Anxiety Flashcards
Anxiety
A negative aspect of stress
Characterised by irrational thinking, loss of concentration and fear of failure
2 types of anxiety
Trait and state
Trait anxiety
- personality trait
- consistent
- stable
- a player worrying before all games
- anxious behaviour all the time
High trait anxiety means the performer is more likely to experience state anxiety
State anxiety
- situation dependant
- temporary rich of anxiety
- caused by threatening circumstances e.g. taking a penalty
Symptoms of anxiety
SOMATIC
- physiological
- muscular tension
- shaking
- pacing
- sweating
- Increased hr
COGNITIVE
- psychological
- worrying
- confusion
- loss of concentration
Somatic anxiety
Similar to the inverted u theory
- physiological
- muscular tension
- shaking
- pacing
- sweating
- increased hr
Congnitive anxiety
Similar to negative linear model
- psychological
- irrational thinking
- worrying
- confusion
- loss of concentration
Things that cause anxiety
- being watched
- running out of time when losing
- injury
- increased competition
- letting the team down
- ## playing badly
How to measure anxiety
- questionnaires
- observation
- physical testing
Positive and negative of questionnaire to measure anxiety
+ quick cheap and easy
+ results allow easy comparison
- inaccurate answers, people give socially acceptable answers
- answers may depend on mood
- questions lead to bias answers being given
- response can be influenced
E.g. SCAT - sports competition anxiety test
Positive and negative of observation to measure anxiety
+ based on true life
- based on observers opinion
- may need more than 1 observer
- behaviour may change if they know they are being observed
Positive and negative of physical testing to measure anxiety
+ are factual and allow comparisons to be made
+responses can be measured in a real game situation
+ objective
+ factual
+ specific
- may cause stress when measured
- may need training to use equipment
- expensive equipment
- devise may restrict performance
