❌Anxiety Flashcards
What is anxiety?
A level of nerves and irrational thinking
What is competitive trait anxiety?
A disposition to suffer from nervousness in most sporting situations
Why do some people experience competitive trait anxiety?
Might just be a part of their genetic makeup
What is competitive state anxiety?
A nervous response to specific sporting situations.
What’s an example of competitive state anxiety?
Taking a penalty in football.
The focus of attention and weight of responsibility is on the penalty-taker and this temporarily increase in anxiety can affect the outcome unless the nerves are controlled.
How can the amount of state anxiety vary?
Might be high at the start and reduce during the action.
Can often depend on the mood of the player in the moment
What’s the link between trait and state anxiety?
An individual with high trait anxiety is more likely to experience high state anxiety when faced with a stressful situation, especially if it is felt that others are watching or evaluating the performance.
What is cognitive anxiety?
A psychological response such as worrying about losing.
What is somatic anxiety?
A physiological response to a threat such as increased heart rate.
What are examples of cognitive anxiety?
Apprehension Worrying Negative thinking Self-doubt. Irrational thinking - not believing they can do it, even though they have the ability.
What are examples of somatic anxiety?
Increased heart rate Increased core and skin temp Increase in muscle tension Can experience nausea Sweating
What’s the relationship between anxiety and performance?
Increases in somatic anxiety can improve performance up to a point, after which further increases in anxiety will impair performance.
Cognitive anxiety has a negative linear effect. The greater the anxiety the worse the performance.
What’s the relationships between anxiety and time of competition?
Somatic anxiety tends to increase just before a competition is due to begin and reduces as performance is underway.
Cognitive anxiety is present much earlier and just because the performer is not showing any physical signs of anxiety does not mean that worries about the forthcoming event are not present.
How can you measure anxiety?
Self report questionnaires
Observations
Physiological testing
What is a questionnaire?
A set of questions to measure or assess something, in this case anxiety.
What are the advantages of questionnaires?
Quick Cheap Efficient Large groups can be assessed quickly Compared easily
Why are measures useful?
Knowledge of how players deal with and experience anxiety will help the coach to make informal decisions: which players can remain calm enough to take the penalty, for example?
What are the disadvantages of questionnaires?
Player may not understand the questions
Their answers may be one they think is right rather than the actual truth (socially desirable).
Answers depend on mood (answers after the win will be different after a loss).
Response can be influenced by time (rushing may lead to incorrect responses).
Inappropriate questions so that biased results are given (if the question leads to an answer rather than asking for one).
What’s an example of a questionnaire?
Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) - consists a series of 15 statements designed to measure how the player responds to competitive sporting situations.
What is SCAT?
A questionnaire used by sports psychologists to measure anxiety
What happened to the SCAT test?
Got extended in 1990 to become the Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory (CSAI).
What is the CSAI?
A questionnaire by sports psychologists to measure anxiety
What is observation?
Gaining a measure of (in this case) anxiety simply by watching the performer.
What are the advantages of observation?
True to life
Realistic
What are the disadvantages of observation?
Results are based on opinions (subjective)
Time consuming
May need multiple observers
Performers may realise they’re being watched and act differently
What are physiological measures?
Anxiety can be measured by using a physical response from the body. Such responses include increase heart rate, sweating, rate of respiration and levels of hormone secretion.
What are the advantages of physiological measures?
They are factual so that comparisons can be easily made
Response can be measured in training or in game situations.
What are the disadvantages of physiological measures?
Training is often required so that coaches can learn how to use the devices; the cost of them may deter amateur performers from using them.
In some cases actually wearing the measuring device, such as a heart rate monitor, may be restrict movement in sport.
The fact that the performer is aware that they are being measured may cause additional stress and give a false reading.
What is psychosomatic anxiety?
It’s cognitive/affective (emotions) anxiety that causes somatic
