Why being watched makes us more likely to slip up

WHETHER it is a footballer missing a penalty, or an pupil hitting the wrong note in a piano exam, we’re prone to slipping up when we are under pressure.

And now scientists have found that disaster strikes when we are being watched because a part of our brain that gives us control over our bodies turns off.

Researchers at the University of Sussex and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School carried out an experiment in which people thought they were being watched.

They found that their subjects’ muscles tended to grip objects tighter when they believed they were in front of an audience, playing havoc with any kind of subtle movements and ruining their control. The subjects also reported being more anxious about the quality of their performance.

The research confirmed previous findings that found people tend to exert more force when they know they are being watched.

For example, pianists unconsciously press keys harder when they play in front of an audience compared to when playing alone.

Using MRI scans, the researchers discovered that a key part of the brain, the inferior parietal cortex (IPC), can switch off when we are being observed.

But the IPC only deactivates when someone hostile is watching us, the study in journal Scientific Reports found. When observers want us to do well performance anxiety is less likely to kick in.

Lead researcher Dr Michiko Yoshie believes that in order to overcome anxiety, you should first try performing in front of an audience full of people who ‘support you and wish for your successful performance’.

He explained: ‘When we are being scrutinised, we tend to care about how the audience is feeling about us and our performance. However, for example, before an actual public performance, a musician could perform in front of his/her family and close friends and receive a lot of applause.

‘Such an experience would help you to induce a desirable activation pattern in your brain – and boost your self-confidence.’