Cognitive psychologists focus on the way people acquire, process, and store information. They are especially interested in understanding what happens in our brain between the time it receives a stimulus (or input) through our senses and initiates a response (or output). Examples of cognitive processes are perception, learning, problem solving, and memory. Early critics of the cognitive approach argued that because that which occurs between stimulus and response could not be seen, it could not be measured. But the arrival of the computer gave cognitive psychology not only a key metaphor to use when explaining how the mind operates—the mind works in a way similar to a computer: inputting, storing, and retrieving data—but also technology to measure what happens inside the brain. With the widening use of brain imaging techniques, cognitive psychology has seen increasing influence in recent decades. Its findings are used to improve learning methods, training programs, and recall—retrieving events from memory.

Most people have experienced “choking,” or failing under pressure, at one time or another. Cognitive psychologist Sian Beilock seeks to understand what happens in the brain that causes this negative response. In turn, she hopes to develop techniques to prevent this from happening. Choking is not just poor performance. Rather, it is performing worse than our abilities allow. It is rooted in how we perceive pressure or stress in a given situation—an exam in school, a school play, a championship game, or almost any form of public speaking.

In our nervous system, inputs from our senses are converted to signals that travel along nerve cells to the brain. These signals are processed in the brain and result in immediate responses. As brain scans reveal, sometimes these signals stimulate emotional centers in our brain. Emotions like fear can deplete some of the brain’s processing power, also known as working memory.

Working memory, which resides in the prefrontal cortex, allows us to temporarily store and manage the information needed to do calculations in our head or reason through problems. However, it is a limited resource. If we are engaged in an activity that demands thought or recall—perhaps responding to a tricky exam question or reciting a poem—and worries begin to steal from our working memory, then we may fold under pressure. According to Beilock, what gets people in trouble is when they think too much in a situation. As someone tries to control every detail, activity in the emotional centers of the brain ramps up. This clogs up working memory that should be reserved for the task at hand.

Solutions to the problem of choking include meditation, distracting the mind by whistling or singing quietly, practicing under similar pressure situations to grow accustomed to them, and, as the video demonstrates, writing about worries moments before the big moment. Writing helps limit ruminative thoughts—those negative thoughts that grow the more you dwell on them. By expressing your worries on a page, you free up the brainpower you will need to tackle the challenge ahead.

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