Arousal and anxiety Flashcards
what is arousal?
a state of activation that varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement
what is anxiety?
negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness and worry associated with activation or arousal of the body
what is sport anxiety?
an unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning the performance of a task under pressure
what is trait anxiety?
general feelings of anxiety across situations
what is state anxiety?
situational feelings of apprehension or tension
what are the 2 types of anxiety?
cognitive anxiety
somatic anxiety
what is cognitive anxiety?
the mental component of anxiety- worry, negative thoughts, feelings of nervousness or apprehension
what is somatic anxiety?
perceptions of physical state- increased respiration, sweating, HR, physical nervousness, tense muscles
what is anxiety intensity?
how much anxiety one feels
what is anxiety direction?
one’s interpretation of anxiety as being facilitative or debilitative to performance
what relationship does drive theory show?
linear relationship between performance and arousal
arousal increases the likelihood that the dominant response will occur
what relationship does the inverted U theory show?
performance improves up to an optimal level of arousal after it deteriorates
what relationship does catastrophe theory show?
performance doesn’t always decline after optimal but a dramatic drop which can lead to decline or recovery
what are the theories of arousal and anxiety?
drive theory
inverted U theory
which more recent theories have been proposed to explain the arousal / performance relationship?
individual zones of optimal functioning
multidimensional anxiety theory - distinguishes between cognitive and somatic anxiety
what are the limitations of drive theory?
- too simplistic, predictions often fall short
-can’t explain why elite athletes sometimes choke under pressure - can’t explain why novice athletrs sometimes excel when under pressure
what are the limitations of inverted U theory?
- unlikely that performance would decrease in a smooth declining arc
- over arousal more likely to lead to a vertical plummet
what are the limitations of individual zones of optimal functioning?
- doesn’t explain why some perform better when in certain emotional states and others don’t
- doesn’t explain variation in performance for the same athlete experiencing the same emotion intensity
what are the limitations of multidimensional anxiety theory?
- assumes cognitive anxiety is bad
- assumes there is a smooth decline in performance
what are the limitations of catastrophe theory?
- very difficult to test and research
- how can you recreate that intense arousal level with an experimental setting?
what is a limitation of control model of anxiety theory?
- doesn’t explain the anxiety-performance relationship
