Anxiety Deck Flashcards
Causes of stress are:
Pressurised situation
What is stress?
The perceived imbalance between the demands of the task and the individual’s ability to complete the task
Stress experienced is initiated by a stressor which is:
Any demands that are placed on the performer that initiate stress, e.g. Nature of game, fear of failure, coach
What is anxiety?
Negative form of stress, which can lead to an increase of arousal and potential decrease in performance levels
Effects of anxiety:
Loss of concentration
Attentional narrowing
Fear of failure
Sweating
Increased muscle tension
Nausea
Stress depends on:
Perception of ability to cope
Perceived importance of situation
Perceived demands of the situation
2 types of anxiety are:
Cognitive
Somatic
Cognitive anxiety will normally increase before a competition, fluctuate during and then :
Reduce after
Somatic anxiety is normally low before competition, high at the start and:
Reduce as the performance continues
What is trait anxiety :
Stable and normally inherited
Born with anxious traits and are more likely to become anxious in a wide variety of situations
‘A-trait’
State anxiety is:
Occurs when the performer is placed in a particular situation
Linked to the performer’s mood and can be altered from moment to moment
‘A-state’
A person with high trait anxiety is more likely to experience a high state of anxiety when faced with stressful situations, such as competitions, where they feel others may evaluate their performance:
Evaluation apprehension
3 ways to measure anxiety:
Physiological measures
Observations
Questionnaires
What are the physiological measurements?
Heart rate
Muscle tension
Sweating
Measures somatic anxiety
What are the problems with physiological ?
Have to put athletes in the artificial situation of being ‘wired up’ to devices to measure
Putting them in the situation tends to create anxiety
What are observations?
Watching for the symptoms of change in a performer, such as increased bodily movements and increased agitation
What are the problems with observations:
Tend to take place in an artificial environment (evaluation apprehension)
3 questionnaires are:
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)
Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2)
What does STAI test?
Both state and trait anxiety
SCAT tests?
Indication of that persons level of state anxiety in competition-specific situations
CSAI-2 tests?
3 components of anxiety- cognitive state, somatic state and self-confidence
Given out week, day and half hour before the competition
Allows the researcher to discover the baseline level of anxiety and compare them to pre-competition levels to see if they differ
Allows to see whether any aspect of anxiety becomes more evident in the pre-competition period
Problems with questionnaires :
May not be a true reflection of their feelings
5 cognitive techniques are:
Imagery Visualisation Focussing Thought stopping Self-talk
4 somatic techniques:
Biofeedback
Breathing control
Centering
Progressive muscular relaxation
CSAI-2 questionnaire shows that:
Cognitive state anxiety increases days prior to competition and fluctuates during competition
Somatic state tends to be lower than cognitive state anxiety in the days leading up to comp, but increases in the hours before and generally decreases during competition
What is goal setting:
A technique used to control anxiety by directing attention away from stress and towards an achievable target
Goal setting works by:
Providing a direction for our efforts, improving selective attention, increasing motivation, promoting task persistence, increasing self confidence and reducing anxiety
3 types of goals:
Outcome goals
Performance goals
Process goals
What are outcome goals:
Fulfilment of an outcome goal depends on the performer achieving a certain result
Method doesn’t matter
‘OUTCOME-GOAL ORIENTATED’
Problems with outcome goals are:
Result is out of performers control - if after repeated attempts the performer is still unable to meet the goal, there will be an increase in anxiety
Not always the best option
Performance goals are:
Performers attempts judged against others or their own - personal best
By setting realistic performance goals, the performer may concentrate on that aspect of their performance and in doing so distract themselves from any dress
Process goals:
Concentrate on the performers techniques and tactics
will often influence performance goals
Targets should be SMARTER:
Specific (to ability) Measurable (easy to measure) Achievable Realistic Time-phased (short-term/long-term) Exciting Recorded
