The DOI matches its Crossref record; 104 of the 105 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Get excited: Reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement.
Abstract
Individuals often feel anxious in anticipation of tasks such as speaking in public or meeting with a boss. I find that an overwhelming majority of people believe trying to calm down is the best way to cope with pre-performance anxiety. However, across several studies involving karaoke singing, public speaking, and math performance, I investigate an alternative strategy: reappraising anxiety as excitement. Compared with those who attempt to calm down, individuals who reappraise their anxious arousal as excitement feel more excited and perform better. Individuals can reappraise anxiety as excitement using minimal strategies such as self-talk (e.g., saying "I am excited" out loud) or simple messages (e.g., "get excited"), which lead them to feel more excited, adopt an opportunity mind-set (as opposed to a threat mind-set), and improve their subsequent performance. These findings suggest the importance of arousal congruency during the emotional reappraisal process.
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“Attempts to control or suppress thoughts and feelings may reinforce the notion that physiological symptoms are something negative, to be eliminated (Brooks, 2014).”
From Examining a Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Music Performance Anxiety in Student Vocalists (2020) · cites this paper as Brooks, 2014
In the citing paper
“Unfortunately, attempts to control or suppress thoughts and feelings can paradoxically increase the experience of those thoughts and feelings (Eifert and Forsyth, 2005; Brooks, 2014).”
From Examining a Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Music Performance Anxiety in Student Vocalists (2020) · cites this paper as Brooks, 2014
In the citing paper
“Indeed, individuals who reappraise anxiety as excitement demonstrate improved performance (Brooks, 2014).”
From Examining a Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Music Performance Anxiety in Student Vocalists (2020) · cites this paper as Brooks, 2014
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brooks, A. W.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brooks, Alison Wood
- ORCID
- Brooks, Alison Wood
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology General
- Published
- 2014
- Volume
- 143
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1144-1158
- ISSN
- 0096-3445 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2222
- OpenAlex
- W2166132302
- Cited by
- 349
- References
- 105
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 78 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 7
- FWCI
- 15.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Psychology General (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wharton Behavioral Lab
- Wharton Risk Center
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Keywords
- pre-performance anxiety, cognitive reappraisal, excitement, emotional reappraisal, self-talk, public speaking, mathematics achievement, performance anxiety, coping strategies
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Arousal, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Young Adult, Performance Anxiety
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