Arousal Flashcards
Define arousal
The energised state or the readiness for action that motivates us to behave in a particular way
State of alertness and anticipation
What happens to the body as arousal increases?
Increased attention and concentration
Increased heart rate, sweating and respiratory rate
What is the drive theory of arousal?
A linear relationship between performance and arousal
High arousal is beneficial to expert performers as their dominant response would tend to produce a response which is technically correct and fluent
High arousal also helps the performance of gross and simple skills
What is the inverted U theory of arousal?
As arousal increases, so does performance levels up to an optimal level.
Past this point performance begins to decrease
What types of people/situations prefer levels of high arousal?
Extroverts
Gross, simple, ballistic and closed skills
Autonomous leaners
Experiences learners
What types of people/situations prefer levels of low arousal?
Introverts
Fine, complex and open skills
Cognitive/associative learners
Novice learners
What is the catastrophe theory of arousal?
A rapid decline in performance resulting from the combination of high cognitive anxiety and increasing somatic anxiety.
When catastrophe strikes a performer will try to recover by reducing cognitive anxiety and arousal
What happens when you are under aroused?
Difficult to direct focus and attention onto environments
Concentration is lost as attentional field is too wide
Many unwanted cues in the environment
Selective attention
Information overload prevents decision making
What happens when you are at optimal arousal (perfect state)?
Attention field is ideal
Performer is able learn or concentrate fully
Increased capacity to concentrate means accurate decision makine
What happens when you are over aroused?
Causes attention field to narrow
Relevant environmental cues are lost
Performer is often in a state of panic
Selective attention cannot operate
Concentration is impeded
