Probing high-stakes performance pressure in virtual reality:physiological and personality attributes of behavioral responses

Author

Shih, Pei-Cheng and Verhulst, Adrien and Hirano, Masato and Kasahara, Shunichi and Furuya, Shinichi

Abstract

High-stakes performance pressure can affect skilled individuals differently, but investigating such responses in real-world settings is challenging due to the rarity and potential life-changing consequences of such events. This study used immersive virtual reality (VR) to simulate high-pressure performance situations in a controlled yet repeatable environment. Thirty expert pianists performed musical tasks under four experimental conditions, including a rare jackpot condition that combined a higher reward, larger audience, and stronger social-evaluative context to evoke pressure. During the jackpot trials, pianists showed elevated physiological responses, as indicated by increased heart rate and electrodermal activity. Behaviorally, they delayed initiating their performance and showed longer post-performance head orientation toward the virtual juries. Although overall performance accuracy did not decline at the group level, individual differences were evident: half the pianists improved, while the other half showed more errors. Notably, further analyses suggested a potential association between trait conscientiousness, electrodermal activity, and performance error: among highly conscientious individuals, increased arousal was associated with more errors, whereas the opposite pattern was observed among those with lower conscientiousness. Together, these findings support the use of VR as a controlled platform for examining pressure-related physiological, behavioral, and performance responses during skilled performance.