Abstract

Sport competitions evoke experience of anxiety among athletes. The competitive situation demands place on athletes to perform their very best often under intense pressure and specific conditions create performance deterioration, causing choking under pressure. The study investigated effect of psychological intervention strategies on choking-susceptible university elite and non-elite athletes. The experimental research design of pretest–post-test of triangulating method was used in the study that tested on automatic execution, explicit monitoring and distraction model in a sport context during execution of the skill-dominant (basketball lay-up shooting).

A total of 60 participants were used for the study. An 18 items Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) was completed by the participants before the performance of a lay-up shooting in a low pressure condition and high pressure condition. Pressure conditions were manipulated by using an audience, video-recorder during performance and performance contingent (monetary incentive and physical gifts). Test on performance scores under pressure was not significant (p > 0.05). Results of the correlation analysis revealed that there was no significant between the experimental 1 and control (p>0.05) on the CSAI-2 and performance scores, while on experimental 2 a positive relationship exit (p <0.05). There was no significant (p >0.05) on the variation in training for both experimental groups. This shows that choking in sports are relatively complex and differ based on personality characteristics, understanding individual zone of optimum functioning and administration of intervention strategies (such as group activation, skill techniques) alongside with sufficient training before competitions in different situations may assists university athletes control and cope with choking in their various sports.