Why stress affects our performance

To him who is in fear everything rustles.
Sophocles
c. 495 – 406 B.C.

Sian Beilock and Thomas Carr, psychologists who specialize in studying how stress affects performance, recently reported on an experiment involving college students taking math exams. When the students were told the exam was just for practice, they scored 10% higher than when they took an equivalent exam and were told their test scores would be used as part of a competition for cash prizes. The social stress of competing for cash prizes directly affected the students’ performance on the exams.

Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence, explains what happens. Different parts of our brain serve different functions. There’s one part of our brain whose function is to make sure we respond appropriately to threats. When we’re faced with a perceived threat, this part of the brain takes over from the cognitive part of the brain. It shuts down the thinking and learning part of the brain and takes command of the brain to insure maximum protection. This function was no doubt necessary for survival when early man faced the threats of living in the wild.

You may be wondering what this has to do with everyday life. The answer is: more than you think. Consider the following examples where performance is affected by the social stress of the situation:

A student is called to the front of the classroom to write a solution to a problem on the blackboard. If the student gets the wrong answer, he thinks the other students will consider him stupid. He can be overwhelmed by the social stress.
Frequently, the teacher randomly asks students to answer questions about the topic under discussion. Students sit in fear of being called on. They cannot learn while they are in this constant state of fear.
Parents who are overly critical of a child’s achievements create an environment where the child will achieve well below their potential.
A supervisor may often criticize of a particular worker in front of other workers. This creates a state of dread in the employee, ensuring less than optimal performance.

In all of these situations, the person being put in a stressful situation can be negatively affected. The thinking part of the brain shuts down and the survival part of the brain takes over. As a result, the person often reacts in a manner that worsens an already difficult situation. Even though the student or worker might know the correct response, their brain is unable to assess the memory and learning part of the brain. In this case, we often say the person “chokes under pressure.”

When a teacher frequently puts the students under social pressure or a supervisor constantly belittles an employee, their brains become even more vigilant. The brain is conditioned to be on the alert to switch to survival mode. The teacher or the supervisor has unwittingly diminished their ability to get the best from the student or the employee.

Social stress is very real, and the reduced ability to perform under stress isn’t the only consequence. The long term health problems associated with social stress have been well documented. When the survival part of the brain takes over, the body’s immune system shuts down. The more we’re subjected to social stress, the more damage is done. Cardiovascular problems are one of the major results of continual social stress.

The lesson is pretty clear: social stress is a very real problem. It can be found in school, the home and the work place. It greatly diminishes performance and negatively impacts long term health.

Managing, teaching or raising children using fear as a weapon is counterproductive. If you’re the victim of this type of behavior, learn to take a deep breath, calm down, let the fear subside, gather your thoughts and then proceed. Trying to rush the process will only hinder your performance.

Fear is sharp sighted, and can see things underground, and much more in the skies.
Miguel de Cervantes
1547 – 1616