MTI外刊阅读精选保持专注的心理机制Why athletes need a 'quiet eye'If anyone knows how to grab a victory from the jaws of defeat, its Serena Williams. Just consider her semi-final against Kim Clijsters at the 2003 Australian Open. At 5-2 down in the final set, she was within a hairs breadth of losing her place in the tournament. But rather than slipping into despair, she saved two match points before winning the next five games. Somehow, each serve and each return landed just where she wanted them to and she would ultimately go on to win the whole tournament.要问 “绝境逢生“是什么滋味，小威(Serena Williams)绝对最清楚。2003 年澳网半决赛上，她对阵小克(Kim Clijsters)。决胜盘她 2-5落后，在生死一发之间，她并没有陷入绝望，而是接连挽救两个赛点，再连胜五局逆转小克。不知为何，她每一次的发球与回球都落在她想在的地方最终，她在这届澳网夺冠并揽下大满贯。A single such feat would be an exceptional occurrence in any career, but Williams has since made similarly breath-taking comebacks at the Australian Open in 2005, at Wimbledon in 2009, and at the China Open in 2014, managing to pull back even when her opponents are serving a match point. In each case, the extreme pressure, rather than causing her to crumble, only seemed to sharpen her concentration.任何人的职业生涯中有一次这样的壮举已属罕见，何况小威在 2005年澳网、2009 年温网与 2014年中网上，都上演了类似的惊天大逆转，哪怕对手手握赛点，她也能扳回来。每一次，极端的压力并没有将她压垮，而只是令她更加专注了。Psychologists and neuroscientists have now identified some of the common mental processes that mark out elite athletes such as Williams. And one of the most intriguing aspects appears to be a phenomenon known as the “quiet eye” a kind of enhanced visual perception that allows the athlete to eliminate any distractions as they plan their next move. Intriguingly, quiet eye appears to be particularly important at times of stress, preventing the athlete from choking at moments of high pressure. It may even lead to the mysterious flow state.心理学与神经学家发现像小威这样的优秀运动员们有一些共通的心理机制。“静眼“则是其中最有意思的现象之一，它指的是一种增强的视觉感知，能让运动员在下一步动作前排除干扰。有趣的是，研究人员发现静眼在高度紧张的状态下显得尤为重要，它能防止运动员在面临巨大压力时表现失常(choking, 在心理学中被定义为“压力条件下，一种习惯的运动执行过程发生衰变的现象“) ，甚至能帮助运动员们进入神秘的“心流“状态(flow, 心理学上的指的是“一种将个人精神力完全投注在某种活动上的感觉“)。Its not just budding sportsmen and sportswomen who should take note. The same laser-sharp focus can help doctors maintain their focus as they perform keyhole surgery, and it is of increasing interest to the military.这一现象不仅仅值得初出茅庐的运动员们关注，注意力高度集中同样也能够帮助医生在完成高精密度的微创手术时保持专注;乃至军方对这一心理机制也越来越有兴趣。“There is a small window of opportunity for the motor system to receive information from the eyes,” explains Sam Vine at the University of Exeter. “And experts have found a better way to optimise that window and to keep that window open, which helps their movements to be really accurate and really precise.”来自英国埃克塞特大学(University of Exeter)的瓦因教授(Sam Vine)解释说：“运动系统接受视觉信息时，有一个稍纵即逝的窗口期。而专家们找到一种好办法优化窗口期并使之持续时间更长，这利于他们做到动作精准无误。“