Performance anxiety is associated with context-dependent reward and punishment learning biases in skilled performers

Abstract

Performance anxiety (PA) is common in high-stakes settings, from public speaking to the performing arts, yet its mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using behavioural analysis, computational modelling, and electroencephalography, we tested whether PA biases learning from reward and punishment under varying task uncertainty. Across three experiments with 95 skilled pianists, participants learned hidden melody dynamics through graded reward or punishment feedback. Bayesian hierarchical regression showed that increasing PA levels were associated with faster reward learning under high uncertainty (large action space) but faster punishment learning under low uncertainty (reduced action space). These learning biases--reflecting the interaction between PA and reinforcement type--were associated with reinforcement-driven modulation of motor variability and frontal theta (4-7 Hz) activity encoding feedback changes and signalling motor adjustments. The findings reveal that predisposition to PA in skilled individuals modulates reward- and punishment-based learning in a context-dependent manner governed by task uncertainty.