Choking under pressure in tennis Relationship among reinvestment, self- regulation, and perceived choking Hiro(Takehiro) Iwatsuki, Judy L. Van Raalte Britton W. Brewer, and Albert Petitpas (Springfield College, MA, USA)

Background Cognition, thought process, and attention focus Anxiety, pressure, and choking under pressure

Self-Regulation (SR) Theory Self-regulation is extent to which individuals are more metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally proactive participants in their own learning (Zimmerman, 2000; 2006) Self-regulation (SR) Metacognitive SR Motivational SR Planning Monitoring Evaluation Reflection Effort Self-efficacy

Review of Literature - Self-Regulation Elite athletes have higher SR compared to non-elite athletes (Jonker et al., 2010, 2011; Khani et al., 2001) SR is related to high athletic performance (Bandura, 1993; Ertmer & Newby, 1996; Jonker et al., 2010; Toering at al., 2009) Self-Regulation = Good

What is Choking? Choking is “doing worse than what you would normally expect given your abilities and conditions” (Beilock, 2010)

Reinvestment Theory Reinvestment is the “manipulation of conscious, explicit, rule based knowledge, by working memory, to control the mechanics of one’s movements during motor output,” (Masters & Maxwell, 2004)

Review of Literature - Reinvestment High reinvestors performed worse than low reinvestor (Masters et al., 1993; Poolton et al., 2006; Chell et al., 2003; Jackson et al., 2006) Internal focus is worse than external focus for learning (Wulf., 2013; Wulf et al., 1999, 2002; Wulf & Su., 2007; Bell & Hardy., 2009: Zachry, 2005) Reinvestment = Bad

Contradictory findings/theories “Self-regulatory behaviors are associated with consciousness of moving.” (Masters et al., 2008) “Internal focus (skill-focus or explicit monitoring) results in self-regulatory processing.” (Wulf., 2013) Self-regulatory behavior is necessary for athletes to become elite, but it also seems to make athletes choke under pressure.

Purpose Relationship among self-regulation, reinvestment, and perceived choking among elite tennis athletes -How are self-regulation factors related to reinvestment? -What factors related to choking?

Methods

Participants Division I male and female tennis collegiate athletes in the United States (N = 80)

Instruments Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) - Conscious Motor Processing (factor 1 – monitoring) - Movement Self-Consciousness (factor 2 - controlling) Self-Regulation Questionnaires - Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Reflection, - Effort, Self-efficacy Perceived Choking Scale - Self-Choke

Procedures/Data Analysis Institutional Review Board at Springfield College Calling or ing coaches to request participants Administering the questionnaire at each college/university Correlation analysis SPSS version 21 Level of significance =.05

Results & Discussion

Correlation Analysis – Variables 9 variables - Conscious Motor Processing (factor 1) - Movement Self-Consciousness (factor 2) - Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Reflection - Effort, Self-efficacy - Self-Choke

1. Self-regulation factors related to reinvestment? 1. Planning 3. Evaluation 2. Monitoring.250*.321**.307** 4. Reflection 6. Self-Efficacy 5. Effort Conscious Motor Processing.327**.309**.130 *: p<.05, **: p<.01

2. Self-regulation factors related to reinvestment? 1. Planning 3. Evaluation 2. Monitoring Reflection 6. Self-Efficacy 5. Effort Movement Self-Consciousness

3. Reinvestment factors related to choking? 1. Conscious Motor Processing 2. Movement Self-Consciousness Self-Choke (.081) Less than 10%

4. Self-regulation factors related to choking? 1. Planning 3. Evaluation 2. Monitoring Reflection 6. Self-Efficacy 5. Effort Self-Choke * -.261* *: p<.05

Conclusion Monitoring movement may not be always bad (results 1 & 3) Controlling movement is detrimental to performance. Athletes who often control their movement are likely to lead athletes to choke under pressure (results 2 & 3) Self-efficacy & effort can possibly prevent from choking under pressure (result 4)

So what? Theoretical Contribution Understanding of MSRV and factors related to choking Practical Contribution Focus on how self-efficacy & effort are improved Focus on strategies, not thinking about mechanics

Special Thanks to: International Tennis Federation (ITF) Coaching Springfield College

Thank you for your attention! Questions… Suggestions… Problems…