Hexed by Pressure: How Action-State Orientation Explains Propensity to Choke in Super Hexagon

Many videogames require players to perform under pressure; however, not all players respond equivalently to pressure: why are some players more likely to tilt (lose control during play) or choke (perform poorly relative to their ability) whereas others seem to thrive under pressure? Given the importance of both emotion regulation in tilting and optimal arousal in achieving optimal performance, we propose that individual differences in ability to down-regulate negative affect under stress — known as failure-related action-state orientation (fASO) — could explain propensity to choke under pressure. We conducted an online between-subjects experiment (N=144) in which we measured baseline performance in Super Hexagon (day 1), then exposed participants to a stress induction (i.e., PASAT-C) or had them play a low-intensity bubble-popping game before playing again (day 2). Under stress, players higher in fASO performed better relative to their baseline in terms of average time alive and stalled progress; whereas, without stress, players lower in fASO performed better on both measures. Traits reflective of proposed explanations for choking (i.e., reinvestment, attentional control) did not influence performance under pressure. The ability to down-regulate negative affect and overcome setbacks is a useful theoretical lens to explore why some players choke under pressure, whereas others thrive.