Brain key to ‘choking’ under pressure By William Harms Photo by
Jason Smith There is a large body of work about why people are
successful. What I wanted to do was find out why people who are
talented sometimes fail.” Associate Professor, Psychology Ever
since Sian Beilock’s high school soccer team lost a high-profile
match in the California state tournament, she has known first-
hand how good athletes can choke under pressure. Her coach had
invited recruiters to watch the big game, adding pressure that
distracted Beilock, who played goalkeeper. “I didn’t make the
saves I should have made,” Beilock says. “I knew all eyes were
on me, and so I started thinking way too much about aspects of
my performance that should have been left on autopilot.” Years
of study have taught Beilock that such failures are more than
just embarrassing bouts with nerves. Now an associate professor
of psychology at UChicago, Beilock seeks the common threads
underlying various kinds of choking, whether in sports, on
academic tests, or du