Why we choke under pressure -- and how to avoid it | Sian Leah Beilock

翻译人员: DI MO 校对人员: Tianji (Homer) Li

One of the most humiliating things

最让人难堪的事情之一

that you can say about someone is "they choked."

就是你可以形容别人“发挥失常了”。

And boy, do I know that feeling.

天啊，我太了解这种感觉了。

Growing up, I was an avid athlete.

从小到大，我都是个狂热的运动员。

My main sport was soccer, and I was a goalkeeper,

我最喜欢踢足球，在球队里当守门员，

which is both the best and the worst position on the field.

在整个球场上，守门员的位置 既是最好的也是最坏的。

You see, when you're a goalie, you get this special uniform,

作为一个守门员， 你可以穿特殊的制服，

you get all the glory for a great shot saved,

一个成功扑救会让你 得到所有的荣光，

but you also get the grief when you land a shot in the goal.

然而，当你没有守住球的 时候也会感到悲伤。

When you're a goalie,

当你是一个守门员时，

all eyes are on you,

会受到万众瞩目，

and with that comes the pressure.

随之而来的还有压力。

I distinctly remember one game in high school.

我清楚地记得高中的一场比赛，

I was playing for the California state team

我为加利福尼亚州队出战，

which is part of the Olympic Development Program.

这支队伍属于奥林匹克发展项目。

I was having a great game ...

我当时表现得很好，

until I realized that the national coach was standing right behind me.

然而当我意识到国家队 教练正站在我后面，

That's when everything changed.

一切都改变了。

In a matter of seconds,

在这几秒之内，

I went from playing at the top to the bottom of my ability.

我的状态和表现从巅峰跌倒了谷底。

Just knowing that I was being evaluated changed my performance

单单是知道有人在打量我， 就影响了我的发挥，

and forever how I thought about the mental aspect of how we perform.

也彻底改变了我对心理因素 影响发挥这个问题的看法。

All of a sudden the ball seemed to go in slow motion,

突然，球好像在慢慢移动，

and I was fixated on my every move.

我努力专注于自己的一举一动。

The next shot that came I bobbled,

这个球我没有挡下来，

but thankfully it didn't land in the goal.

但好在这个球没有破门。

The shot after that,

在这之后的一个球，

I wasn't so lucky:

我就不那么幸运了：

I tipped it right into the net.

我创造了一个乌龙球。

My team lost;

我们的队伍输了，

the national coach walked away.

国家教练走开了。

I choked under the pressure of those evaluative eyes on me.

在他人打量的压力之下， 我发挥失常了。

Just about everyone does it from time to time --

每个人时不时几乎 都会有这样的时候——

there are so many opportunities,

有太多的机会，

whether it's taking a test,

不论是考试

giving a talk,

演讲，

pitching to a client

向客户讲解提案，

or that special form of torture I like to call the job interview.

还是一种特殊的折磨 形式，我称之为工作面试。

(Laughter)

（笑）

But the question is why.

但问题是，为什么呢？

Why do we sometimes fail to perform up to our potential under pressure?

为什么我们有时候会在压力 面前无法发挥出潜力呢？

It's especially bewildering in the case of athletes

这种情况在运动员中非常普遍，

who spend so much time physically honing their craft.

他们进行了大量的 体能训练来提高技巧。

But what about their minds?

而他们的心理呢？

Not as much.

就没有怎么训练过了。

This is true off the playing field as well.

在赛场之外也是如此。

Whether we're taking a test of giving a talk,

无论是我们在考试， 或者做演讲时，

it's easy to feel like we're ready --

很容易感觉到我们准备好了——

at the top of our game --

觉得自己有最好的状态了——

and then perform at our worst when it matters most.

结果在最关键的时候 却表现得很糟糕。

It turns out that rarely do we practice

实际上，我们很少

under the types of conditions we're actually going to perform under,

在与实战情况相同的条件下练习，

and as a result,

结果就是，

when all eyes are on us,

当所有人的目光都投向我们时，

we sometimes flub our performance.

我们有时就会表现得很糟糕。

Of course, the question is, why is this the case?

当然，问题是， 为什么会这样呢？

And my experience on the playing field --

我在赛场上的经历

and in other important facets of my life --

以及我生命中其他的重要时刻，

really pushed me into the field of cognitive science.

是它们让我踏入了认知科学领域。

I wanted to know how we could reach our limitless potential.

我想知道如何能 达到自己无限的潜能。

I wanted to understand how we could use our knowledge

我想知道如何运用

of the mind and the brain

心理与大脑的知识，

to come up with psychological tools that would help us perform at our best.

运用心理学工具来帮助 我们发挥出最好的状态。

So why does it happen?

那么为什么会出现 发挥失常的情况呢？

Why do we sometimes fail to perform up to what we're capable of

为什么在有压力的时候

when the pressure is on?

我们没法正常发挥呢？

It may not be so surprising to hear that in stressful situations, we worry.

当有压力的时候，我们会感到 担心，这一点并不奇怪。

We worry about the situation,

我们担心当下的形势，

the consequences,

担心结果，

what others will think of us.

担心别人的看法。

But what is surprising is that we often get in our own way

但令人惊讶的是，正因为 我们的担心导致对问题过分关注，

precisely because our worries prompt us to concentrate too much.

才经常阻碍了我们的正常发挥。

That's right --

没错——

我们对所做的事情 投入了太多的关注。

we pay too much attention to what we're doing.

When we're concerned about performing our best,

当我们关心自己是否能 发挥出最好的状态时，

we often try and control aspects of what we're doing

我们常常会尝试控制 自己在各方面的表现，

that are best left on autopilot,

而那些方面的表现 最好是要顺其自然，

outside conscious awareness,

不被意识控制的。

and as a result,

结果就是

we mess up.

我们搞砸了。

Think about a situation where you're shuffling down the stairs.

想一下这样的一个场景， 当你正在下楼梯的时候，

What would happen if I asked you

如果我让你

to think about what you're doing with your knee

想一想在下楼梯时 膝盖是怎么运动的，

while you're doing that?

会发生什么？

There's a good chance you'd fall on your face.

很可能你会摔个狗啃泥。

We as humans only have the ability to pay attention to so much at once,

我们能同时使用的 注意力是有限的

which is why, by the way,

也就是说，顺便说一句，

it's not a good idea to drive and talk on the cell phone.

开车的时候打电话是不好的。

And under pressure,

在压力之下，

when we're concerned about performing at our best,

当我们关心自己是否能 发挥出最好的状态时，

we can try and control aspects of what we're doing

我们常常会尝试控制 自己各方面的表现，

that should be left outside conscious control.

包括那些本不该 受意识控制的部分。

The end result is that we mess up.

这样的结果就是我们搞砸了。

My research team and I have studied this phenomenon of overattention,

我和团队研究了 这种过度注意的现象，

and we call it paralysis by analysis.

我们称之为“分析麻痹”。

In one study, we asked college soccer players to dribble a soccer ball

在一项研究中，我们让 大学足球运动员来运球，

and to pay attention to an aspect of their performance

然后要求他们注意自己 表现的一个方面，

that they would not otherwise attend to.

那个方面是他们之前不曾注意到的。

We asked them to pay attention

我们要求他们注意

to what side of the foot was contacting the ball.

自己用脚的哪一侧触球。

We showed that performance was slower and more error-prone

我们发现，当我们让 他们把这些注意力转移到

when we drew their attention to the step-by-step details

每一步的细节上时， 他们的动作就会变慢，

of what they were doing.

而且容易出错。

When the pressure is on,

当有压力的时候，

我们常常会关心如何 发挥最好的状态，

we're often concerned with performing at our best,

and as a result we try and control what we're doing

这就导致了我们会尝试 控制行为的方方面面

to force the best performance.

来达到最佳的表现。

The end result is that we actually screw up.

然而结果总是事与愿违。

In basketball,

在篮球运动中，

the term "unconscious" is used to describe a shooter who can't miss.

“无意识”这个术语是 用来形容一个神射手的。

And San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan has said,

圣安东尼奥马刺队的 球星蒂姆 · 邓肯说过，

"When you have to stop and think, that's when you mess up."

“当你停下开始思考， 就是你搞砸的时候。”

In dance, the great choreographer, George Balanchine,

在舞蹈界，伟大的 编舞者乔治 · 巴兰钦

used to urge his dancers,

往往要求他的舞者，

"Don't think, just do."

“不要思考，专心跳舞。”

When the pressure's on,

当有压力的时候,

when we want to put our best foot forward,

当我们想表现出最好的一面，

somewhat ironically,

有些讽刺的是，

we often try and control what we're doing in a way that leads to worse performance.

我们常常会因尝试控制 而导致表现更差。

So what do we do?

我们该怎么办？

Knowing that we have this overactive attention,

在意识到了这种过度关注之后，

how do we ensure that we perform at our best?

要如何保证我们能够 呈现最好的状态呢？

A lot of it comes down to the prefrontal cortex,

这很大程度上要 归结于前额叶皮层，

that front part of our brain that sits over our eyes

就是在我们眼睛上方， 大脑前端的部分，

and usually helps us focus in positive ways.

这一部分常以积极的形式 帮助我们集中注意力，

It often gets hooked on the wrong things.

但也常常被一些不相关的事情吸引。

So how do we unhook it?

那我们该怎么摆脱呢？

Something as simple as singing a song,

可以尝试一些小事，比如唱一首歌，

or paying attention to one's pinky toe,

或者把注意力放在 某个人的小脚趾上，

as pro golfer Jack Nicklaus was rumored to do,

据说职业高尔夫球手 杰克 · 尼克劳斯用的就是这一招，

can help us take our mind off those pesky details.

这些能够帮助我们的 大脑摆脱这些恼人的细节。

It's also true that practicing under conditions

同样，我们也可以想象 自己就在比赛现场，

that we're going to perform under --

有意识地进行模拟练习——

closing the gap between training and competition

缩小训练环境与比赛环境的差距

can help us get used to that feeling of all eyes on us.

能够帮助我们习惯于 万众瞩目的感觉。

This is true off the playing field as well.

在赛场之外也是如此。

Whether it's getting ready for an exam

无论是准备一场考试，

or preparing for a big talk --

还是准备一场演讲——

one that might have a little pressure associated with it --

题目可能和压力有关——

(Laughter)

（笑）

getting used to the types of situations you're going to perform under

习惯于实际场景

really matters.

真的很重要。

When you're taking a test, close the book,

当你准备考试时，合上书，

practice retrieving the answer from memory under timed situations,

练习在有限的时间内 从记忆中找出答案，

and when you're giving a talk,

当你准备演讲时，

practice in front of others.

给自己找一些观众。

And if you can't find anyone who will listen,

如果找不到人，也可以

practice in front of a video camera or even a mirror.

在镜头或者镜子面前练习。

The ability to get used to what it will feel like can make the difference

适应真实环境的能力 往往能决定我们的发挥

in whether we choke or thrive.

是失常还是超常。

We've also figured out some ways to get rid of those pesky worries

我们也想出了一些方法 来摆脱这些困扰，

and self-doubts that tend to creep up in the stressful situations.

摆脱在压力状态下 容易产生的自我怀疑。

Researchers have shown that simply jotting down your thoughts and worries

研究表明，在令你 感到压力的事情发生之前，

before a stressful event

简单地写下你的想法与顾虑

can help to download them from mind --

能够让这些焦虑得到缓解——

make them less likely to pop up in the moment.

降低它们突然出现的可能。

It's kind of like when you wake up in the middle of the night

这很像你在半夜起来，

and you're really worried about what you have to do the next day,

突然很担心明天要做的事，

you're trying to think about everything you have to accomplish,

并试着思考需要完成的每件事情，

然后你把它们写下来，再去睡觉。

and you write it down and then you can go back to sleep.

写日记，或者把想法写在纸上，

Journaling, or getting those thoughts down on paper,

makes it less likely they'll pop up and distract you in the moment.

会减少它们突然出现并 让你分心的可能性，

The end result is that you can perform your best when it matters most.

这样一来，你就能够在 关键时刻发挥出最佳状态。

So up until now,

到现在为止，

I've talked about what happens when we put limits on ourselves

我讲到了当我们限制了 自己的能力时会发生的状况，

and some tips we can use to help perform up to our potential.

以及一些能帮助我们 正常发挥的小技巧。

But it's important to remember

但是要记住，

that it's not just our own individual being

导致我们表现不佳的

that can put limits and that can perform poorly;

不光是我们自身的原因；

our environment has an effect on whether we choke or thrive.

我们所处的环境也会影响到 我们的表现是成功还是失常。

Our parents, our teachers, our coaches, our bosses all influence

我们的父母，老师， 教练，老板都会影响

whether or not we can put our best foot forward when it matters most.

我们在关键时刻能否发挥出色。

Take math as an example.

以数学为例。

That's right, I said it:

没错，我说的就是

math.

数学。

Lots of people profess to choke or are anxious about doing math,

许多人学数学时都会 感到困难或焦虑，

whether it's taking a test or even calculating the tip on a dinner bill

不论是在考试，还是在 算晚餐小费，而身边恰好有

as our smart friends look on.

数学达人在看着的时候。

And it's quite socially acceptable

整个社会对谈论在数学测试中

to talk about choking or performing poorly in math.

表现失常或考砸了 都持有比较宽容的态度。

You don't hear highly educated people walking around talking about the fact

你不会听到受到过高等 教育的人边走路边谈论

or bragging about the fact that they're not good readers,

或者吹嘘自己的阅读 能力很差这样的事实，

but you hear people all the time bragging about how they're not math people.

但你常常会听到有人 “炫耀”他们如何不擅长数学。

And unfortunately,

不幸的是，

in the US, this tends to be more so among girls and women

在美国，这种情况在女性身上

than boys and men.

更加常见。

My research team and I have tried to understand

我和研究团队曾尝试去了解

where this fear of math comes from,

对数学的恐惧来自于哪里，

and we've actually peered inside the brains

我们实际上已经运用 功能磁共振成像技术

using functional magnetic resonance imaging,

窥探过大脑的内部，

of people who are worried about math.

来研究人们为什么害怕数学。

We've shown that math phobia correlates with a concrete visceral sensation

我们发现数学恐惧症与 一种具体的内脏感受相关，

such as pain,

比如疼痛，

of which we have every right to feel anxious.

对此我们都会感到焦虑。

In fact, when people who are worried about math

实际上，对数学感到焦虑的人

are just getting ready to take a math test --

在为数学考试复习的时候——

they're not even taking it, they're just getting ready --

他们还没考试，而是正在准备——

areas of the brain known the be involved in our neural pain response are active.

已知的大脑区域内与疼痛 相关的神经区域就会被激活。

When we say math is painful,

当我们说数学 让人痛苦不堪的时候，

there's some truth to it for some people.

对于某些人而言 或多或少的确是这样的。

But where does this math anxiety come from?

但是对于数学的 焦虑感来源于哪里呢？

It turns out that math anxiety is contagious.

事实证明，对数学的 焦虑感是会传染的。

When adults are worried about math,

当大人承认对数学感到担忧时，

他们身边的孩子也会开始担忧。

the children around them start worrying, too.

As young as first grade,

对于小学一年级的孩子，

when kids are in classrooms

如果他们的老师

with teachers who are anxious about their own math ability,

对自己的数学水平感到焦虑，

these kids learn less across the school year.

这些孩子在这个学年 学到的知识就会偏少。

And it turns out that this is more prevalent in girls than boys.

事实是，这种现象在女孩子中 比在男孩子中更常见。

At this young age,

在这样小的年纪，

kids tend to mimic same-sex adults,

小孩子会有模仿同性大人的倾向，

and at least in the US,

至少在美国，

over 90 percent of our elementary school teachers are women.

有超过90%的小学教师是女性。

Of course, it's not just what happens in the classroom.

当然，这不仅仅发生在教室里。

Social media plays a big role here, too.

社交媒体也有重要的影响。

It wasn't so long ago

不久之前，

that you could purchase a Teen Talk Barbie

你还能买到这样的一个 会说话的少女芭比娃娃，

that when the cord was pulled,

拉一下线

it would say things like,

它就会说这样的话：

"Will we ever have enough clothes?"

“我们的衣服是永远不够的。”

and "Math class is tough."

“数学课很难。”

And just a few years ago,

就在几年前，

major retailers were marketing T-shirts at our young girls

一些大型零售商还会把 这样的T恤卖给年轻的女孩，

that read things like, "I'm too pretty to do math,"

上面写着，”我太漂亮了，不该做数学“

or, "I'm too pretty to do my homework so my brother does it for me."

或者“我太漂亮了，不该做作业， 所以我哥哥会帮我做。”

And let's not forget about the parents.

当然我们也不要忘了父母，

Oh, the parents.

那些父母啊。

It turns out that when parents are worried about their own math ability

事实上，如果父母 很担心自己的数学能力,

and they help their kids a lot with math homework,

而且常常教孩子做数学作业，

their kids learn less math across the school year.

那他们的孩子这一学年的 数学学习进度就会落后。

As one parent put it,

就像一个家长说的，

"I judge my first grader's math homework

“ 我判断一年级数学作业的难度，

by whether it's a one-glass assignment or a three-glass night."

是看要花一杯酒，还是三杯酒的时间。”

(Laughter)

（笑）

When adults are anxious about their own math ability,

当成年人对自己的 数学能力很担忧时，

it rubs off on their kids

这也会影响他们的孩子，

and it affects whether they choke or thrive.

决定他们表现失常还是出色。

But just as we can put limits on others,

但我们能在其他人身上添加限制，

we can take them off.

也能够把它们拿掉。

My research team and I have shown

我和研究团队发现，

that when we help parents do fun math activities with their kids --

当我们帮助家长与孩子一起 做有趣的数学游戏——

rather than, say, just doing bedtime stories or bedtime reading,

不在睡前读故事或者进行睡前阅读，

they do bedtime math,

而是在睡前做数学题，

which are fun story problems to do with your kids at night,

跟孩子一起解决 有意思的数学问题，

not only do children's attitudes about math improve,

不但孩子对待数学的 态度有了改善，

but their math performance across the school year improves as well.

他们在整个学年的 数学能力也得到了改善。

Our environment matters.

我们的环境很重要。

From the classroom to parents to media,

从教师到父母，到媒体，

and it can really make a difference in terms of whether we choke or thrive.

这些都会影响到我们是 发挥失常还是表现出色。

Fast-forward from my high school soccer game

撇开我高中的足球比赛，

to my freshman year in college.

说说我刚进入大学的事吧。

I was in the chemistry sequence for science majors,

我学的是理科里的化学专业，

and boy did I not belong.

那真的很不适合我。

Even though I studied for my first midterm exam --

虽然我为了第一次 期中考试进行了复习——

I thought I was ready to go --

我觉得自己已经准备好了——

I bombed it.

结果我考砸了。

I literally got the worst grade in a class of 400 students.

我是400个学生中成绩最差的。

I was convinced I wasn't going to be a science major,

我深信我当不了理科生，

that maybe I was dropping out of college altogether.

可能连大学都毕不了业。

But then I changed how I studied.

但之后，我改变了学习方式。

Instead of studying alone,

我不再自己一个人学习，

I started studying with a group of friends

而是开始与一群朋友一起学习，

who at the end of the study session would close their book

他们会在学习了一段后合上书本，

and compete for the right answer.

然后比赛答题。

We learned to practice under stress.

我们学会了在压力之下练习。

If you could've looked inside my brain during that first midterm exam,

如果你能看到第一次期中 考试时我大脑的内部活动，

you likely would've seen a neural pain response

就会看到神经疼痛的反应，

a lot like the math-anxious individuals I study.

就跟我研究的有 数学焦虑的人很像。

It was probably there during the stressful study situation as well.

在学习压力大的时候， 可能也会有这种反应。

But when I walked into the final,

但是在期末考试的时候，

my mind was quiet,

我的大脑很平静，

and I actually got one of the highest grades in the entire class.

而且我得到了全班的最高分。

It wasn't just about learning the material;

这不仅与学习材料有关，

it was about learning how to overcome my limits when it mattered most.

更关键的是在重要时刻， 学会打破自己的限制。

What happens in our heads really matters,

我们大脑的活动很重要，

and knowing this,

知道这些，

we can learn how to prepare ourselves and others for success,

我们就可以学会如何 帮助自己和他人获得成功，

not just on the playing field but in the boardroom

不仅仅是在赛场上， 在会议室中，

and in the classroom as well.

在教室中也是如此。

Thank you.

谢谢。

（鼓掌）

(Applause)