Peers, Pressure, and Performance at the National Spelling Bee
研究全国拼字比赛中，前一位选手的正确或错误表现如何影响当前选手的出错概率，发现前一位正确时当前选手出错概率增加13%至64%。
Abstract This paper investigates how individuals’ performances of a cognitive task in a high-pressure competition are affected by their peers’ performances. To do so, I use novel data from the National Spelling Bee, in which students attempt to spell words correctly in a tournament setting. Across OLS and instrumental variables approaches, I find that when the immediate predecessor is correct, a speller has a 13 to 64 percent greater probability of making a mistake, relative to the predecessor being incorrect. There is no evidence that the effect differs by gender and marginal evidence that it differs by experience.