Building a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive drivers of performance under pressure: An international multi-panel Delphi study
Authors: Albertella Lucy , Kirkham Rebecca , Adler Amy B. , Crampton John , Drummond Sean P. A. , Fogarty Gerard J. , Gross James J. , Zaichkowsky Leonard , Andersen Judith P. , Bartone Paul T. , Boga Danny , Bond Jeffrey W. , Brunyé Tad T. , Campbell Mark J. , Ciobanu Liliana G. , Clark Scott R. , Crane Monique F. , Dietrich Arne , Doty Tracy J. , Driskell James E. , Fahsing Ivar , Fiore Stephen M. , Flin Rhona , Funke Joachim , Gatt Justine M. , Hancock P. A. , Harper Craig , Heathcote Andrew , Heaton Kristin J. , Helsen Werner F. , Hussey Erika K. , Jackson Robin C. , Khemlani Sangeet , Killgore William D. S. , Kleitman Sabina , Lane Andrew M. , Loft Shayne , MacMahon Clare , Marcora Samuele M. , McKenna Frank P. , Meijen Carla , Moulton Vanessa , Moyle Gene M. , Nalivaiko Eugene , O'Connor Donna , O’Conor Dorothea , Patton Debra , Piccolo Mark D. , Ruiz Coleman , Schücker Linda , Smith Ron A. , Smith Sarah J. R. , Sobrino Chava , Stetz Melba , Stewart Damien , Taylor Paul , Tucker Andrew J. , van Stralen Haike , Vickers Joan N. , Visser Troy A. W , Walker Rohan , Wiggins Mark W. , Williams Andrew Mark , Wong Leonard , Aidman Eugene , Yücel Murat 
Published: January 2023

Introduction

The ability to perform optimally under pressure is critical across many occupations, including the military, first responders, and competitive sport. Despite recognition that such performance depends on a range of cognitive factors, how common these factors are across performance domains remains unclear. The current study sought to integrate existing knowledge in the performance field in the form of a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie performance under pressure.

Methods

International experts were recruited from four performance domains [(i) Defense; (ii) Competitive Sport; (iii) Civilian High-stakes; and (iv) Performance Neuroscience]. Experts rated constructs from the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework (and several expert-suggested constructs) across successive rounds, until all constructs reached consensus for inclusion or were eliminated. Finally, included constructs were ranked for their relative importance.

Results

Sixty-eight experts completed the first Delphi round, with 94% of experts retained by the end of the Delphi process. The following 10 constructs reached consensus across all four panels (in order of overall ranking): (1) Attention; (2) Cognitive Control—Performance Monitoring; (3) Arousal and Regulatory Systems—Arousal; (4) Cognitive Control—Goal Selection, Updating, Representation, and Maintenance; (5) Cognitive Control—Response Selection and Inhibition/Suppression; (6) Working memory—Flexible Updating; (7) Working memory—Active Maintenance; (8) Perception and Understanding of Self—Self-knowledge; (9) Working memory—Interference Control, and (10) Expert-suggested—Shifting.

Discussion

Our results identify a set of transdisciplinary neuroscience-informed constructs, validated through expert consensus. This expert consensus is critical to standardizing cognitive assessment and informing mechanism-targeted interventions in the broader field of human performance optimization.