3: Stress and Anxiety

Question 1

arousal

Answer 1

“a general physiological and psychological activation varying on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement”
an increase level of mental excitement and alertness
a state of being excited, keen mentally and physically ready

Question 2

the drive theory

Answer 2

proportional linear relationship between arousal and performance
increased arousal will increased the likelihood of dominant response (the most usual behaviour)
performance will be worse for poorer learnt or complex skills
however it is seen that even highly skilled players choke in highly charged situations

Question 3

under arousal

Answer 3

athletes under perform
lack drive and determination
may not be able to focus enough to perform

Question 4

over arousal

Answer 4

stressed, anxious, nervous
could be psyched out by opposition
physical symptoms - increased HR, nausea, sweating
mistakes made and performance declines
none of this account for by drive theory

Question 5

inverted U hypothesis

Answer 5

predicts performance will increase as arousal increases up to a certain point
further increase will produce decrease in performance
behaviour is aroused and directed toward balanced or optimal state
critisism - question whether shape of the arousal curve is same after and before optimal level, does arousal always occur at midpoint

Question 6

anxiety

Answer 6

in general: “a negative emotional state where feelings of nervousness, worry and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of body”
in sport: “an unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning the performance of a task under pressure”

Question 7

trait vs state

Answer 7

trait = aspect of personality, anxiety regardless of their situation
state = how you feel right now

Question 8

trait anxiety

Answer 8

with high trait anxiety, high state anxiety is usually seen in highly competitive evaluative situations
they can learn coping skills
knowing someone’s level of trait anxiety makes it easier to predict how they will react to competition, evaluative and threatening situations

Question 9

state anxiety

Answer 9

cognitive anxiety = psychological - concerned with the extent to which one worries or has negative thoughts
e.g. lack of SC, disrupted attentions, sense of worry, fear, doubt, worry about failure
somatic anxiety = physiological - concerned with the moment-to-moment changes in one’s perception of physiological activation
e.g. nausea, increased respiration rates, BP, muscle tension and perspiration

Question 10

causes of anxiety

Answer 10

pressure
uncertainty
effect on self-esteem
fear of harm
frustration

Question 11

anxiety research on performance

Answer 11

woodman and hardy - meta-analysis of 48 studies investigation cognitive anxiety and self-confidence subscales
negative relationship between cognitive anxiety and performance
positive relationship between SC and performance
effect sizes much higher for high-standard athletes
lower standard athletes = weaker relationship that the mean, high athletes = stronger
because high standard athletes have more pressure
fewer random effects in elite athletes, they control their performance and preparation
anxiety often impairs performance more on ‘difficult tasks’

Question 12

findings are inconsistent with anxiety because

Answer 12

anxiety is complex
pre-event assessment
blunt performance measures
in-event coping
task characteristics
self-report measures

Question 13

stress

Answer 13

“a substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet that demand has important consequences”
can be physical and/or psychological

Question 14

experiencing stress puts the body in fight or flight and it experiences:

Answer 14

increased HR
inhibition of peristalsis (muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract)
shivering/goosebumps
pupils dilate
increased perspiration
glycogen to glucose
(nor)adrenaline

Question 15

stages of stress

Answer 15

1 = environmental demand
2 = individuals perception of the environmental demand
3 = stress response (arousal, anxiety, tension, attention changes)
4 = behavioural consequences

Question 16

sources of stress for athletes

Answer 16

performance issues e.g. worrying of ability, self-doubts, team selection
environmental issues e.g. financial costs, travel, time
organisational issues e.g. coaching, communication
physical danger, behaviours of coaches, relationships or traumatic experiences outside of sport
McKay et al. put sources into 4 groups: competitive concerns, pressure to perform, lifestyle demands, negative aspects of personal relationships
Gould et al. found sources of elite injured athletes were psychological, physical, medial, financial and career related along with missed opportunities outside sport

Question 17

parental pressure

Answer 17

traditional source for young athletes especially
climate pressure perceived can alter its effects
high pressure in high ego motivation climate = increased perceptions of anxiety
high pressure in high mastery motivational climate = decreased perceptions of anxiety

Question 18

the individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF Model)

Answer 18

suggests optimal arousal varies depending on skill level, personality characteristics and the nature of the task
optimal level of state anxiety does not always occur at midpoint of continuum but varies from person to person
optimal level is not a point but a bandwidth
fine skills - athletes operate better at lower level of arousal
gross skills - athletes need to be determined, focused and physically mentally excited
criticism - lack of explanation as to why induvial level of anxiety may be beneficial or detrimental

Question 19

multidimensional theory

Answer 19

predicts different relationships between different components of anxiety and performance
doesn’t look at interaction between cognitive and somatic anxiety
negative correlation with cognitive anxiety
positive correlation with self confidence
inverted U shape with somatic anxiety

Question 20

catastrophe theory

Answer 20

focuses on the interactive effects of arousal, cognitive anxiety and performance
when cognitive anxiety is low, arousal causes inverted U shape on performance
when cognitive anxiety is high, too much arousal causes rapid decrease in performance (the catastrophe)
after a catastrophe, athlete must relax physically and regain control to reach an optimal level of functioning
model predicts performance level is actually higher under conditions of high cognitive anxiety
hysteresis = under conditions of high cognitive anxiety, performance takes a different path when psychological arousal is increasing compared to decreasing

Question 21

directional anxiety

Answer 21

everyone interprets anxiety symptoms in different ways
must examine the intensity and direction (is it facilitative or debilitative) of a person’s anxiety
athlete’s perception of control will determine whether facilitative or debilitative, as well as whether they view situation as challenge or threat
challenge = they feel they have resources and coping skills to meet demands
threat = they don’t have resources and coping skills to meet demands

Question 22

elite athletes

Answer 22

have a more facilitative interpretation of somatic responses and a less debilitative interpretation of symptoms of worry
elite swimmers reported cognitive and somatic anxiety as more facilitative that non-elite
^ they are able to consistently maintain facilitative interpretation of anxiety, especially through using psychological skills
performers are trained effectively to use their anxiety symptoms in a productive way and develop a rational appraisal process