arousal - inverted U and catastrophe theory

Question 1

what is the difference between somatic and cognitive anxiety

Answer 1

somatic = physiological (sweaty hands)
cognitive = psychological

Question 2

what does the inverted U theory state

Answer 2

increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point at moderate levels of arousal before a sustained deterioration

Question 3

why does being under/over aroused in the inverted U theory lead to poor performance

Answer 3

under = boredom
over = panic

Question 4

what 3 factors affect where a performers optimal level of arousal will be

Answer 4

experience
personality
the task

Question 5

what is the difference in inverted U’s between cognitive and autonomous performers

Answer 5

cognitive perfermers will be further to the left, as there optimal levels of arousal will be lower than an autonomous performer

this is because they will not work well under pressure and have the wrong dominant responce

Question 6

what is the deifference between extorvert and introverts inverted U’s

Answer 6

extroverts will shift further to the right as they operate at much higher levels of arousal to reach optimal performance, they also have naturally high levels of adrenaline, therefore work better at lower levels of arousal

Question 7

what levels of arousal are good for gross/fine skills

Answer 7

gross:
tasks using large muscle groups can be performed at high levels of arousal, no need to precise control

fine:
tasks using smaller muscle groups that focus on precision and control will be better performed at lower levels of arousal

Question 8

are simple/complex skills better with more or less arousal

Answer 8

simple skills require less decision making and therefore can be executed at higher levels of arousal, it is habitual and repetitive

complex skills involve decision making and the ability to process large amounts of information
information processing is reduced at higher levels of arousal, so the performer may need to work at lower levels of arousal

Question 9

what does the catastrophy theory suggest

Answer 9

(adaptation of the inverted U theory)
suggests that increased arousal causes performace to peak at an optimum level but… rather than a gradual deterioration there is a sudden dramatic reduction in performance

Question 10

what is the catastrophe theory caused by and what is the process

Answer 10

high levels of somatic and cognitive anxieties
the player will try to regain control by reducing the anxieties and arousal (use of stress management techniques)
but if the initial cause of anxiety is mild and the perfomer has time to recover
more often than not, the performer fails to control their arousal and then starts to panic, causing a further increase in arousal therefore causing a further reduction in performance