Male athletes succumb to the pressure of important moments faster than female athletes. That is the outcome of a recent study from Israel.
“Choke under pressure”
In their study titled “Choking Under Pressure and Gender,” researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel examined how male and female tennis players performed under pressure during crucial moments at a Grand Slam tournament. “A unique setting where two professional athletes compete for a high financial reward.” They aimed to compare how men and women dealt with athletic pressure in similar situations.
They analyzed the data of all first sets from all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2010. In total, they examined the performances of 4127 matches among women and 4153 matches among men. They looked at whether and to what extent there was a decline in performance as the moments became more critical and pressure increased.
Our research showed that men consistently choke under competitive pressure, but with regard to women the results are mixed.
Said Dr. Mosi Rosenboim of BGU. “Even when women perform slightly worse than usual during crucial moments, the difference with normal performance was still 50% smaller than with men.”
Applicability in the Workplace?
I noticed that Rosenboim works for the Department of Management. Not a sports scientist. Then an economist speaks up. However, this was quickly explained. Although the researchers looked at athletes here, they want to apply their findings mainly to the labor market.
The purpose of this study is to shed additional light on how men and women respond to competitive pressure and use its conclusions to better understand the labor market
Danny Cohen-Zada, BGU Department of Economics
According to them, an important outcome is that men do not earn more in similar positions because they perform better under pressure.
However, they caution that their conclusions cannot be directly applied to the labor market. Among other reasons, because in matches women only compete with women and not with men as in the labor market. Additionally, professional tennis players may not be representative of the average worker.
Cortisol: The Culprit
According to the researchers, a possible cause lies in the fact that the stress hormone cortisol rises faster in men than in women. Other studies have shown that, for example, the second serve in tennis is performed worse at higher cortisol levels.
Personally, when I think about the research, I mainly think about decisive penalties during the FIFA World Cup that are shot 30 meters over or wide of the goal. If the Netherlands ever get to participate in a UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup again, meditation training wouldn’t be a bad idea.
References:
- Danny Cohen-Zada, Alex Krumer, Mosi Rosenboim, Offer Moshe Shapir. Choking Under Pressure and Gender. Working Paper submitted to Research Gate, 2016
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308901292_Choking_Under_Pressure_and_Gender
