arousal and anxiety Flashcards
what is arousal?
- 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 anxiety in sport?
- unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning performance of a task under pressure
what is trait anxiety?
- general feeling of anxiety across situations
- ‘A- trait’ = personality characteristic
- stable as doesn’t change much over time
what is trait anxiety an acquirement of?
- acquired behavioural tendency that influences behaviour
what is state anxiety ?
- situational feelings of apprehension or tension
- ’ A-state’ is temporary and situation specific
what is high trait anxiety associated with?
- high state anxiety
is the relationship of state and trait anxiety perfect?
- no as highly trait anxious athlete may have a lot of experience in a particular situation so not perceived as threat
- some highly trait- anxious people learn coping skills to reduce state anxiety
what is perceived control?
- degree to which one believes one has the resources and abilities to meet challenges
what are the components of anxiety?
- cognitive=mind
- somatic = body
what can happen to increase trait anxiety?
- repeated exposure to a high anxious state
what is anxiety known as?
- multidimensional
what is cognitive anxiety?
- mental component of anxiety
- worry, negative thought, feelings of nervousness/ apprehension
what is somatic anxiety?
- perception of physical state
- increased respiration, sweat, heart rate and physical nervousness
e.g. shaking, tense muscles
is somatic anxiety accompanied by actual psychological changes ?
- not always accompanied
- changes as intense as perceived
- can be reduced by interventions
how does anxiety vary?
- between people and over time
e.g., cognitive maybe more prevalent ahead of time vs somatic on the day
can anxiety be positive?
- can help some individuals as can be used as a positive manner to fuel sport
- perform better under pressure
what is intensity?
- how much anxiety one feels
what is direction?
- one’s interpretation of anxiety as being facilitative or debilitative to performance
is direction or intensity more important? what does this depend on?
- type of anxiety
- personal and situational factors
what are the two ways of measuring arousal and anxiety?
- direct measures and self- reported measures
what are direct measures?
- physiological signs like heart rate, respiration, skin conductance and biochemistry assesses changes in substances like catecholamines, cortisol
what are the strengths of direct measures?
+ direct comparison
+ quantifiable values
what are the limitations of direct measures?
- expensive
- requires training
- may not reflect anxiety
what are self reported measures?
- look at how people numerically rate their arousal using statements
- two categories; cognitive and somatic
e.g., competitive state anxiety inventory-2
what are the advantages of self reported measures
+ cheap
+ no training
+ easy
what are the limitations of self reported measures?
- response bias/ socially desirable responding
- difficult to compare to other scores
- not always able to explain how we feel
- response scale can be limited
