Conference Highlights Performing under pressure: What can we learn from football penalty shoot-outs? Geir Jordet

In this paper, I outline a programme of research that has examined the antecedents of choking in sport through an analysis of successful and unsuccessful kicks in football penalty shoot-outs at the World Cup, the European Championships and in the UEFA Champions League. This body of research attests to the role of ego-threat, emotional distress and self-regulation breakdown for unsuccessful kicks and choking under pressure. The paper also outlines how this knowledge has informed interventions with professional football teams. Keywords: skill breakdown; choking; soccer.

THLETES frequently cite performance level of performance, but with no awards pressure as a source of stress in com- (Jordet, 2009a). In another study with the A petitive sport (e.g. McKay et al., same data base, players from the national 2008). In our research programme on the teams with the highest status performed penalty shoot-out in major international worse than players from the teams with lower football tournaments, we have attempted to status (Jordet, 2009b). This suggests that hav- describe and explain how some athletes ing a high status or position in one’s sport, choke and others excel in situations that are which will lead to high expectations to per- characterised by extremely high levels of per- form, can sometimes turn around to become formance pressure. Conceptually, we have a liability in extreme pressure situations. used a model of choking under pressure as a The second step of the model refers to case of self-destructive behaviour that the rise of unpleasant emotions that often involves three steps: ego threat, emotional accompanies ego-threat. We conducted an distress, and self-regulation failure interview study with 10 players who took part (Baumeister, 1997). in a 2004 European Championship penalty The first step of the model posits that shoot-out and found that anxiety was the when high levels of egotism are threatened, only emotion reported by all 10 players emotional distress is triggered. This has the (Jordet et al., 2008). A more detailed analy- potential to set off a cascade of processes sis of the same players revealed that the ones that end up with performers choking under who reported low perceptions of control also pressure. In the football penalty shoot-out, reported higher anxiety symptom intensity we find support for this step when linking and more debilitative symptom direction status to performance under pressure. Based (Jordet et al., 2006). However, we have no on video analyses of all the shots ever taken reason to believe that anxiety in itself will in penalty shoot-outs in the World Cup, lead to reduced performance. In our model, European Championships and the Champi- these first two steps represent perfectly nor- ons League between 1976 and 2006, the mal processes that most people will experi- most esteemed players (i.e. those who took a ence when they are about to perform under shot after they had received one or more high levels of pressure. prestigious international awards, such as The third step of the model is when ‘FIFA Player of the Year’ or ‘Ballon d’Or’) athletes self-regulate to cope with the performed worse than players at the same unpleasant emotions experienced as a result

Sport & Exercise Psychology Review, Vol. 7 No. 2 11 © The British Psychological Society 2011 Geir Jordet of the ego-threat. Athletes choke when they In sum, this paper has reviewed some of self-regulate to escape these unpleasant emo- the major findings of a research programme tions (so-called trade-offs) or when they that addressed the mechanisms involved engage in misguided self-regulation strate- when elite performers choke under severe gies (so-called counterproductive strategies). levels of pressure. It was found that choking Our video analyses of penalty shooters con- in major football penalty shoot-outs corre- sistently show that players under particularly sponds well to a three-step model (based on high ego threat engage in escapist self-regu- Baumeister, 1997), involving ego threat, lation strategies. Specifically, players per- emotional discomfort, and self-regulation forming under negative valence conditions failure. Performers who self-regulate well (i.e. when a missed shot instantly means a can successfully cope with both high levels of lost penalty shoot-out; Jordet & Hartman, ego-threat and discomfort, whereas those 2008), who had high individual status who self-regulate less well may choke. An (Jordet, 2009a) or who played for a team implication for practitioners is that working with high status (Jordet, 2009b), prepared on improving one’s self-regulation is a natu- their shots faster than players who per- ral way to prevent choking under pressure. formed under lower levels of ego-threat. Fast However, a broader approach may also have preparation times are thought to reflect a some advantages and recommendations to desire to escape the situation by getting their prevent choking can be structured to shots over and done with quickly. This is address each of the three steps of the model: illustrated in quotes from players who have (1) reduce ego-threat; (2) normalise emo- missed some of these shots. For example, tional distress; and (3) optimise self-regula- Steven Gerrard (2006) spoke about his tion. Further, a particularly exciting missed shot during the 2006 World Cup approach to performing better under pres- shoot-out against Portugal: ‘Why do I have to sure can be inspired by lessons learned from wait for the bloody whistle? Those extra cou- high-reliability organisations such as airlines, ple of seconds seemed like an eternity, and nuclear power plants, and hospitals (Weick they definitely put me off’ (pp.419–420). & Sutcliffe, 2007). In these organisations, Similarly, Gareth Southgate, who failed to making a mistake does not merely cost a lost score against Germany in 1996, said ‘All I spot on the team, a lost game or a lost tro- wanted was the ball: put it on the spot, get it phy, mistakes cost human lives. The best of over and done with’ (Southgate & Wood- these organisations focus on quickly man, 2003, p.191). Further analyses show responding to and coping with errors – that fast preparation times in these situations instead of avoiding them completely – and are positively associated with more missed then on learning from them. Moreover, they penalties (Jordet, Hartman & Sigmundstad, acknowledge that mistakes under pressure, 2009). Our analyses also show that players indeed, will occur and rather than attempt- from England (the country with the worst ing to avoid individual mistakes altogether, penalty shoot-out record in the world, five they put the focus on collectively coping with losses in six attempts) are faster than players the consequences of these mistakes. An from all other nations (Jordet, 2009b). Thus, intervention based on this type of approach there seems to be ample evidence from the has shown some promising results with elite soccer penalty shoot-out that people under level soccer players (Jordet, 2008). ego threat who experience high levels of emotional distress may prioritise temporary escape from the distress and these attempts to cope may backfire and cause performance failure.

12 Sport & Exercise Psychology Review, Vol. 7 No. 2 Performing under pressure: What can we learn from football penalty shoot-outs?

Correspondence Geir Jordet Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, PO Box 4014 Ullevål stadion, 0806 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: [email protected]

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