以下为一等奖选手魏默涵译作。<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Topic 1 How Not to Choke Under Pressure, How We Can Avoid Choking Under Pressure “This is your game,” my friend exclaimed as he reminded me that we were not on the basketball court, ski slopes or go-karting track — some of the many areas where he ruled. We were playing tennis, and ostensibly he was right; tennis was my game. I could maneuver my racquet as though I knew what I was doing and had invested enough money in tennis lessons to feed Baba Ramdev’s little Scottish island. Why then did I proceed to double fault away the game and match? Why did I choke? A leading theory called the distraction hypothesis says that we choke because we shift our attention from the task at hand to irrelevant thoughts. Thinking “I better not choke” when you are about to putt for the win is an example. Pressure and worries distract the mind from the attention required for optimum performance. They cloud the working or short-term memory that is critical for effective execution. Another theory called the explicit monitoring theory works in the opposite way. It proposes that we choke because we give too much attention to the task at hand. We interfere with the automatic flow of skill by overlaying too much explicit control. In other words, we micromanage and nag our performance to a choke. Next time you are driving your car, consciously run through all the steps you perform and see if it affects how you drive. I would say that when we choke what actually happens is both: Part distraction and part over monitoring. The classic Inner Game of Tennis is more of a book on how to live life than just win on the courts. The book’s theme is to not try too hard. As an example, the author suggests that next time your opponent is on a hot streak, you can level the field by simply asking him during the game what he is doing differently to play so well. If he gives you details on how he thinks his swing and footwork may be working out, when he tries to replicate those actions he may overdo it and lose his streak. Sneaky stuff. Knowledge of the choke applies beyond sports to areas such as test taking, public speaking, and mathematics. Scientists from the University of Chicago performed a well described experiment to study how students with test anxiety could be helped. Sian Beilock, associate professor of psychology, found that a group of the students who were asked to write down their anxieties for 10 minutes before the test had a significant improvement in their grades compared to those who wrote about other topics or just sat quietly for the 10 minutes. Neat, you can literally write away your fears. The theory is that writing down anxieties saves the working memory from being clogged by them. This clears up the working memory so it can play a role in recall and execution. The monsoon issue of ForbesLife India that is on the stands is dedicated to the topics of memory and forgetting and has more on this. We share that on average you can store seven items in your working memory. Not a lot of space for fears and worries. Another reason for the Chicago findings could be that students gained some perspective on writing down their fears. It was only a test they were taking, after all. What if it was one of the most coveted golf championships? Ask Greg Norman. In 1996 he choked in the final round of the Masters Tournament. When asked, “How can you not win? You have the personality of a winner.” He responded, “I am a winner. I just didn’t win today.” 译文: 如何自如应对压力,我们该如何避免重压下发挥失常? “这可是你的拿手活儿!”朋友向我大喊道,意图提醒我,我们不是在比赛包括篮球、滑雪或卡丁车等在内的他所擅长的运动。表面看起来他似乎没说错,我们是在打网球,而网球是我的长项。我可以自如地驾驭球拍,仿佛我曾不惜重金接受专业网球培训,而为此所用花销足够供养Baba Ramdev的苏格兰小岛。若果真是这样,为什么刚开始我就双发失误输掉局分?为什么我会发挥失常? 一种叫做“干扰假说”的主流理论提出,我们之所以会发挥失常,是因为我们将注意力转移到了与手头工作毫不相干的问题上了。就像当你打高尔夫球即将轻击球入洞一杆定胜负时,心里却总在想着“千万别失误”。压力和忧虑分散了我们的注意力,从而无法集中精力发挥出最佳水平。这也就使得对有效执行至关重要的工作基础或短期记忆变得模糊。 另一种叫做“外部控制理论”的理论则恰恰与之相反。该理论认为,我们之所以出现失误是因为过于重视当前活动,过多地刻意约束自己的行为,使得原本熟悉的技巧因意识控制而受到干扰无法自由发挥。 换言之,正是我们对每一细节过度地、有意识地控制反而使得我们失误连连。等你下次驾车时,不妨有意识地注意每一个步骤的操作,看看是否会影响正常驾驶。 我认为,我们在压力下出现失误时,实际上两种情况都会发生:一方面是注意力分散,另一方面是过度控制。经典著作《网球的内心游戏》与其说是讲述球场输赢,还不如说是教导人们如何生活。其宗旨就在于提醒人们凡事切莫过于勉强。例如,作者在书中说道,以后比赛中若是对手连胜,只要在比赛期间问他有些什么特殊的技巧使他打得如此出色,你便可就此扳回局面。因为他若详细地告诉你他的挥击和步法如何起效的,就可能会因为重复这些动作时做的过于夸张而输球,破了先前的好手气。这可不是光明正大的手段。 关于失误发生和解决的原理,也可以(扩展)应用到除运动以外的其他领域,如考试、公共演讲和数学演算。芝加哥大学的科学家进行了一项计划缜密的实验,旨在研究如何帮助患有考前焦虑症的学生。心理学副教授Sian Beilock发现,接受要求在考前10分钟写下自己种种焦虑的同学,与写下其他内容的或者只是静坐10分钟的同学相比,考试成绩显著提高。简而言之,你可以通过书写的方式排解担忧。 该理论认为写下焦虑可避免基础记忆被焦虑充斥。这种方法清空了基础记忆,使之能够在回忆与执行时更好地发挥作用。最近一期销售的印度版 《福布斯生活》第三期中刊载了论述记忆与遗忘的文章,以后也将继续登载类似文章。我们认为,每人平均只能在其基础记忆中储存7个项目,因而恐惧和焦虑无法占据很大空间。 芝加哥大学的研究发现还有另外一种解释,学生在写下他们的恐惧后,也可能对其有了重新认识。他们参加的毕竟只是一个检测而已。但如果是面临着角逐梦寐以求的高尔夫锦标赛冠军呢?不如问问格雷格•诺曼(Greg Norman)这个问题。他在1996年高尔夫球大师锦标赛的最后一轮角逐中发挥失常,与冠军失之交臂。当人们问道:“你怎么会输了呢?你具有冠军的实力啊!”他回答道:“我的确是个赢家,只是今天没有赢而已。” |
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