Reappraising The Situation To Improve Performance

Gaming—but especially esports—can be very stressful. But what if you could reduce the amount of perceived stress while simultaneously improving performance? There's an intervention everyone can do that appears to do exactly that. Let's jump right in.

Most of us want to perform well when playing video games; we want to climb the in-game ladder ranks. This may put pressure on us and increase our stress level. In esports, this effect is likely x-folded, as money, sponsorships, their job as players of a specific team, etc. are on the line continuously.

Pressure can be perceived as either a challenge or threat and affects how we experience anxiety-related symptoms. Anxiety is typically seen as something negative because it can diminish performance and disrupt attentional control. How we perceive and manage stress impacts performance.

"For example, an athlete who views a stressor as an enhancer (e.g., evaluating a situation as demanding, yet having the resources to cope) may experience improved performance, whereas someone who feels overwhelmed may experience pressure as a hindrance to performance." [1]

As a consequence, exploring approaches that reduce the way we view arousal in stressful situations (such as esports tournaments) becomes a valuable research endeavor.

One possible way to enhance performance under pressure may be an arousal reappraisal intervention. "This strategy allows individuals to reconceptualize pressure as a coping mechanism (i.e., encourages individuals to view their physiological reactions as an additional resource that can facilitate optimal performance..." [1]

In simple terms, instead of thinking, "Oh god, oh god, my heart is pounding so fast and loud... this is going to end badly," you could be thinking, "My heart is going ham." This is great, because it'll bring more oxygen and nutrients to my body and brain, making me a better player.

A reappraisal intervention now may shift your mind from a threat appraisal (this is bad) to a challenge appraisal (this actually helps me to perform better—nice!). To see if this actually works, 44 Counter-Strike university players were put to the test. In a controlled environment, their action performance was measured through a) the total time taken to complete the CS time trial and b) their accuracy (hits or misses) percentage.

To put pressure on the players, they were informed that they were broadcast live on Twitch, were compared to others on a public leaderboard, and were "threatened" to be interviewed if they performed badly. How did the intervention look? Here's what the participants of the intervention group got to read before their tasks:

"In stressful situations, like esporting competitions, our bodies react in very specific ways. The increase in arousal you may feel during stressful situations is not harmful. In fact, recent research has shown that this response to stress can be beneficial and aid performance in stressful situations. Indeed, this response evolved because it helped our ancestors survive by delivering oxygen to where it was needed in the body to help address stressors. Therefore, before and during the upcoming counter strike task, we encourage you to reinterpret your bodily signals and any increases in arousal as beneficial and remind yourself that they could be helping you perform well." [1]

🧘‍♂️ Reappraise The Stress

The study results indicate that the arousal reappraisal intervention worked. It prevented the typical effects that occur under pressure from happening, i.e., appraising the situation as a threat, disrupting attentional control, and reducing performance. Interestingly, the intervention also prevented anxiety from rising. This was surprising, since the intervention wasn't designed to do that.

Thanks for reading, and stay calm, everyone.

Christian 🙂

References

[1] Sharpe et al., 2024