Arousal in sport

Question 1

What is arousal ?

Answer 1

The state of general preparedness of the body for action involving physiological and psychological

Question 2

What are the psychological factors that arousal can cause ?

Answer 2

• anxiety
• negative self talk
• fear and anger
• decreased reaction time
• increased focus

Question 3

What are the physiological factors that arousal can cause ?

Answer 3

• increased hr
• increased breathing rate
• sweating
• dry mouth
• increased muscle tension

Question 4

What is the drive theory ?

Answer 4

• Hull
• Presumption that increased motivation causes increased drive
• the more drive, the chance of an increase in performance level (due to more effort put into performance
• as arousal increases, performance increases in a linear fashion
• p = f(D*H)

Question 5

What is a dominant response ?

Answer 5

• The stand-out response that the performer thinks is correct
• if the performer is elite, it is likely to be correct
• if the performer is a begineer, it is likely to be incorrect

Question 6

What is the inverted-u theory ?

Answer 6

• as drive and arousal increase - so does performance
• performance improves up to an optimum point which tends to be at moderate levels of arousal
• further increases in arousal can cause performance to deteriorate
• both under and over arousal can have a large impact on performance levels

Question 7

How does arousal affect novices and elite athletes ?

Answer 7

• elite performers can produce high levels of performance at high levels of arousal
• a beginner might need to operate at a low level of arousal since they would be uncomfortable under pressure

Question 8

How does arousal affect how a gross or fine skill is performed ?

Answer 8

• If the task is gross then it is performed using large muscles at high arousal
• If the task is fine then it is performed using fine details at low arousal

Question 9

What is the catastrophe theory ?

Answer 9

• performance quickly and dramatically reduces once a certain level of arousal has been reached
• performance is affected by the relationship between cognitive psychology anxiety and somatic physiological anxiety
• When CA is high and Sa is low = performance is enhanced
• When CA and SA are both high = performance catastrophically decreases

Question 10

What are zones of optimal functioning ?

Answer 10

• Hanin
• ‘individual zones of optimal functioning’
• coaches should work on training to identify and achieve the limits of a performers zone

Question 11

What is the peak flow experience ?

Answer 11

• An extension of the feelings and performance levels experience in the zone
• Happens when timing, action and movement appear to be perfect
• Characterisised by a belief in the ability to compete in sporting actions
• Comes from a positive mental attitude, high levels of confidence, feelings of relaxation and anxiety control

Question 12

What factors affect the peak flow experience ?

Answer 12

• poor mental prep which leads to failure to reach optimal arousal levels
• environmental influences such as the pressure from the crowd or the frustration from an umpires decision
• effect of injury or fatigue during a game will affect flow of experience