Anxiety in Sport and Exercise Flashcards
What is Anxiety?
- A negative emotional state with feelings of worry, nervousness, and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body
- Don’t know what is going to happen (uncertainty)
- Anxiety is a specific emotion produced through the appraisal/interpretation of a situation or event
What is Somatic anxiety?
- Physical Perceptions of body states (e.g., racing heart or butterflies in the stomach)
- Perceived unpleasant physiological response to threatening situation
What is Cognitive anxiety?
Distressing thoughts, images, disruption of cognitive processing system
What are some examples of Physiological Anxiety?
What are some examples of Cognitive Anxiety?
What are some examples of Behavioural Anxiety?
What are 3 Dimensions of Anxiety?
- Intensity of anxiety symptoms
- Frequency of cognitive intrusions
- Directional interpretation of symptoms
Trait & State Components of Anxiety
What is State Anxiety?
Associated with worries and apprehension
– May change from moment to moment
High- versus low-trait-anxious people usually have
more state anxiety in highly evaluative situations
Trait & State Components of Anxiety
What is Trait Anxiety?
A stable part of personality, Predisposes individual to perceive situations as physically or psychologically threatening
High- versus low-trait-anxious people usually have more state anxiety in highly evaluative situations
What is Social Anxiety?
Occurs during social situations
– Occurs when evaluations may happen
What is Competitive Anxiety?
Associated with sport or competition
– Concerns about body, performance, skills, injury
What is Social Physique Anxiety?
Experiencing anxiety due to others’ evaluations of physique in social settings
– Often occurs in exercise context
What are the Four Theories explaining How Anxiety Affects Performance?
- Drive Theory
- The Inverted-U Hypothesis
- Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF)
- Catastrophe Theory
“Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning” Theory? (general)
Historically rooted in inverted U model of arousal and performance
Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning Theory
(sport focused)
Progressed to the idea that optimal arousal might be different across sports
Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning Theory
(individual focused)
Shift to athlete centered model
What is the Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning Theory?
- Assumes every athlete has an ‘optimal zone’ of anxiety or arousal for ideal performances
– Anxiety is not always detrimental to sport performance
How does one Find an athlete’s IZOF?
IZOF uses intra-individual approach, multiple observations
Measure pre-competition anxiety and performance measures
* Subjective athlete rating
* Subjective coach rating
* Objective measures of performance
What is the Cusp Catastrophe Theory?
(check notes and watch lecture)
- When cognitive state anxiety is low, the relationship between physiological arousal and performance is an inverted-U shape
- When physiological arousal is low, elevations in cognitive state\ anxiety are associated with enhanced performance relative to the baseline.
- When physiological arousal is high, elevations in cognitive state anxiety are associated with performance declines.
- When cognitive state anxiety is high, increases in physiological anxiety can be positive for performance up until a point. ‘catastrophe’ point (choking point)
Cusp Catastrophe Theory
What happens when When cognitive state anxiety is low?
- When cognitive state anxiety is low, the relationship between physiological arousal and performance is an inverted-U shape
1
Cusp Catastrophe Theory
What happens when When physiological arousal (somatic anxiety) is low?
When physiological arousal is low, elevations in cognitive state anxiety are associated with enhanced performance relative to the baseline.
2
Cusp Catastrophe Theory
What happens when When physiological arousal is high?
When physiological arousal is high, elevations in cognitive state anxiety are associated with performance declines.
3
Cusp Catastrophe Theory
What happens When cognitive state anxiety is high?
When cognitive state anxiety is high, increases in physiological anxiety can be positive for performance up until a point. ‘catastrophe’ point (choking point)
4
Based on the Catastrophe Theory, when will performance be the best?
High cognitive anxiety but fairly low levels of physiological arousal should produce successful performances
Catastrophe Theory
What is Choking in Sport?
- Acute significant decrease in performances that occur in situations of high pressure or anxiety
- Incorporates cognitive state anxiety and physiological arousal as they affect athletic performance
Why does anxiety influence performance?
What are Concentration Changes?
- Pre-occupation with worries or somatic symptoms = “inappropriate task focus”
- Also called Cognitive Interference
Why does anxiety influence performance?
What is Attentional Narrowing?
High cognitive anxiety can lead to inappropriate focus and athletes may miss task-relevant cues
High physiological arousal levels may lead to narrow attention
Why does anxiety influence performance?
What are Shifts to Conscious Processing?
Competitive anxiety sometimes causes shifts to conscious processing causing individual to overthink movements they would have been able to easily do before
Paralysis by analysis
Why does anxiety influence performance?
What are Muscle tension and coordination difficulties?
Involuntary co-contraction of muscle groups can be devastating in fine/complex motor skills (e.g., the “yips” in golf putting or free-throws)
What is Directional interpretation of competitive anxiety?
- Labeling cognitive and physiological competitive anxiety symptoms on a debilitative- facilitative continuum
- There is evidence that reframing some symptoms as ‘readiness’ or ‘excitement’, may facilitate performance
