Personality Predicting Performance under Pressure (PPPP)

Whether in exams, competitions, stage performances, presentations, job interviews or speeches – both, in our professional and private life we again and again experience situations, in which we feel under pressure, because the situation calls for optimal performance. Performances in such situations are decisive for success and failure, for victory and defeat, for opened and closed doors within our biographies. Within the PPPP-study we investigated performances in pressure situations, especially motor performances (darts, mini golf, and hot wire) and their relations to personality characteristics that might facilitate vs. hinder successful performances under pressure.
In a video-recorded laboratory-based assessment, all participants completed the three motor tasks in two conditions (absence of pressure, presence of pressure), respectively. Pressure was manipulated via a combination of a cover story, a competition, and an additional video-recording. Before each condition, participants reported on their state affect and their performance expectation and after each task on their attribution. Before the approximately one-hour lab assessment, participants completed an online questionnaire. Self- and acquaintance-reports were obtained regarding relevant personality characteristics, information on experiences with pressure situations, and the competence level with regard to the three tasks at hand and other skills.