Hi everyone,
Welcome to my second newsletter.
First of all, a massive thank you to all of you that read the first edition and for those that replied with some very kind feedback.
Secondly, welcome to those that are new and have joined me on this journey. If you have not subscribed, click this link or please share this with others you feel will benefit from this newsletter and help grow the community.
This month’s newsletter discusses cognitive tunnelling, my experience with it and how I have seen it influence coaching.
Let’s go!
My experience…
It happened towards the end of my PhD in 2015.
I had spent a lot of time and effort investigating the optimal technique in fast bowling, as well as, applying and developing this knowledge in practice.
At some point I started to only focus and consider the information I had developed or learnt from my bubble of support.
I developed this ridiculous mindset that…
Anything else did not matter and was no help to me.
So what changed?
I defended my practice/opinion on social media with what I was doing.
(I still cringe now!)
I took a step back and realised I had been so focused on my point of view and proving it…
That I was ignoring and dismissing any secondary information that may also be important.
I was experiencing cognitive tunnelling.
What is cognitive tunnelling?
It is a phenomenon.
A mental state.
Where your brain hangs on to the the thing which is most important or closest to you…
To the point where that it cannot see the rest of the environment or other relevant information and data.
In Parham Doustdar’s blog he explains it using a story about a start-up business looking to sell cars online.
So they set up a website…
The initial web traffic was huge, but nobody bought anything.
Focused on the sale numbers, they temporarily closed the webpage to redesign it thinking they had made a mistake when building it…
In the meantime, those who had looked and decided to come back later to buy couldn’t.
Their focus on a lack of sales and the assumption that this was related to the design of the website led to them ignoring other potential explanations.
As a result the start-up failed.
Perhaps the most tragic example of this phenomenon is the story of TransAsia Airways Flight 235 which crashed shortly after take-off in Taipei.
Where after a single engine failure…
(an emergency situation but one which should have been manageable)
the pilots mistakenly shutdown the good engine.
Working under the assumption they had shut down the good engine…
Cognitive tunnelling took over as the pilots focused on trying to solve an additional problem and ignored the engines as a potential cause..
When they realised what had happened it was too late.
Only 15 of the 58 on board survived.
It is also not a phenomenon to disregard and think that cannot possible happen to me.
Ever been told you are ignoring someone but never heard them speak while preoccupied with another task?
Walked into someone or something while glued to your smartphone while walking?
These are also examples of cognitive tunnelling.
How is this relevant to coaching?
As coaches, we are as susceptible to this phenomenon, and perhaps more so than people in other industries.
Our practice is based on giving and receiving feedback.
Anything that could influence or impact this cycle which results in a misinterpretation or a key detail being missed is a danger.
There are four scenarios where I have seen it manifest and create issues within practice.
Knowledge tunnelling
A pace bowler trains in a pathway where mixed actions are remediated as they are associated with lower back stress fractures.
After a period of remediation to a side-on action, the bowler suffers a stress fracture
The bowler does their physical rehab, and completes more technique remediation.
The bowler returns to bowling and suffers another stress fracture.
This process continues and the player eventually retires.
What is the cause of the cognitive tunnelling?
The focus on the knowledge that lower back stress fractures are associated with mixed bowling actions classifications.
(based on research from a few decades ago)
This focus, and belief that this is the correct thing to do, prevents them from considering whether this remediation caused the stress fracture.
(Doing so may have highlighted recent work by Pete Alway at Loughborough University – this will be the focus of a newsletter in the new year)
SPOILER – MIXED ACTIONS ALONE DO NOT CAUSE STRESS FRACTURES!
Problem tunnelling
A junior batter develops a problem against the short ball and regularly gets hit after getting a new bat.
After some sessions working on the players technique there is minimal improvement.
The batter starts to turn up to less sessions and becomes disengaged.
What is the cause of the cognitive tunnelling?
The focus that the problem was technique-based and not caused by the new equipment altering his movement patterns (e.g. too heavy/big etc.).
(another example might be focusing on technique to remediate an illegal action and not considering any physical constraints of the shoulder)
This focus on the assumption that the problem is technique-based can quite quickly lead to cognitive tunnelling.
Often to the point where factors such as whether the desired movement pattern can actually be achieved by that individual are forgotten.
Solution tunnelling
A player had an issue with getting out LBW due to their trigger movement.
Their technique was remediated successfully and this reduced the number of LBW dismissals.
A second player has the same issue, but the same remediation does not work.
What is the cause of the cognitive tunnelling?
This is similar to the knowledge example.
The assumption that this solution will work for this individual because it has previously worked.
This reaction leads to a remediation beginning without considering the player as a different individual and an evaluation of the whole picture.
It often ends in frustration and confusion that it is not working.
Outcome tunnelling
This one is a bit different but also important to be aware of.
I have experienced this as a practitioner and as a mentor.
Both times, the problem in question was potentially life-changing and career-threatening…
(pressure and/or stress have been linked with cognitive tunnelling)
So what happened?
After a period of time, the remediations in both cases were pretty good but they were not perfect.
An illegal action was remediated to a legal level of extension but not zero extension.
A bowler with a history of multiple stress fractures remediated their action to reduce risk substantially but it did not remove all risk.
The focus on attaining perfect solutions during remediation is good but using this as the goal posts for a return to play led to cognitive tunnelling…
The original aim of the remediation was lost.
The goal was not to make them perfect…
But to get them in a position to return to play with a technique which either improved legality or reduced injury risk.
How do I prevent cognitive tunnelling?
Since it is a mental state – it is almost impossible to stop.
It cannot be turned off.
But it can be counteracted.
Being aware that cognitive tunnelling occurs is probably the first step.
Knowing this – I try to keep an open mindset to what I could be missing from the wider environment.
Some methods I implement in my practice which help…
Frameworks
I use a human movement framework to work through problems.
It helps me understand and explain what is going on.
Why it is happening.
And what I expect to happen if I change something.
I then evaluate whether this happens to see whether my expectations match reality.
If not I reassess to see what I have missed.
Practice Partner
I have a number of people I trust.
I will ask them for an opinion or feedback if I am unsure.
I often work with coaches and ask them what do they think first to get their independent opinion.
I consider this, how it fits in to what I think, and whether it is something I have missed.
I also ask for opinions when something is not working.
As well as reviewing successful remediations with them after the event to learn what they may have thought or done differently.
Shorten the journey
Often the smaller hurdles or targets get lost in the bigger picture.
Most movements in sport can be broken into a series of smaller movements.
I often break down this bigger picture into smaller pieces which can be remediated in order to help solve the bigger issue.
Appreciate the odds
Coaching is trial and error.
I expect most of the remediations I try to need refining and the odds of finding the golden bullet quickly are quite high.
Starting with this appreciation that humans are complex and there is no guaranteed best approach for any remediation…
Opens the mind to the whole environment from the start.
That’s all for this month
To recap:
Cognitive tunnelling is a mental phenomenon which occurs when we focus on a single point or point of view to an extent where we cannot see the rest of the environment or other relevant information and data.
This has the potential to occur in coaching potentially in the following scenarios:
- knowledge tunnelling – fixation on a piece of knowledge prevents remediation of the problem
- problem tunnelling – fixation on your opinion of the problem prevents remediation of the problem
- solution tunnelling – fixation a previous successful solution prevents remediation of the problem
- outcome tunnelling – fixation on trying to perfect the outcome prevents recognition remediation of the problem has occurred
Some strategies I adopt to minimise the effect of cognitive tunnelling on my practice are:
- developing frameworks
- utilising practice partners
- breaking up the remediation journey
- appreciating the odds
Thank you for reading this.
I wish you a Happy Christmas if you are celebrating, and all the best for the New Year.
Paul
The Cricket Biomechanist 