- Description: Objective: Conceptual models and predictors of choking under pressure (i.e., choking) have been proposed, but the role of fear of negative evaluation remains largely unknown. The purpose of the current study was to determine the degree to which fear of negative evaluation (FNE) may predispose athletes to choking. Design and method: 138 Experienced basketball players participated in a pre-selection stage, which involved completing a set of questionnaires that included the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation-II (BFNE-II) questionnaire. Based on the scores from the BFNE-II, 34 athletes, categorized as either low- or high-FNE, were selected to perform basketball shots from five different areas of the court under low- and high-pressure phases. Shooting performance was evaluated based on the total number of successful shots out of 50 attempts. Results: Results indicated that the high-FNE athletes displayed a significant increase in anxiety and a significant decrease in performance from low- to high-pressure phases. The low-FNE group exhibited only minimal changes in anxiety throughout the study and was able to maintain performance under pressure. Further mediation analysis investigating significant difference in performance between FNE groups within the high-pressure phase indicated that that cognitive anxiety was a partial mediator between FNE group and performance, but somatic anxiety was not. Conclusions: Findings extend the existing choking literature by providing empirical support for the role of FNE in the context of the self-presentation model of choking. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
Personality and performance in real-world competitions : Testing trait activation of fear of negative evaluation, dispositional reinvestment, and athletic identity in the field
- Authors: Geukes, Katharina , Harvey, Jack , Trezise, Alexandra , Mesagno, Christopher
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychology of Sport and Exercise Vol. 30, no. (2017), p. 101-109
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- Description: Objectives Based on the trait activation principle, researchers have tested whether personality traits are capable of predicting sport performance (under pressure). Typically, however, these investigations followed experimental approaches in the laboratory and only rarely in the field. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to test for the generalizability of findings gained in these experimental studies and to investigate potential trait activation for real-world performance in competitions. Based on prior studies on the prediction of performance under pressure, the selected personality traits involved fear of negative evaluation, dispositional reinvestment, and athletic identity. Design Personality traits were used as predictors for low-pressure and high-pressure basketball free-throw performance. Method First, 53 basketball players completed trait questionnaires. Second, directly prior to performance assessments, participants reported on perceived importance, their somatic and cognitive state anxiety, and confidence. Third, free-throw performance was assessed in a low-pressure condition (i.e., successful free-throw percentage for 30 attempts) and repeatedly in 12 high-pressure conditions within real basketball matches (i.e., successful free-throw percentage for total attempts). Results Two main findings were identified: First, none of the traits predicted performance under low pressure. Second, under high-pressure, only fear of negative evaluation as well as state anxiety were significantly negatively associated with performance in competitions. Conclusion These results extend existing literature and add applied and ecologically valid empirical support for the relevance of anxiety-related traits (i.e., fear of negative evaluation) and states for performance under pressure in real-world competitions, emphasizing the importance of self-presentational considerations in athletes when the stakes are high. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd