Anxiety

Question 1

Factors related to competitive anxiety

Answer 1

1. individual differences in the way people interact with a situation
2. different types of anxiety which can be treated in different ways
3. general or specific anxiety
4. competition process.
   Involves the interaction between personality factors, competitive trait anxiety and the situation

Question 2

What is anxiety?

Answer 2

A negative aspect of experiencing stress and can be caused in sport by worry or apprehension experienced, or due to the fear of failing competitive situations

Question 3

Define Trait Anxiety?

Answer 3

A trait that is enduring in an individual. A performer with high trait anxiety has the predisposition or the potential to react to situations with apprehension

Question 4

Whats the Sport Competition Anxiety Test?

Answer 4

• involves competitors a self-report questionnaire to assess the anxiety they felt during competition.
• this test measures competitive trait anxiety
• known to be reliable, and tests tendencies to become anxious about competition, it should be useful in predicting how anxious performers will be

Question 5

Define somatic anxiety?

Answer 5

anxiety experienced physiologically or of the body
e.g. sweating

Question 6

Define cognitive anxiety?

Answer 6

anxiety experienced by the mind
e.g. worry about failing

Question 7

What is the zone of optimal functioning?

Answer 7

• a state of well-being
• this zone is an emotional response that facilitates top performance and is often referred to as peak flow experience

Question 8

How to achieve ‘in zone’?

Answer 8

1. be relaxed - advanced performers don’t need high levels of arousal, you need a balance between waiting to achieve the very best and yet being relaxed and in control.
2. be confident - you’ll have an overall belief that you have great ability
3. be focused - you’ll be completely absorbed by performance, wont dwell on what happened before or in future
4. movements are automatic - be related to motor programme theory. no though that goes into movement
5. fun - when you experience the flow, the enjoyment is immense. without this fun feeling, you are unlikely to achieve the peak flow experience
6. in control - you have command over your body and your emotions.

Question 9

What is cue utilisation?

Answer 9

• Attention is more effective if the performer concentrates on cues that are relevant at the particular time: keeping the focus and not being distracted is a feature of a top performer.
• if cues in the environment are not used effectively, then the sports person fails to gather relevant info.
• danger that performer can be distracted too easily by irrelevant cues.