arousal

Question 1

what is arousal

Answer 1

the energised state or readiness for action that motivates a performer to behave in a particular way

intensity aspect of motivation

Question 2

physiological effects of arousal

Answer 2

-inc hr
-inc br
-sweat

Question 3

psychological effects of arousal

Answer 3

-worry
-anxiety
-state of readiness
-expectation inc

Question 4

drive theory

Answer 4

relationship between arousal and performance is linear

-greater the arousal, higher performance

-a well learnt skill will benefit the most from this and performance will be enhanced

-drive reduced if motivation decreases

Question 5

strengths of drive theory

Answer 5

-simple to understand
-made reliable when arousal is linked to dominant response
-more likely to happen for skills such as gross and simple

Question 6

weaknesses of drive theory

Answer 6

-quality of performance levels doesn’t always inc with arousal
-doesn’t consider sport/individual differences
-doesn’t explain why some gross/simple skills are performed well at long levels of arousal

Question 7

who created drive theory

Answer 7

Hull

Question 8

what is the inverted u theory

Answer 8

as arousal increases, so does performance until an optimal point.

after this point the performer becomes over aroused and performance deteriorates

eg rugby player misses conversion because they are trying too hard

Question 9

when does optimum performance happen (inverted u)

Answer 9

when arousal levels meet the demand of the physical skill being performed

Question 10

how does optimum level of arousal vary

Answer 10

depending on the sport

eg opt arousal for archery will be lower than for rugby

Question 11

strengths of inverted u theory

Answer 11

-simple to understand
-more realistic than drive
-optimal point is sport dependent
-optimal arousal levels can be different for individuals dependent on skills, sport and personality

Question 12

weakness of inverted u theory

Answer 12

-curve shape is too even
-it doesn’t say that performance can recover after over arousal
-doesn’t consider effect of different types of arousal on performance

Question 13

what is catastrophe theory

Answer 13

-as physiological arousal inc, so does performance
-optimal performance can only be achieved if cognitive arousal is kept low
-high cognitive and somatic arousal causes catastrophic drop in performance
-if arousal inc, performance drops more
-if cog arousal lowers, performance starts to inc

Question 14

what is somatic anxiety

Answer 14

anxiety experiences physiologically
eg sweating

Question 15

what is cognitive anxiety

Answer 15

anxiety experienced by the mind
eg worry about failing

Question 16

strength of catastrophe theory

Answer 16

-gives a realistic idea of why a performer an ‘go to pieces’ during a big comp
eg swimmer false starts at olympics

-shows dec in performance is gradual
-performer can recover their performance by red arousal
-most accepted theory

Question 17

weaknesses of catastrophe theory

Answer 17

-not all performers have sudden dec in performance when over aroused
-optimum arousal may not be at mid-point
-doesn’t take into account personality/level/ or type of skill