Cognitive and neural mechanisms affecting performance under pressure

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Performers often experience a negative impact of a high-pressure environment on their performance quality, such as missing a penalty in a competitive football game or playing the wrong notes in a public music performance. Recently, sports scientists have suggested that the quality and accuracy of movements can depend on what the performer attends to while executing an action. Evidence suggests an external focus of attention directed at the effects of movement on the environment leads to better (more accurate and efficient) performance under pressure than an internal focus where attention is directed at the performer's own body movements (e.g., Wulf, 2013, Zachry et al., 2005). Similar effects can be found for music performance, recently confirmed by a lab study on skilled piano performance (Jentzsch & Braun, 2022). This PhD project is designed to systematically investigate the mechanisms underlying these empirical findings, with the aim of developing effective intervention methods to combat performance anxiety and choking under pressure.