arousal, stress and anxiety Flashcards
what is stress?
“A substantial imbalance between the physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and their response capability, under conditions where failure has importance consequences”
what is stage 1 of the stress process?
Environmental demands (physical and psychological)
what is stage 2 of the stress process?
Athlete perceives the “nature” of the demand
what are the 2 types of appraisal in stage 2 of the stress process?
• Primary appraisal: Is situation
“threatening” (& important) to
physical/psychological well-being (goals/values)?
• Secondary appraisal: Do I feel that I have the ability/ resources to successfully deal with demands of the situation?
what is stage 3 of the stress process?
Stress responses
If athlete feels that demands exceed coping capabilities, threat is perceived. what are the stress response’s as a result?
- Arousal
- Negative affect
- State Anxiety
- Loss of Focus/Attention
what is stage 4 of the stress process?
Behavioural consequences (i.e., performance outcome) associated with the stress response.
what are 3 categories of stressors?
• Competition Stressors:
e.g., opposition, injury, expectations
• Organisational Stressors:
e.g., finances, time, interpersonal relationships
• Personal Stressors:
e.g., family, friends
what are the 3 dominant forms of coping?
- Emotion-focused coping
- Problem-focused coping
- Avoidance coping
what is Emotion-focused coping?
Strategies designed to regulate emotional responses resulting from a
stressor. (e.g., seek emotional social support; positive reinterpretation &
growth)
what is Problem-focused coping?
Strategies designed to manage or alter the problem that is causing anxiety. (e.g., seek instrumental/informational social support; planning;
increased effort)
what is Avoidance-focused coping?
Strategies designed to avoid the stressor. (e.g., pass instead of shoot;
“hide” during competition)
what Arousal (activation) entail?
• Continuum of physiological and psychological activation( cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety)
what are the symptoms of somatic anxiety?
heart rate, respiratory rate,
adrenal flow, muscular ‘electrical potential’
what are the 4 positive and negative affective states?
- E.g., Low Arousal = “I feel relaxed” (+ affect)
- E.g., Low Arousal = “I feel bored” (- affect)
- E.g., High Arousal = “I feel excited” (+ affect)
- E.g., High Arousal = “I feel scared” (- affect)
what is anxiety?
• Negative/unpleasant emotional/affective state
• Feeling of ‘nervousness’,
worry, and apprehension
• Associated with activation/arousal of the body
what is cognitive anxiety?
Worry, Self-doubt, Concern, Apprehension
what is competitive trait anxiety?
…stable personality disposition that describes an individual’s “tendency to perceive competitive situations as threatening and to respond to these
situations
Influences the way that people interpret/perceive
and respond to the same situation
what is cognitive and somatic state anxiety?
Cognitive state anxiety
• Intensity and frequency of momentary worries and concerns
Somatic state anxiety
• Intensity and frequency of perceived unpleasant physiological response to threatening situation
what is perceived control state anxiety?
The degree to which one has the resources and ability to meet challenges.
what is drive theory?
most likely response will occur if arousal increases (depends on ability, skill type personality)
what is inverted U theory?
best performance occurs at mid arousal (depends on personality, skill type and ability)
what are the problems with the inverted U theory?
- How would you explain a sudden crash in performance?
- Focuses only on physiological arousal (not anxiety).
- Assumes that everyone’s IPS is associated with a moderate level of arousal.
what is the individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF) theory?
different people perform best at different levels of anxiety:
athlete A: low anxiety level
athlete B: moderate anxiety level
athlete C: high anxiety level
