emotion in sport Flashcards
influence of emotion in sport
- motivational aspects (emotional experiences can energise sport involvement)
- physical functioning (levels of arousal associated with emotions can facilitate or debilitate performance)
- cognitive functioning (emotion can affect memory and concentration)
emotional influence on performance
performance can be influenced by how emotion impacts motivation, physical and cognitive functioning
emotional influence on moral behaviour
emotions (guilt) regulate moral conduct (Bandora 1991) and blunted emotions associated with antisocial acts (Frick & White 2008)
emotion (frederickson 2001)
Emotions are responses to events appraised consciously or unconsciously which influence internal changes in physiological arousal, cognitive functioning and body expression
components of emotion
cognitive processes feeling motivational aspects somatic responses motor responses
James-Lange Theory
we have experiences for which our somatic and autonomic nervous system creates physiological changes, such as increased muscle tension and heart rate - emotions can happen as a result of these rather than cause them
criticisms of James-Lange theory
- autonomic responses to emotions lack specificity
- artificially increasing arousal via adrenaline does not always elicit strong emotion
- spinal cord injured patients still experience emotions
- fails to account for complexity of emotions
Cannon-Bard theory
we feel emotions and physiological arousal at the same time following an event - the thalamus receives a signal relaying this to the amygdala. the body then receives signals via the autonomic nervous system to tense muscles and increase HR
schachter’s theory
reconciled James-Lange’s theory of emotion with the addition of a cognitive component - stimulus to physiological arousal to reason of arousal (cognitive conscious) to emotional experience- we experience feelings and then decide what they mean
appraisal theory
individuals differ in how they respond emotionally to the same stimuli - theory argues that it is how individuals evaluate a situation which leads to emotional response - cognitive appraisal (conscious or unconscious) comes before the emotion and appraisal determines what emotion is elicited and how intense it should be
primary appraisal
importance & meaning individuals give to an event
- motivational relevance: situation needs to be relevant to individuals goal to elicit an emotion
- goal congruence: situation to goal match determines challenge (positive emotion) or threat (negative emotion)
secondary appraisal
evaluation of who is responsible for the situation and ability to deal with a demand
-accountability (self/other), coping potential (perceived ability to cope), future expectancy (expect get better/worse)
combinations of the secondary appraisal components determine the specific emotion experienced
- anxiety: motivationally relevant, incongruent, low emotion-focussed coping potential
- anger: motivationally relevant, incongruent, other-accountability
criticisms of appraisal theory
- evidence is from vignettes and self-report: post hoc re-interpretations and unable to tap automatic processes
- need for multi-method approach to the study of emotion, appraisals should be measured with physiology and behaviour responses rather than subjective self-report experiences
Dimensional theory
sub-emotional variables of valence and arousal are building blocks of emotional life - “Core Affect”
Barrett 2006 coe affect
stimuli elicit core affect which helps shape the emotional experience- core affect is a form of perception based on previous conceptual knowledge
Biphasic model
- biologically-relevant stimuli elicit unconditional emotional responses, which can be elaborated via conditioning procedures (images)
- motivational basis for emotion is a simple two-factor organisation
- emotion is defined via action tendencies based in brain systems that respond to appetitive or aversive stimuli
action tendencies and emotional expression can include
physiological changes, behavioural tendencies and evaluative language
affect program theory
basic emotions are building blocks of emotional life. Each emotion has a unique evolutionary neural circuit
each emotion gives rise to specific action tendencies and responses
evidence for affect program theory
direct evidence: emotion specific neurological circuits
indirect evidence: universal emotion specific physiological responses and facial
emotion involves
- physiological responses (HR)
- cognitive component (appraisal)
- action tendency (fight/flight)
- motor responses (facial expression)
key theoretical aspects of emotion
1) cognitions (antecedents of emotion)
2) feelings (self-report)
3) physiological activity (peripheral autonomic and somatic responses, affect-modulated startle, central physiology -brain activity)
4) Behaviour and action tendencies (vocal characteristics, facial behaviours/expressions, whole body behaviours/expressions)
self report measures
- discrete emotion measures: anxiety specific scales (SAS-smith et al.1990, CSAI- Cox et a.2003), anger specific scales (anger sclae- Buss-perry 1992, CAAS- Maxwell & Moores 2004, sport emotion questionnaire- Jones et al.2005)
- dimensional measures: PANAS- Watson et al.1998, SAM (self-assessment Manikin)- Bradley & lang 1994
advantages of self-report measures
- measure both discrete and dimensional approaches to emotion
- quick and cheap way of assessing emotion
- able to report emotions relating to different times
disadvantages of self-report measures
- individuals may not be aware of or able to report on emotional states
- reporting bias
- social desirability bias
measuring emotion in sport limitations
- narrow focus on anxiety in sport whereas other emotions neglected
- almost exclusive reliance on self-report measures in sport whereas other measures (physiological and behaviour) neglected
autonomic measures
- ANS branches: sympathetic (activation) & parasympathetic (relaxation)
- ANS activity: electrodermal activity (skin conductance, Cardiovascular activity (HR, HR variability, blood pressure)
stumbler 2004 emotion specificity of ANS measures
Anger/fear increased: diastolic blood pressure, total peripheral resistance, facial skin temperature, muscle activity- decrease CO
argues emotion-specific effects for ANS measures are inconsistent
cacioppo et al.2000
brain activity measures of emotion
Cannon-bard 1927 proposed physiological correlates of emotion are more likely in brain activity than ANS activity
-EEG measures of emotion contrast activation of large brain areas … “frontal asymmetry” contrasts alpha power (cortical activation) of left and right frontal regions
EEG studies of frontal asymmetry
- frontal asymmetry reflects emotional valence: left side activation predicts more positive than negative emotion (Tomarken et al.1990)
- frontal asymmetry reflects approach-avoidance: left side activation predicts approach motivation whereas right side activation predicts avoidant motivation (davidjn 1999)- anger/worry (negative, approach emotions) associated with greater left-frontal EEG activity
fMRI studies
- limited evidence for specificity in emotions and brain regions (sadness associated with activation of medial frontal cortex)
- more evidence supports dimensional approach to emotions (approach related emotions are left-lateralised in brain )
Theory, evidence and implication of behaviour
- Theory: emotions evolved to aid communication and therefore prime behaviours that indicator emotional state to others (Darwin 1872/1965)
- Evidence: emotions have been linked to action tendencies, including fight or flight (Frijda 1986)
- Implication: emotions can be assessed by measuring behaviours, such as vocal, facial and body patterns
Vocal characteristics
- Measurement: pitch (frequency) & amplitude (loudness)
- highly arousing emotions linked to high pitched vocal characteristics
- emotional valence not associated with vocal characteristics
Facial behaviour
-people display particular facial expressions when in a specific emotional state- facial action coding system assess 44 muscle mvts
facial behaviour reliably indicate emotional valence (Russell 1994)
- pleasant emotions: wrinkling of muscles around the eyes
- unpleasant emotions: eyebrows lowered and brought closer together
