[1] This can occur in a game or tournament that they are strongly favoured to win, or in an instance where they have a large lead that they squander in the late stages of the event.
[2] In instances where this strategy fails, a player or team many lose confidence to the point of panic, where they are incapable of completing the most rudimentary of tasks.
In some instances a player or team's first game, or a big occasion can lead to anxiety similar to stage fright, which may result in a poor start, or being on the receiving end of a rout.
In the chaotic arena of a sporting contest, it is sometimes hard to identify if a player or team has panicked, or was simply victim to a strong finish by their opponents.
Sian Beilock and Tom Carr suggest that “pressure raises self-consciousness and anxiety about performing correctly, which increases the attention paid to skill processes and their step-by-step control.
Attention to execution at this step-by-step level is thought to disrupt well-learned or proceduralized performances.”[9] Distraction theory was first suggested by Wine [10] to explain under-performance in performance pressure situations.
Research has found that distraction theory is supported in situations where working memory is used to analyze and make decisions quickly.
[11] Short term memory is used to maintain relevant stimuli and block irrelevant information as it relates to the task at hand.
Baumeister's self-focus theory suggests responding to performance pressure can lead to an increase in self-consciousness which then results in choking.
[17] Eysenck and Calvo developed ACT an extension to PET, hypothesizing an individual shifts attention to irrelevant stimuli.
Disruption of balance between these two systems causes the individual to respond to salient stimuli rather than focusing on current goals.
[21] Factors of choking may include, individual responsibility, expectations, poor preparation, self-confidence, physical/mental errors, important games/moments and opponent's actions.
[23] A study done by Wang, Marchant, Morris and Gibbs (2004) found poor performance associated with high self-conscious individuals.
An individual with high self-consciousness focuses their attention to thoughts relating to the task (i.e., “did I step right?”) and to outside concerns (i.e., “will people laugh if I mess up?”).
A number of statistical analyses were performed to understand the implications of the data and significant differences were noted between male and female athletes.
Female athletes presented notably higher levels of general sports anxiety in comparison to the males in the study.
[28] Another paper focused on achievement goals of athletes coupled with gender and their on anxiety in national elite sports.
This included 101 male and 89 female athletes, all of which participated in individual player sports and completed measures of the roles listed above.
This study results allowed the researchers to discover that female and male athletes had similar achievement orientations and perceptions of the motivation climate.
[29] A study was also completed with high school and college track and field athletes that analyzed cognitive and somatic anxiety and confidence and their impact on gender and competitive characteristics.
The 216 athletes completed a survey called the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) within 20 minutes after each event they competed in at a high-level relay meet.
The England national football team has been noted in the last 30 years, especially for their under-performance in major tournaments, and for their lack of success in penalty shootouts.
However, two late goals from Neymar and a stoppage-time winner from Sergi Roberto gave Barcelona a 6–1 win on the night and a 6–5 triumph on aggregate.
[42] South Africa's win in the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy remains their only international tournament victory to date.
[51][52] Rory similarly led the 2024 U.S. Open but bogeyed three of the final four holes of the tournament, including two missed putts from within four feet of the cup.
[57] In Game 3 of the first round of the 1982 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers, led by NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, lost a 5-0 lead to the Los Angeles Kings.
[58] The Maple Leafs’ rivalry with fellow Original Six team Boston Bruins has also resulted in multiple losses attributed to choking.
In the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Maple Leafs blew a 3-1 lead against the Montreal Canadiens, suffering their eighth straight loss in potential series-clinching games.
[60] The Toronto Sun ran pages with the title "Running Choke",[61] and Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner received criticism following the loss.