Arousal, stress and anxiety (chapter 4) Flashcards
Define arousal
Arousal is a blend of physiological and psychological activation, varying in intensity along a continuum.
Define anxiety
Anxiety is a negative emotional state with feelings of worry, nervousness and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body.
What does state anxiety mean?
State anxiety refers to ‘right now’ feelings that change from moment to moment.
What does trait anxiety mean?
Trait anxiety is a personality disposition that is stable over time.
Who usually have more state anxiety in highly evaluative situations?
High trait anxious people.
What is stress?
A substantial imbalance between physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and his or her response capability under conditions in which failure to meet demands has important consequences.
-difference between demands/load and perceived/actual ability to cope.
Name the theories that explain how arousal and anxiety effect performance.
Drive theory and inverted-U hypothesis
- Individualized zones of optimal functioning
- Catastrophe theory
- Anxiety direction and intensity
Is arousal and state anxiety always bad for performance? Explain your answer.
No, they can be facilitative or debilitative depending on the interpretation.
What skills are critical for perceiving anxiety as facilitative?
Self-confidence and enhanced perceptions of control.
What are the implications anxiety, stress and arousal have for practice?
Identify optimal combinations of arousal-related emotions needed for the best performance.
-Recognize how personal and situational factors interact to influence arousal, anxiety and performance.
What happens to attention when highly and under aroused?
Highly- very narrow
Under- very broad
Describe the stress model by McGrath
Environmental demand
Perception of demand
Stress response
Behavioral consequences
In the stress model by McGrath what does ‘Environmental demand’ mean?
Physical (execute a new technique) or psychological (pressure from parents) demand.
In the stress model by McGrath what does ‘Perception of demand’ mean?
The individuals perception of the physical or psychological demand.
-Since highly-trait anxious view more situations as threatening. Someone’s trait anxiety is an important influence in stage 2 of the stress response.
n the stress model by McGrath what does ‘Stress response’ mean?
This is the persons individual physical and psychological response to a perception of the situation.
- Arousal levels
- State anxiety
- Muscle tension
- Attention change
n the stress model by McGrath what does ‘Behavioral consequences’ mean?
The actual behavior of the individual under stress.
The final stage feeds back into the first, if you perform poorly there will be additional demand in stage 1.
What does the drive theory suggest?
As an individual’s arousal or state anxiety increases, so too does performance.
How do we measure arousal and anxiety?
- Physiological signs (heart rate, respiration, skin conductance, biochemistry).
- Global and multidimensional self-report scales
- CSAI- Competitive State Anxiety Inventory
Why does arousal influence performance?
Increased muscle tension and coordination difficulties.
-Attention and concentration changes: narrowing of attention, attending to inappropriate cues, performance worries and situation irrelevant thoughts.
What does the inverted U hypothesis suggest?
At low levels of arousal performance will be below par.
As arousal increases, so too does performance-up to an optimal point.
Further increase in arousal will cause performance to decline.
What does the individualized zone of optimal functioning suggest?
A person’s optimal functioning may be at the lower, middle or upper end of the state anxiety continuum.
How does the individualized zone of optimal functioning theory differ from the inverted U hypothesis?
- Optimal state doesn’t always occur at the mid point but varies from person to person.
- The optimum level of state anxiety is not a single point but a bandwidth.
Describe the multidimensional anxiety theory
Predicts that cognitive state anxiety (worry) is negatively related to performance- increase in cognitive state anxiety leads to a decrease in performance.
Describe the catastrophe phenomenon
Physiological arousal is related to performance in an inverted U fashion, but only when an athlete has low cognitive state anxiety.
If cognitive anxiety is high, performance will reach a threshold (as physiological arousal levels increase), just past the optimum level, and afterward a rapid decline in performance- catastrophe.
What must an athlete do after a catastrophe?
- Completely relax physically
- Cognitively restructure by controlling or eliminating worries and regaining confidence and control.
- Reactivate or rouse himself in a controlled manner to again reach the optimum level of functioning.
What is cognitive state anxiety?
Moment-to-moment changes in worries and negative thoughts.
What is somatic state anxiety?
Moment-to-moment changes in perceived physiological arousal.
What is perceived control state anxiety?
The degree to which one has the resources and ability to meet challenges.
What is the reversal theory?
Contends that the way in which arousal effects performance depends basically on an individual’s interpretation of his arousal levels.
What does the reversal theory predict?
That for best performance athletes must interpret their arousal as pleasant excitement rather than unpleasant anxiety.
What is cognitive anxiety?
The thought component regarding anxiety.
What is somatic anxiety?
The degree of physical activation perceived.
What is social physique anxiety?
Is personality disposition defined as ‘the degree to which people become anxious when other observe their physiques’
When will facilitative anxiety occur?
If the athlete feels in control the anxiety will become facilitative (positive expectancies of: ability to cope and achieving their goals)
When will debilitative anxiety occur?
If the athlete doesn’t believe that they can complete the task and they can’t cope with the pressure, debilitative anxiety will occur. (negative expectancies of: ability to cope and achieving their goals)
Why is an athlete’s perception of control relative to coping and goal attainment important?
It determines whether state anxiety will be viewed as facilitative or debilitative.
