The problem of diminished performance under stress, often referred to as 'choking under pressure,' is a significant issue in the realm of sports psychology, especially during high-stakes competitions. Researchers have thoroughly explored various factors contributing to this issue, yet the role of self-enhancement in sporting competition scenarios hasn't received the same level of scrutiny. Characterized by an individual's inclination to emphasize positive outcomes for self-esteem protection and setting lofty personal standards, self-enhancement is increasingly becoming a focal point in the study of choking. Our research draws from the self-focus theory and related studies, probing the mediating influence of self-enhancement on the relationship between high-pressure environments and choking tendencies. In our study, we used an experimental design based on dart-throwing as a representative model for sports performance under stress, aiming to elucidate the role of self-enhancement as a mediating variable in such settings. Involving fifty collegiate athletes, the study required participants to first complete a self-enhancement personality measure. They then engaged in dart-throwing tasks under two different conditions: one with low pressure and another with high pressure. Using statistical analysis tools SPSS 27.0 and Process 4.2, we discovered a link between high levels of self-enhancement, increased self-perceived cognitive pressure (β=.43, p<.01), and a higher chance of choking (β=.39, p<.01). The findings reveal that self-enhancement partially mediates the relationship between perceived pressure and performance, accounting for a variance of 30% in sports settings. It suggests that self-enhancement serves as a connecting factor between pressure perception and choking. These insights into self-enhancement tendencies provide valuable perspectives for designing future interventions to help mitigate choking. Such efforts could, in turn, potentially boost the competitiveness and longevity of collegiate athletes' performances.
Published in | American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 11, Issue 3) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11 |
Page(s) | 59-67 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Pressure, Self-Enhancement, Choking, Mediating Effect
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APA Style
Jinhua Liu, Zhicai Gao, Ya Zhou, Zhi Qiao, Sumaira Kayani. (2023). Pressure and Choking in Darts of College Athletes: The Interplay of Self-Enhancement. American Journal of Sports Science, 11(3), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11
ACS Style
Jinhua Liu; Zhicai Gao; Ya Zhou; Zhi Qiao; Sumaira Kayani. Pressure and Choking in Darts of College Athletes: The Interplay of Self-Enhancement. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2023, 11(3), 59-67. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11
AMA Style
Jinhua Liu, Zhicai Gao, Ya Zhou, Zhi Qiao, Sumaira Kayani. Pressure and Choking in Darts of College Athletes: The Interplay of Self-Enhancement. Am J Sports Sci. 2023;11(3):59-67. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11
@article{10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11, author = {Jinhua Liu and Zhicai Gao and Ya Zhou and Zhi Qiao and Sumaira Kayani}, title = {Pressure and Choking in Darts of College Athletes: The Interplay of Self-Enhancement}, journal = {American Journal of Sports Science}, volume = {11}, number = {3}, pages = {59-67}, doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20231103.11}, abstract = {The problem of diminished performance under stress, often referred to as 'choking under pressure,' is a significant issue in the realm of sports psychology, especially during high-stakes competitions. Researchers have thoroughly explored various factors contributing to this issue, yet the role of self-enhancement in sporting competition scenarios hasn't received the same level of scrutiny. Characterized by an individual's inclination to emphasize positive outcomes for self-esteem protection and setting lofty personal standards, self-enhancement is increasingly becoming a focal point in the study of choking. Our research draws from the self-focus theory and related studies, probing the mediating influence of self-enhancement on the relationship between high-pressure environments and choking tendencies. In our study, we used an experimental design based on dart-throwing as a representative model for sports performance under stress, aiming to elucidate the role of self-enhancement as a mediating variable in such settings. Involving fifty collegiate athletes, the study required participants to first complete a self-enhancement personality measure. They then engaged in dart-throwing tasks under two different conditions: one with low pressure and another with high pressure. Using statistical analysis tools SPSS 27.0 and Process 4.2, we discovered a link between high levels of self-enhancement, increased self-perceived cognitive pressure (β=.43, p<.01), and a higher chance of choking (β=.39, p<.01). The findings reveal that self-enhancement partially mediates the relationship between perceived pressure and performance, accounting for a variance of 30% in sports settings. It suggests that self-enhancement serves as a connecting factor between pressure perception and choking. These insights into self-enhancement tendencies provide valuable perspectives for designing future interventions to help mitigate choking. Such efforts could, in turn, potentially boost the competitiveness and longevity of collegiate athletes' performances.}, year = {2023} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Pressure and Choking in Darts of College Athletes: The Interplay of Self-Enhancement AU - Jinhua Liu AU - Zhicai Gao AU - Ya Zhou AU - Zhi Qiao AU - Sumaira Kayani Y1 - 2023/07/06 PY - 2023 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11 T2 - American Journal of Sports Science JF - American Journal of Sports Science JO - American Journal of Sports Science SP - 59 EP - 67 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8540 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20231103.11 AB - The problem of diminished performance under stress, often referred to as 'choking under pressure,' is a significant issue in the realm of sports psychology, especially during high-stakes competitions. Researchers have thoroughly explored various factors contributing to this issue, yet the role of self-enhancement in sporting competition scenarios hasn't received the same level of scrutiny. Characterized by an individual's inclination to emphasize positive outcomes for self-esteem protection and setting lofty personal standards, self-enhancement is increasingly becoming a focal point in the study of choking. Our research draws from the self-focus theory and related studies, probing the mediating influence of self-enhancement on the relationship between high-pressure environments and choking tendencies. In our study, we used an experimental design based on dart-throwing as a representative model for sports performance under stress, aiming to elucidate the role of self-enhancement as a mediating variable in such settings. Involving fifty collegiate athletes, the study required participants to first complete a self-enhancement personality measure. They then engaged in dart-throwing tasks under two different conditions: one with low pressure and another with high pressure. Using statistical analysis tools SPSS 27.0 and Process 4.2, we discovered a link between high levels of self-enhancement, increased self-perceived cognitive pressure (β=.43, p<.01), and a higher chance of choking (β=.39, p<.01). The findings reveal that self-enhancement partially mediates the relationship between perceived pressure and performance, accounting for a variance of 30% in sports settings. It suggests that self-enhancement serves as a connecting factor between pressure perception and choking. These insights into self-enhancement tendencies provide valuable perspectives for designing future interventions to help mitigate choking. Such efforts could, in turn, potentially boost the competitiveness and longevity of collegiate athletes' performances. VL - 11 IS - 3 ER -