Anxiety

Question 1

What is anxiety ?

Answer 1

A level of nerves and irrational thinking

Question 1

What is competitive trait anxiety ?

Answer 1

A disposition to suffer from nervousness in most sporting situations

Question 2

What is competitive state anxiety ?

Answer 2

A nervous response to specific sporting situations

Question 3

What is somatic anxiety ?

Answer 3

Physiological response (e.g. heart rate)

Question 4

What is cognitive anxiety ?

Answer 4

A psychological response such as worrying about losing or loss of focus

Question 5

What are the three ways that anxiety can be measured in sports ?

Answer 5

• Questionnaires
• Observations
• Physiological measures

Question 6

How are questionnaires used to measure anxiety in sports ?

Answer 6

• athlete answers a series of questions about their emotions in different situations

Question 7

What are the strengths of questionnaires to measure anxiety ?

Answer 7

• quick
• cheap
• large number of players can be assessed quickly

Question 8

What are disadvantages of questionnaires ?

Answer 8

1. Players may not understand the question being asked
2. Giving answers that are socially desirable rather than true
3. Answers may dependent on an athletes mood. E.g. different answers given after a win than a loss
4. Leading questions

Question 9

What is an example of a questionnaire used by sports psychologists ?

Answer 9

SCAT
- sports competition anxiety test
15 statements designed to measure how a player responds to competitive sporting situations

Question 10

What is the CSAI ?

Answer 10

-Competitive state anxiety inventory
- Extension of the SCAT
- This test distinguishes between somatic and cognitive anxieties
- Should be completed an hour before the event
- The test looks at cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, confidence

Question 11

How can observations be used to measure anxiety ?

Answer 11

• by watching athletes behaviours either in a training environment or during a game

Question 12

What is an advantage of observations ?

Answer 12

• they are true to life, shows natural behaviour

Question 13

What are disadvantages of observations ?

Answer 13

• results are subjective - based on the opinion of the observers
• need to be aware of behaviours before so comparisons can be made
• time consumer as more than one observer is needed

Question 14

How can physiological measures, measure anxiety ?

Answer 14

• measured using increased hr, increased levels of sweating, increased levels of breathing

Question 15

What are the advantages of physiological measures to measure anxiety ?

Answer 15

• Factual and objective data so comparisons can be made
• Responses to anxiety can be measured in real-life situations through technology and information can be given to the coach immediately

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of physiological measures ?

Answer 16

• Training often is required so coaches can understand devices
• Wearing these devices may prevent movement which will decrease performance
• Athlete may feel stressed if they know their hr is being recorded so it may rise due to the stress of testing