Why pressure can make athletes think too little — or too much

A new framework argues that success in decisive moments depends not simply on where athletes focus, but on whether the complexity of their information processing matches the task and their capabilities.

Researchers in Cologne and New Zealand say the way people handle information under pressure may matter as much as where they place their attention, offering a new explanation for why some athletes unravel while others thrive in decisive moments. In a theoretical paper published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Laura Voigt and colleagues at the German Sport University Cologne argue that pressure can alter the complexity of information processing, not just shift focus towards or away from specific cues.

For years, scientists have tried to explain clutch performances and choke episodes by looking at attention: whether performers become distracted, or whether they start consciously controlling actions that are usually automatic. The new framework keeps those ideas in view but says they do not tell the full story. According to the researchers, a penalty taker, for example, may rely on one simple cue, or may combine several pieces of information, such as the goalkeeper’s movement, position and habits. Under stress, either a simpler or a more complex strategy can help, depending on whether it matches the task and the performer’s capabilities.

Voigt said the central issue is not whether processing is simple or complicated in the abstract, but whether it fits the demands of the situation and can be carried out reliably by the individual. The authors describe this as “task-matched complexity”, a level of information processing suited both to the person and to the challenge. In their view, pressure may sometimes improve performance by stripping away unnecessary detail, but it can also damage results if it removes information that is genuinely useful. The same logic applies in reverse when additional processing helps one athlete but overwhelms another.

The paper is meant as a starting point for future experiments rather than a final answer. The researchers say their model could help trainers and psychologists move beyond generic advice such as “think less” under pressure, instead asking which kinds of information processing actually support performance in a given context. The German Sport University Cologne said the work was developed with colleagues in New Zealand and published in a leading cognitive science journal, building on the university’s broader research in sport psychology and sensorimotor expertise.