The yips is a problem that some athletes and people in other jobs experience. It causes them to have involuntary movements when they are trying to do something that requires a lot of skill. For example, in golf, the yips might cause a person to jerk their wrist right before they hit the ball, which can make them miss. The yips can also happen in other sports like cricket or snooker, and even in playing instruments or writing (Klämpfl, 2019).
Scientists are not sure why the yips happen, but they have identified three different types. One is a problem with how the body moves, another is caused by anxiety or stress, and the third is a combination of both (Lobinger et al., 2014). The yips can happen to anyone, not just highly skilled athletes. It can be diagnosed by watching the person while they are doing the skill and using tools to measure their muscles (Clarke et al., 2015).
People who have the yips might try to change the way they do things, like their grip or equipment, to avoid it. There are different ways to treat the yips, depending on what type a person has. Treatments might include things like retraining the body to move differently or using psychological techniques to manage anxiety or stress (Klämpfl, 2019).
References
Clarke, P., Sheffield, D., & Akehurst, S. (2015). The yips in sport: A systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 8, 156184.
Lobinger, B. H., Klaämpfl, M. K., & Altenmüller, E. (2014). We are able, we intend, we act—But we do not succeed: A theoretical framework for a better understanding of paradoxical performance in sports. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 8, 357377.
Klämpfl, M. (2019) In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts (p. 1). Academic Press.
