Khalifa Bartura is a PhD candidate at the Department of Sport and Social Sciences at NIH. On August 22, 2025, 10:00—16:00 he will defend his dissertation titled Understanding Ironic Performance Breakdown Under Pressure. Unwanted thoughts, cognitive task load, and shooting performance: Implications for elite athletes at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Auditorium Innsikt.
About the study
Have you ever experienced your mind betraying you at the worst possible moment—freezing during a critical presentation, missing a crucial shot, or watching an Olympian stumble on a simple move they have nailed countless times?
Even the most skilled athletes can falter under pressure, not because they lack skill, but because their own thoughts become their worst enemy. Imagine the legend William Tell, forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head. As he takes aim, his mind floods with fears: “What if I miss?” or “Do not hit my child!” The harder he tries to suppress these thoughts, the more they intrude—like being told “Don’t think of a pink elephant” guarantees you will.
Ironically, trying not to make a mess makes mistake more likely—a phenomenon known as an ironic error. Yet despite its real-world consequences, little research examines whether elite performers—those who train relentlessly for high-stakes moments—succumb to these mental traps. My dissertation tackles this gap.
First I review existing evidence on ironic errors in motor performance under pressure. Then, using a Stroop rifle shooting task (where the brain clashes with itself, like shooting “red” when the word blue appears in red), I test whether elite biathletes are vulnerable to ironic errors due to unwanted thoughts under pressure. Finally, I test a theory-matched strategy to counteract these errors under cognitive load.
The central question: Why does our brain rebel—and how to fix it when it matters most? Whether aiming a gold-medal shot or responding to an emergency, making errors should not be part of the equation.
Results
Instruction like “Do not screw up” often backfires under pressure.
- Telling yourself (or others) “Do not shake!” or “Do not miss!” makes the mistake more likely. This holds true under high-cognitive load conditions.
- Performers fixate on what they are trying to avoid, leading to the very error they wish not to commit.
2. Elite biathletes defy this effect.
- Biathletes stay laser-focused even when negative cues are primed frequently, regardless of pressure, showing no ironic shooting errors or delay in hitting the intended target.
- Years of high-pressure training and competition seem to rewire their brain to ignore negative commands and lock in on the intended target, showing their self-regulation and resilience.
3. Positive, action-focused instruction beats negative framing.
- Swapping “Do not shoot X” for “Ignore X” (or “Aim for Y”) reduces ironic errors, especially when pressure is high, resulting in consistent and good performance.
- It is not just what you say—it is how you say it.
The bottom line? Under pressure, ditch the “don’ts.” Train the brain to focus on what to do, not what to avoid—because where attention goes, performance follows.
Read the thesis here
Committee
Chair
- Associate Professor ive Luteberget, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Opponents
- Professor Tommy Haugen, University of Agder
- Dr. Greg Wood, Reader, Manchester Metropolitan University
Supervisors
- Main Supervisor: Associate Professor Frank Abrahamsen, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
- Co-Supervisor: Professor Henrik Gustafsson, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Program
- 10.15-11.00: Trial lecture: “Heart rate variability and performance under pressure: Neurophysiological mechanisms, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and applications in high-stakes environments”
- 11.00-16.00: Public defense of the thesis: Understanding Ironic Performance Breakdown Under Pressure. Unwanted thoughts, cognitive task load, and shooting performance: Implications for elite athletes
Practical info
The defense will be chaired by Rector Aage Radmann
The defense is open to everyone and will be streamed on NIH’s YouTube channel.
