Sian Beilock

Sian Leah Beilock
Sian L. Beilock
Born	(1976-01-10) January 10, 1976 (age 45) Berkeley, California, USA
Citizenship	USA
Alma mater	Michigan State University, Ph.D., M.A. University of California, San Diego, B.S.
Known for	Science of choking under pressure; President of Barnard College
Awards	2012 Outstanding Early Career Award (Psychonomic Society)[1] Robert L. Fantz Memorial Award for Young Psychologists (2011-American Psychological Foundation)[2] 2017 Troland Research Award (National Academy of Sciences) [3]
Scientific career
Fields	Psychology, Education, Neuroscience
Institutions	Barnard College
Doctoral advisor	and

Sian L. Beilock (/ˈsiən ˈbaɪlɒk/ SEE-ən BY-lok^[4]) is the eighth President of Barnard College. She is a cognitive scientist. Previous to serving at Barnard College, President Beilock spent 12 years at the University of Chicago, departing as the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology and Executive Vice Provost.^[5] She holds doctorates of philosophy in both kinesiology and psychology from Michigan State University.^[6]

Education[]

Beilock graduated from the University of California, San Diego, where she received a B.S. in Cognitive Science with a minor in Psychology. She was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Michigan State University in 2003.

Career[]

During and subsequent to her PhD research, Beilock explored differences between novice and expert athletic performances.

Later in her career, Beilock's research focused on why people perform poorly in stressful academic situations, such as taking a high-stakes mathematics exam. Beilock found that worries during those situations rob individuals of the working memory or cognitive horsepower they would normally have to focus. Because people with more working memory rely on their brainpower more, they can be affected to a greater extent in stressful academic situations. Beilock's work demonstrated that stressful situations during tests might diminish meaningful differences between students that, under less-stressful situations, might exhibit greater differences in performance.^{[citation needed]}

From 2003 to 2005, Beilock was an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Miami University. She was on the faculty at The University of Chicago from 2005 until 2017, where she was the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology and Executive Vice Provost.^[5]

On 1 July 2017 Beilock became the 8th president of Barnard College.^[7][8]

Cognitive Science and Education[]

Beilock's research relates to educational practice and policy.^[9] Her work demonstrates that students' attitudes and anxieties (as well as those of their teachers) are critical to student success.^[10] In her work, she has developed simple psychological interventions to help people perform their best under stress.^[11]

Books[]

• Beilock, S. L. (2010). Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal about Getting It Right When You Have To. Simon & Schuster: Free Press.
• Beilock, S. L. (2015). How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel. Simon & Schuster: Atria Books.

References[]

External links[]

• Choke – Beilock’s Psychology Today Blog