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If you enjoyed this video, consider subscribing to my new Sport Psychology Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcB_th7KiE6A1igi0TgAw7g/

This video uses sports psychology theories to explain why athletes choke under pressure. In order to perform under pressure, athletes must find and attain their own optimal level of anxiety.

I use the Cue Utilization, Multidimensional Anxiety, Yerkes-Dobson and the IZOF theories to explain the mental processes that lead us to choke under pressure. We can use these theories to gain a general understanding of what goes on in our mind in order to prepare for decisive moments in our competitions.

The key takeaway from the video is that as anxiety increases, our attention narrows. When our attention narrows, our ability to process important information needed to perform becomes momentarily impaired. This leads us to miss important information that we need to make good decisions. As we start to make mistakes, our level of anxiety increases even more, leading us to more mistakes. This continuous in a vicious cycle, leading us to choke under the pressure.

Also, when our anxiety increases, our attention can narrow to such a granular level that we begin to consciously think about performing movements that we normally perform automatically. Consciously thinking about the movement disrupts the automatic process and can result in mistakes.

In part 2 of this video, I will talk about mental and physical strategies that you can use to increase or decrease your level of anxiety at will to reach your optimal state of performance.

Sources:
Shaun white: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he03dVkhLTM&t=68s
Ghana Vs Uraguay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDpx9GGH79I&t=198s
Howcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g2Mc_WNXCM
Lebron Chokes (CliveNBA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loIvTQwIPFY
Soccer Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7kCCPpViwo&t=41s

Hope you learned something new that will help you in competition. LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed the video and want to see more. See you all next time!

Check out our improved no music version of this video here: https://youtu.be/oj1aEbxIpHU

Looking to master the fundamentals of Arousal, Stress & Anxiety? Discover everything you need to know about the different theories explaining arousal & performance, the various symptoms of anxiety, and, how stress can affect performance and our health.

0:00 Intro
0:25 How arousal is controlled and regulated by the Reticular Activation System (RAS), and how that affects Extroverts & Introverts differently
1:01 The different theories surrounding Arousal and Performance: Drive Theory, 2:03 Inverted U Theory, 2:57 Zones of Optimal Function, 3:17 Peak Flow Theory, and 3:33 Catastrophe Theory
4:24 The difference between State & Trait Anxiety, and Cognitive & Somatic symptoms of Anxiety
5:19 The Stress process: Environmental Demands, Perception of Demands, The Stress Response, and Actual Behaviour

Please also check out our:
Sport & Exercise Physiology Playlist – https://bit.ly/2Ttilay
Sport & Exercise Biomechanics Playlist: https://bit.ly/3ajI2B1
Training & Conditioning Playlist: https://bit.ly/2Z3ope2
Website – www.sportsciencehub.com

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