Among competitive archers and golfers, those who have had target panic or the yips report choking only slightly more often than the rest

The summary today

Only one survey has counted the two problems in the same people: 155 British competitors, 69 archers and 86 golfers, who were asked whether they had ever had target panic, or the yips in golf, and whether they had ever had a dramatic drop in performance outside their control. Of the whole sample, 28.4 per cent report both, 11 per cent only the first, 39.4 per cent only choking and 21.2 per cent neither: of the 61 who report target panic or the yips, 44, or 72 per cent, say they have also choked. Put like that it looks like a close link, but in that sample choking is extremely common, two people in three, and among those who do not report target panic the share is 61 out of 94, 65 per cent: the overlap is only slightly higher than you would expect if the two problems travelled independently of each other. The authors themselves read the 11 per cent who had target panic without ever choking as a sign that these are two different things. For the archers alone we know how many report each problem, 43.5 per cent target panic and 75.4 per cent choking, but not how many report both, and each person put a name to their own problem.

Also phrased as: "target panic and choking"; "target panic and collapsing under pressure"; "yips and choking"; "target panic and competition collapse"

Evidence

• 2020
  For Archers Published later

  A survey of 155 British competitors, 69 archers and 86 golfers, with two yes-or-no questions: whether they had ever had target panic (or the yips) and whether they had ever had a dramatic drop in performance outside their control. Overall, 28.4 per cent report both (44), 11 per cent only target panic or the yips (17), 39.4 per cent only choking (61) and 21.2 per cent neither (33): 44 of the 61 with target panic or the yips, 72 per cent, also report choking, against 61 of 94, 65 per cent, among those who have not had target panic. The counts are on the pooled sample of the two sports.

  Personality Predictors of Yips and Choking Susceptibility · Philip Clarke, David Sheffield, Sally Akehurst

• 2020
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same study, by sport: target panic is reported by 43.5 per cent of archers against 36 per cent of golfers, choking by 75.4 per cent of archers against 61.6 per cent of golfers. The traits that distinguish the two groups do not coincide: those who have had target panic or the yips score higher on social traits, such as social anxiety and the need not to show their imperfections, those who have choked also on anxiety and perfectionism; the authors read the 11 per cent with target panic but no choking as a sign that the two problems are different.

  Personality Predictors of Yips and Choking Susceptibility · Philip Clarke, David Sheffield, Sally Akehurst

Status history

1. 1990 Not studied No one in the registry's bibliography had yet counted how many precision athletes have had both target panic and choking in competition.
2. 2020 Reported A hundred and fifty-five British competitors, 69 archers and 86 golfers, answer a survey. Of these, 28.4 per cent have had both target panic or the yips and choking, 11 per cent only the first, 39.4 per cent only choking and 21.2 per cent neither: of the 61 who report target panic or the yips, 44, 72 per cent, also report choking. Among those who have not had target panic, however, 65 per cent report choking, so the overlap is only a little above what chance would give. The data are not split by sport and are recollections that each person labelled for themselves: a single descriptive study, reported.

Related

Related articles

• Choking in archery: how common it is, who it happens to and what goes with itHow many archers say they fall apart in competition, what those who choke most often have in common, and how much pressure costs on measured scores.

Research lines

• 56 studiesAnxiety and confidence in archery competition since 1986
• 8 studiesChoking and competitive pressure in archers

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