Self-consciousness and trait anxiety influence music performance in high-pressure situations

High levels of mental pressure in musicians can lead to decrements in performance, but this effect may depend on individual dispositions. In this study, self-consciousness and trait anxiety were examined as predictors of decrements in performance in natural concert settings. The performance of 30 pianists was assessed in a condition without pressure (i.e., when playing alone) and in a condition with pressure (i.e., in a public concert). Audio recordings of the performances were evaluated on musical expression, technical precision, and overall performance by four independent jurors who were unaware of the condition in which they had been made. The differences between the pressure and no-pressure ratings were regressed on cognitive and somatic anxiety (assessed with an adaptation of the Competition Anxiety Inventory) as well as on public and private self-consciousness (assessed with the Self-Consciousness Scale). Participants performed better in the concert than when playing alone, despite increased state anxiety during the concert. The effect of the pressure condition on performance, however, was attenuated when participants scored high for private self-consciousness (i.e., the tendency to attend to one’s inner thoughts and feelings) but increased when they scored high for public self-consciousness (i.e., the tendency to see oneself from the outside as a social object). An attenuating effect of private self-consciousness emerged particularly for technical precision, whereas an enhancing effect of public self-consciousness emerged particularly for musical expression. The two subcomponents of self-consciousness were positively correlated, exerting a counteracting effect on overall performance ratings. Cognitive trait anxiety reduced performance quality, but only when somatic trait anxiety was not controlled for. The findings suggest a negative effect of inward-directed attention to the self (private self-consciousness) and a protective effect of habituation to outward-directed attention to the self as a social object (public self-consciousness) and may contribute to developing pedagogical activities or interventions to prevent fluctuations in performance.