Performance Anxiety
Management

Nicholas Gallucci, Ph.D.

Freezing Under Pressure

In the parlance of sport, some performers become “tight,” stiffen-up, or freeze under pressure. Biomechanical analyses suggest that pressure does indeed compromise the fluid and skilled movement of sportspersons, due to the “freezing” or reduced mobility of joints. Stiff, awkward, clumsy, and dechunked motor behavior is associated with inferior performance.