Performing Under Pressure

This resource looks at how people create strategies to help them cope with pressure and stressful situations such as performing in front of others or taking examinations. Psychologists have looked at how sportsmen and women cope with pressure to see if the strategies they use would also work for ordinary people. As an experiment, a game was designed to test how effective three different methods were. These are called visualisation, self-tasks and if-then planning. Recognising the importance of positive thinking and mental, as well as physical, planning is important. So, too, is learning how to manage emotional states. This resource was developed by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), a part of Research Councils UK (RCUK).