The Bifurcation Theory of Challenge and Threat

In this episode, I'm delighted to be joined by Prof Marc Jones, Dr Carla Meijen and Dr Martin Turner. We discuss The Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) which provides a psychophysiological framework for how athletes anticipate motivated performance situations. Marc led the original research, along with Carla, in 2009 proposing this theory. Marc, Carla and Martin have conducted many years of research on Challenge and Threat states within a number of competitive environments, including sporting environments.

Marc is a Professor of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is interested in stress, health and performance and particularly how people perform under pressure. Marc is a registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and a Chartered Psychologist.

Carla is a registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and Associate Professor in Applied Psychology at St Mary's University, London where she also leads the MSc in applied Sport Psychology. Carla's research focuses predominantly on the psychological demands of endurance performance, stress in sport and Challenge and Threat states.

Martin is a Reader in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University specialising in stress and emotion in performance situations. Martin is particularly interested in the psychophysiological reactions to pressured performance and how research can be used to help individuals reach their potential.