Anxiety

Question 1

Arousal definition

Answer 1

A blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person

Question 2

Measuring arousal

Answer 2

Self-report questionnaires

Question 3

Anxiety definition

Answer 3

“A negative emotional state characterised by nervousness, worry and apprehension and associated with activation or arousal of the body” (Weinberg and Gould, 2015).

Question 4

Cognitive anxiety

Answer 4

Worry, apprehensive thoughts

Question 5

Somatic anxiety

Answer 5

Racing heart, butterflies, clamminess

Question 6

Trait anxiety

Answer 6

• part of your personality

- therefore stable

Question 7

State anxiety

Answer 7

• something you feel in that moment

- therefore unstable

Question 8

Measuring anxiety

Answer 8

1. State (CSAI-2) questionnaires

2. Trait (SAS-2) questionnaires

Question 9

Stress definition

Answer 9

“A substantial imbalance between demand (physical/psychological) and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet that demand has important consequences” (McGrath, 1970).

Question 10

Sources of stress

Answer 10

1. Competitive stressors
2. Organisational stressors
3. Personal stressors

Question 11

Examples of competitice stressors

Answer 11

• preparation
• injury
• pressure to perform
• underperformance
• performance expectations
• rivalry

Question 12

Examples of organisational stressors

Answer 12

• leadership and/or team issues

Question 13

Examples of personal stressors

Answer 13

• work-life balance
• personal relationships
• family issues

Question 14

Explain the Four-stage Stress Process

Answer 14

1. Environmental demand
   
   • physical
   • psychological
2. Individual’s perception of the environmental demand
   
   • amount of ‘threat’ perceived by the individual
3. Stress Response
   
   • arousal
   • state anxiety (cognitive & somatic)
   • muscle tension
   • attention changes
4. Behavioural consequences
   
   • performance or outcome

Question 15

Effect of anxiety/arousal on performance

Answer 15

• muscle tension
• fatigue
• coordination difficulties
• attention
• concentration
• visual search changes

Question 16

Examples of visual search changes

Answer 16

• less visual scanning
• over-thinking mechanics of movement
• distraction
• changes on gaze

Question 17

Multi-dimensional Anxiety Theory

Answer 17

1. Low cognitive anxiety = higher performance
2. High cognitive anxiety = lower performance
3. Low somatic anxiety = low performance
4. As somatic anxiety increases, performance quality increases to an optimum point and then begins to decrease after.

Question 18

Inverted-U Theory

Answer 18

1. low arousal levels = low performance quality
2. As arousal increases, performance increases to an optimum point
3. Further increases in arousal = performance declines

Question 19

Catastrophe Theory

Answer 19

1. Low cognitive anxiety = relationship between arousal and performance is inverted-u
2. Increases in arousal improves performance to an optimum point
3. Further increases in arousal leads to ‘catastrophic’ drop in performance

Question 20

Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning

Answer 20

1. Outside the athlete’s zone of optimal state anxiety, poor performance occurs
2. The zones vary in width depending on the individual