A skilled pianist fumbles during his audition at Juilliard School; an Olympic athlete fails to score the winning goal; and a prima ballerina trips during the opening production. In each of these events, an individual’s performance falters at an imperative instant. Certainly, we have each experienced a moment where the pressure of being observed caused us to fail in carrying out a specific task appropriately. Why does this phenomenon occur? We are so often told by our friends, family, and guardians to “just relax” or to “stop overthinking it”, but perhaps the reasoning behind the anxiety experienced when placed under social evaluation has a more scientific explanation.
Researchers at the University of Sussex believe that they have found the answer to our question. These scientists have successfully discovered the region of our brain that plays a major role in causing performance “slip ups” through functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging (fMRI), which they used to monitor each participant’s performance of a fine grip task (Yoshie et al. 2016). Although Yoshie et al. (2009) demonstrated in previous studies that individuals will apply a greater force during a task when they know that they are being observed compared to when they perform it alone, there has been little research conducted on the central neural mechanisms responsible for this observed occurrence.
To gain insight into this problem, Yoshie et al. (2016) performed an experiment where the participants involved were told to apply a precise force while gripping an object as they viewed video footage of observers seeming to evaluate their performance. They repeated the experiment while shown video footage of observers evaluating the performance of another participant. Results demonstrated that the inferior parietal cortex (IPC), a part of the brain assisting in fine sensorimotor control, became inactive when participants knew they were being watched. The inferior parietal cortex coordinates with the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), a region of the brain involved in processing visual input from facial expressions to understand what others are thinking. Together, the inferior parietal cortex and the posterior superior temporal sulcus form what is known as the Action Observation Network; the posterior superior temporal sulcus delivers the collected visual information to the inferior parietal cortex which then propagates an appropriate motor response (Yoshie et al. 2016).
What we can infer from this study is that integrating sensory input from our central nervous system with our muscles and limbs from our musculoskeletal system is crucial in the process of motor control, and that social evaluation can greatly affect this system. In other words, performance of a convoluted task requiring coordination capabilities can weaken when an individual is aware that they are being scrutinized. Furthermore, Yoshie et al. (2016) discovered that this phenomenon is mediated by the inferior parietal cortex. With this knowledge, we can begin to find solutions in overcoming performance anxiety.
Sources
Yoshie, M., Nagai, Y., Critchley, H.D., Harrison, N.A. 2016. Why I Tense Up When You Watch Me: Inferior Parietal Cortex Mediates an Audience’s Influence on Motor Performance. Nature 6 (19305).
Yoshie, M., Kudo, K., Murakoshi, T., Ohtsuki, T. 2009. Music Performance Anxiety in Skilled Pianists: Effects of Social-Evaluative Performance Situation on Subjective, Autonomic, and Electromyographic Reactions. Experimental Brain Research 199: 117-126.
