Skip to main content

Sian Beilock

University of Chicago, Psychology, Faculty Member

Followers

731

Following

0

Public Views

Sian Beilock is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include performance under pressure, learning and memory, individual differences in executive functioning and embodied cognition.

less

Harvard University

Nicola Jane Holt

University of the West of England

University of California, Merced

Pennsylvania State University

University of Copenhagen

Macquarie University

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

The University of Sheffield

Università degli Studi di Padova

Kelly G . Wilson

University of Mississippi

Interests

Uploads

Papers by Sian Beilock

Training patterns of athletes during pregnancy and postpartum

The purpose of ttie present investigation was to examine exercise patterns and psychological vari... more The purpose of ttie present investigation was to examine exercise patterns and psychological variables mediating a return to training and competition after pregnancy. Competitive female athletes who had given birth within the last 10 years completed surveys concerning (a) training patterns before, during, and after childbirth,(b) childbirth complications and training advice,(c) perceptions of success in their postpartum comebacks to.

When paying attention becomes counterproductive: impact of divided versus skill-focused attention on novice and experienced performance of sensorimotor skills.

Abstract 1. Two experiments examined the impact of attention on sensorimotor skills. In Experimen... more Abstract 1. Two experiments examined the impact of attention on sensorimotor skills. In Experiment 1, experienced golfers putted under dual-task conditions designed to distract attention from putting and under skill-focused conditions that prompted attention to step-by-step putting performance. Dual-task condition putting was more accurate. In Experiment 2, right-footed novice and experienced soccer players dribbled through a slalom course under dual-task or skill-focused conditions.

Gesture changes thought by grounding it in action

Abstract When people talk, they gesture. We show that gesture introduces action information into ... more Abstract When people talk, they gesture. We show that gesture introduces action information into speakers' mental representations, which, in turn, affect subsequent performance. In Experiment 1, participants solved the Tower of Hanoi task (TOH1), explained (with gesture) how they solved it, and solved it again (TOH2). For all participants, the smallest disk in TOH1 was the lightest and could be lifted with one hand. For some participants (no-switch group), the disks in TOH2 were identical to those in TOH1.

We present data from a teacher professional development intervention, a work circle between SILC ... more

Choke or thrive? The relation between salivary cortisol and math performance depends on individual differences in working memory and math-anxiety.

Abstract 1. In the current study, we explored how a person's physiological arousal relates to the... more Abstract 1. In the current study, we explored how a person's physiological arousal relates to their performance in a challenging math situation as a function of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and math-anxiety. Participants completed demanding math problems before and after which salivary cortisol, an index of arousal, was measured. The performance of lower WM individuals did not depend on cortisol concentration or math-anxiety.

Grounding cognition in action: expertise, comprehension, and judgment

Abstract Recent work demonstrating that both the observation and planning of actions share common... more Abstract Recent work demonstrating that both the observation and planning of actions share common neural substrates suggests that merely thinking about action may call upon motor-based neural processes. As a result, higher-level cognitive processes not directly involved with motor production, such as language comprehension or the preference judgments one makes for objects and items in their environment, may be rooted in the sensorimotor systems.

Putting in the mind versus putting on the green: Expertise, performance time, and the linking of imagery and action

Does manipulating the time available to image executing a sensorimotor skill impact subsequent sk... more Does manipulating the time available to image executing a sensorimotor skill impact subsequent skill execution outcomes in a similar manner as manipulating execution time itself? Novice and skilled golfers performed a series of imaged golf putts followed by a series of actual golf putts under instructions that emphasized either speeded or nonspeeded imaging/putting execution. Novices putted less accurately (ie, higher putting error score) following either putting or imagery instructions in which speed was stressed.

Word count (including main text and acknowledgments): 5674

Abstract Spatial ability is a strong predictor of students 'pursuit of higher education in scienc... more Abstract Spatial ability is a strong predictor of students 'pursuit of higher education in science, and mathematics. However, very little is known about the affective factors that influence individual differences in spatial ability, particularly at a young age. We examine the role of spatial anxiety in young children's performance on a mental rotation task. We show that even at a young age, children report experiencing feelings of nervousness at the prospect of engaging in spatial activities.

On the causal mechanisms of stereotype threat: Can skills that don't rely heavily on working memory still be threatened?

Abstract Recent work suggests that stereotype threat (ST) harms performance by reducing available... more Abstract Recent work suggests that stereotype threat (ST) harms performance by reducing available working memory capacity. Is this the only mechanism by which ST can occur? Three experiments examined ST's impact on expert golf putting, which is not harmed when working memory is reduced but is hurt when attention is allocated to proceduralized processes that normally run outside working memory. Experiment 1 showed that well learned golf putting is susceptible to ST.

Seeing and doing: Ability to act moderates orientation effects in object perception

We investigated whether the impact of an object's orientation on a perceiver's actions (an orient... more We investigated whether the impact of an object's orientation on a perceiver's actions (an orientation effect) is moderated by the perceiver's ability to act on the object in question. To do this, we manipulated the physical location of presented objects (Experiment 1) and the perceiver's action capacity (Experiment 2).

Math anxiety, working memory and math achievement in early elementary school

Abstract Although math anxiety is associated with poor mathematical knowledge and low course grad... more

Beyond quantity: Individual differences in working memory and the ordinal understanding of numerical symbols

In two different contexts, we examined the hypothesis that individual differences in working memo... more In two different contexts, we examined the hypothesis that individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity are related to the tendency to infer complex, ordinal relationships between numerical symbols. In Experiment 1, we assessed whether this tendency arises in a learning context that involves mapping novel symbols to quantities by training adult participants to associate dot-quantities with novel symbols, the overall relative order of which had to be inferred.

In the Game or in the Stands: Sports Experience Changes the Neural Processing of Language

Experience alters behavior by producing enduring changes in the neural processes that support per... more Experience alters behavior by producing enduring changes in the neural processes that support performance. Experience performing a specific action, for example, improves the execution of that action via explicit changes in sensory and motor neural circuitry 1, 2, and experience using language improves language comprehension by altering the anatomy and physiology of perisylvian neocortical brain regions 3.

Alleviating anxiety about spatial ability in elementary school teachers

Abstract We present data from a teacher professional development intervention, a work circle wher... more Abstract We present data from a teacher professional development intervention, a work circle where researchers (expert in the domain of spatial reasoning) and teachers (expert in teaching in a classroom) worked together to develop spatial tools, based on lab evidence, which could be used in actual classroom lessons.

Age of Acquisition in Sport: Starting Early Matters

Although the age at which a skill is learned (age of acquisition [AoA]) is one of the most studie... more Although the age at which a skill is learned (age of acquisition [AoA]) is one of the most studied predictors of success in domains ranging from language to music, very little work has focused on this factor in sports. In order to uncover how the age at which a skill is learned relates to how athletes cognitively represent that skill, we asked a group of skilled golfers who learned to play golf before (early learners) or after (late learners) the age of 10 to take a series of putts on an indoor putting green.

Psychological Science Agenda| September 2011

It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewe... more It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewed spotlight on standardized testing–sparked, in part, by the Obama Administration's urge that states rely on test scores to make decisions about student progress, teacher salaries and school fitness–emphasis on achievement in the classroom has never been higher.

Word Count (main text plus footnotes)= 2,499

Abstract When people talk, they gesture. Here we show that gesture introduces action information ... more Abstract When people talk, they gesture. Here we show that gesture introduces action information into speakers' mental representations, which, in turn, impact subsequent performance. In Exp. 1, participants (a) solved the Tower-of-Hanoi task (TOH1);(b) explained (with gesture) how they solved it;(c) solved it again (TOH2). For all participants, the smallest disk in TOH1 was lightest and could be lifted with one-hand. For some participants (No-Switch Group), disks in TOH2 were identical to TOH1.

Evidence against a strong association between numerical symbols and the quantities they represent.

Abstract Are numerals divorced from a sense of the actual quantities they represent? We show that... more Abstract Are numerals divorced from a sense of the actual quantities they represent? We show that accessing a sense of how much a numerical symbol actually represents is a surprisingly difficult and non-trivial process. Irrespective of numerical size or distance, direct comparison of the relative quantities represented by symbolic and non-symbolic quantities leads to performance markedly worse than when comparing two nonsymbolic quantities.

Back to school: Dealing with academic stress

It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewe... more It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewed spotlight on standardized testing–sparked, in part, by the Obama Administration's urge that states rely on test scores to make decisions about student progress, teacher salaries and school fitness–emphasis on achievement in the classroom has never been higher.

When Math Hurts: Math Anxiety Predicts Pain Network Activation in Anticipation of Doing Math

Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMAs), math is asso... more Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMAs), math is associated with tension, apprehension, and fear. But what underlies the feelings of dread effected by math anxiety? Are HMAs' feelings about math merely psychological epiphenomena, or is their anxiety grounded in simulation of a concrete, visceral sensation–such as pain–about which they have every right to feel anxious?

Training patterns of athletes during pregnancy and postpartum

The purpose of ttie present investigation was to examine exercise patterns and psychological vari... more The purpose of ttie present investigation was to examine exercise patterns and psychological variables mediating a return to training and competition after pregnancy. Competitive female athletes who had given birth within the last 10 years completed surveys concerning (a) training patterns before, during, and after childbirth,(b) childbirth complications and training advice,(c) perceptions of success in their postpartum comebacks to.

When paying attention becomes counterproductive: impact of divided versus skill-focused attention on novice and experienced performance of sensorimotor skills.

Abstract 1. Two experiments examined the impact of attention on sensorimotor skills. In Experimen... more Abstract 1. Two experiments examined the impact of attention on sensorimotor skills. In Experiment 1, experienced golfers putted under dual-task conditions designed to distract attention from putting and under skill-focused conditions that prompted attention to step-by-step putting performance. Dual-task condition putting was more accurate. In Experiment 2, right-footed novice and experienced soccer players dribbled through a slalom course under dual-task or skill-focused conditions.

Gesture changes thought by grounding it in action

Abstract When people talk, they gesture. We show that gesture introduces action information into ... more Abstract When people talk, they gesture. We show that gesture introduces action information into speakers' mental representations, which, in turn, affect subsequent performance. In Experiment 1, participants solved the Tower of Hanoi task (TOH1), explained (with gesture) how they solved it, and solved it again (TOH2). For all participants, the smallest disk in TOH1 was the lightest and could be lifted with one hand. For some participants (no-switch group), the disks in TOH2 were identical to those in TOH1.

We present data from a teacher professional development intervention, a work circle between SILC ... more

Choke or thrive? The relation between salivary cortisol and math performance depends on individual differences in working memory and math-anxiety.

Abstract 1. In the current study, we explored how a person's physiological arousal relates to the... more Abstract 1. In the current study, we explored how a person's physiological arousal relates to their performance in a challenging math situation as a function of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and math-anxiety. Participants completed demanding math problems before and after which salivary cortisol, an index of arousal, was measured. The performance of lower WM individuals did not depend on cortisol concentration or math-anxiety.

Grounding cognition in action: expertise, comprehension, and judgment

Abstract Recent work demonstrating that both the observation and planning of actions share common... more Abstract Recent work demonstrating that both the observation and planning of actions share common neural substrates suggests that merely thinking about action may call upon motor-based neural processes. As a result, higher-level cognitive processes not directly involved with motor production, such as language comprehension or the preference judgments one makes for objects and items in their environment, may be rooted in the sensorimotor systems.

Putting in the mind versus putting on the green: Expertise, performance time, and the linking of imagery and action

Does manipulating the time available to image executing a sensorimotor skill impact subsequent sk... more Does manipulating the time available to image executing a sensorimotor skill impact subsequent skill execution outcomes in a similar manner as manipulating execution time itself? Novice and skilled golfers performed a series of imaged golf putts followed by a series of actual golf putts under instructions that emphasized either speeded or nonspeeded imaging/putting execution. Novices putted less accurately (ie, higher putting error score) following either putting or imagery instructions in which speed was stressed.

Word count (including main text and acknowledgments): 5674

Abstract Spatial ability is a strong predictor of students 'pursuit of higher education in scienc... more Abstract Spatial ability is a strong predictor of students 'pursuit of higher education in science, and mathematics. However, very little is known about the affective factors that influence individual differences in spatial ability, particularly at a young age. We examine the role of spatial anxiety in young children's performance on a mental rotation task. We show that even at a young age, children report experiencing feelings of nervousness at the prospect of engaging in spatial activities.

On the causal mechanisms of stereotype threat: Can skills that don't rely heavily on working memory still be threatened?

Abstract Recent work suggests that stereotype threat (ST) harms performance by reducing available... more Abstract Recent work suggests that stereotype threat (ST) harms performance by reducing available working memory capacity. Is this the only mechanism by which ST can occur? Three experiments examined ST's impact on expert golf putting, which is not harmed when working memory is reduced but is hurt when attention is allocated to proceduralized processes that normally run outside working memory. Experiment 1 showed that well learned golf putting is susceptible to ST.

Seeing and doing: Ability to act moderates orientation effects in object perception

We investigated whether the impact of an object's orientation on a perceiver's actions (an orient... more We investigated whether the impact of an object's orientation on a perceiver's actions (an orientation effect) is moderated by the perceiver's ability to act on the object in question. To do this, we manipulated the physical location of presented objects (Experiment 1) and the perceiver's action capacity (Experiment 2).

Math anxiety, working memory and math achievement in early elementary school

Abstract Although math anxiety is associated with poor mathematical knowledge and low course grad... more

Beyond quantity: Individual differences in working memory and the ordinal understanding of numerical symbols

In two different contexts, we examined the hypothesis that individual differences in working memo... more In two different contexts, we examined the hypothesis that individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity are related to the tendency to infer complex, ordinal relationships between numerical symbols. In Experiment 1, we assessed whether this tendency arises in a learning context that involves mapping novel symbols to quantities by training adult participants to associate dot-quantities with novel symbols, the overall relative order of which had to be inferred.

In the Game or in the Stands: Sports Experience Changes the Neural Processing of Language

Experience alters behavior by producing enduring changes in the neural processes that support per... more Experience alters behavior by producing enduring changes in the neural processes that support performance. Experience performing a specific action, for example, improves the execution of that action via explicit changes in sensory and motor neural circuitry 1, 2, and experience using language improves language comprehension by altering the anatomy and physiology of perisylvian neocortical brain regions 3.

Alleviating anxiety about spatial ability in elementary school teachers

Abstract We present data from a teacher professional development intervention, a work circle wher... more Abstract We present data from a teacher professional development intervention, a work circle where researchers (expert in the domain of spatial reasoning) and teachers (expert in teaching in a classroom) worked together to develop spatial tools, based on lab evidence, which could be used in actual classroom lessons.

Age of Acquisition in Sport: Starting Early Matters

Although the age at which a skill is learned (age of acquisition [AoA]) is one of the most studie... more Although the age at which a skill is learned (age of acquisition [AoA]) is one of the most studied predictors of success in domains ranging from language to music, very little work has focused on this factor in sports. In order to uncover how the age at which a skill is learned relates to how athletes cognitively represent that skill, we asked a group of skilled golfers who learned to play golf before (early learners) or after (late learners) the age of 10 to take a series of putts on an indoor putting green.

Psychological Science Agenda| September 2011

It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewe... more It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewed spotlight on standardized testing–sparked, in part, by the Obama Administration's urge that states rely on test scores to make decisions about student progress, teacher salaries and school fitness–emphasis on achievement in the classroom has never been higher.

Word Count (main text plus footnotes)= 2,499

Abstract When people talk, they gesture. Here we show that gesture introduces action information ... more Abstract When people talk, they gesture. Here we show that gesture introduces action information into speakers' mental representations, which, in turn, impact subsequent performance. In Exp. 1, participants (a) solved the Tower-of-Hanoi task (TOH1);(b) explained (with gesture) how they solved it;(c) solved it again (TOH2). For all participants, the smallest disk in TOH1 was lightest and could be lifted with one-hand. For some participants (No-Switch Group), disks in TOH2 were identical to TOH1.

Evidence against a strong association between numerical symbols and the quantities they represent.

Abstract Are numerals divorced from a sense of the actual quantities they represent? We show that... more Abstract Are numerals divorced from a sense of the actual quantities they represent? We show that accessing a sense of how much a numerical symbol actually represents is a surprisingly difficult and non-trivial process. Irrespective of numerical size or distance, direct comparison of the relative quantities represented by symbolic and non-symbolic quantities leads to performance markedly worse than when comparing two nonsymbolic quantities.

Back to school: Dealing with academic stress

It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewe... more It's that time of year again. Across the country, students have returned to school. With a renewed spotlight on standardized testing–sparked, in part, by the Obama Administration's urge that states rely on test scores to make decisions about student progress, teacher salaries and school fitness–emphasis on achievement in the classroom has never been higher.

When Math Hurts: Math Anxiety Predicts Pain Network Activation in Anticipation of Doing Math

Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMAs), math is asso... more Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMAs), math is associated with tension, apprehension, and fear. But what underlies the feelings of dread effected by math anxiety? Are HMAs' feelings about math merely psychological epiphenomena, or is their anxiety grounded in simulation of a concrete, visceral sensation–such as pain–about which they have every right to feel anxious?