RESEARCH_FILE
Sian L. Beilock
University of Chicago
Known for:Experimental work on choking under pressure — how performance stress consumes the working memory skilled performance depends on
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I'm going to fail this exam”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“The panic is borrowing my working memory. I exhale, write down what I know, and take it back.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
During your next low-stakes study session, solve a problem while narrating aloud what you're thinking. Write down that explanation. Then, hours later, solve it again from memory without notes and compare the two versions.
Key findings
- 2005
Performance pressure harmed only individuals high in working memory capacity, and only on math problems with the highest working-memory demands — pressure consumes the capacity that the most qualified performers rely on. When High-Powered People Fail: Working Memory and 'Choking Under Pressure' in Math ↗
- 2007
Pressure-induced worry can reduce performance on tasks that draw on fluid intelligence: higher-working-memory individuals, who normally use demanding strategies, lose their advantage when pressure co-opts that capacity. Choking Under Pressure and Working Memory Capacity: When Performance Pressure Reduces Fluid Intelligence ↗
- 2011
A ten-minute expressive-writing exercise about test worries, completed immediately before an exam, significantly improved students' scores — with the largest benefits for habitually test-anxious students. Writing About Testing Worries Boosts Exam Performance in the Classroom ↗