Latest / The Coretex Athletic Review
31. Choking Under Pressure
Following last episode’s look at the Yerkes-Dodson Law, Episode 31 takes a more modern—and more sport-specific—look at performance under pressure. Using Vivien Valckx’s 2026 review From Choke to Clutch: Using Neuroscience and Psychology to Understand Performance Breakdown in Athletes, we explore what the research says may actually be happening when an athlete chokes.
The review brings together sport psychology and neuroscience research around three major mechanisms:
Self-focus — consciously monitoring the mechanics of a skill that would normally operate more automatically.
Distraction —…
The skinny
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