Smart people likely to choke under pressure
Well, that would explain this, right? According to a new study smart people may be more likely to choke under pressure than the less smart.
“The pressure causes verbal worries, like ‘Oh no, I can’t screw up,’” said Sian Beilock, assistant professor of psychology at Miami University of Ohio. “These thoughts reside in the working memory.” And that takes up space that would otherwise be pondering the task at hand.
“When they begin to worry, then they’re in trouble,” Beilock told LiveScience. “People with lower working-memory capacities are not using that capacity to begin with, so they’re not affected by pressure.”
The findings are detailed this week’s issue of Psychological Science.
This study was done on math tests, which I’ve actually done very well on in my life. Although, I have never taken them very seriously. But it seems to me that this would apply to other high stress situations too, such as job interviews, emergency situations, and even game shows. (Maybe this guy on Who Wants to be a Millionaire was a super-genius. “That’s the last stick!”)
