Highly accomplished and talented people rely heavily on their working memory, a short-term memory system than maintains relevant information in an active state which can be accessed quickly. However, when under pressure, the stress and distractions interfere with their higher working memory and deplete cognitive resources.

Research done by Sian Beilock, Associate Professor of Psychology at the Universtiy of Chicago and presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, shows that when under pressure, talented people end up resorting to the same problem solving techniques used by lower performers. These methods can include guessing and estimating. Use of these strategies undermined the accuracy of those who normally perform at higher levels.

Students participating in the study were given mathematical tests and told they would be paid for right answers - but only if a partner, chosen randomly, also got the right answer. To increase the pressure, students were told their partners had solved the problem correctly.

Adding pressure had no effect on those whose working memory was more limited and their performance was no worse for the added stress. But for those who usually find their superior working memory to be an advantage, the addition of stress to the situation hampered their cognitive performance.

University of Chicago