extreme biology lecture 8 - humans (psychology) Flashcards
what is arousal?
general physiological & psychological activation of an organism which varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement
what is stress?
Non-specific response of the body to any demand placed upon it
what is anxiety?
an unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning the performance of a task under pressure
such as - Cognitive / Somatic and State / Trait
what is the stress process?
Perceived imbalance between what is being asked of the person and the person’s ability to cope with those demands, and where failure has severe consequences.
what is psychological pressure?
APA definition of PP / PS:
“excessive or stressful demands, imagined or real, made on an individual to think, feel, or act in particular ways. The experience of pressure is often the source of cognitive and affective discomfort or disorder, as well as of maladaptive coping strategies, the correction of which may be a mediate or end goal in psychotherapy. “
Stress (response)
Stressor (place/event/situation causes the response)
what is Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome?
Alarm- fight or flight activation
-Causes stress resistance
-Inc. ability to cope with stress
Resistance
- Body start to react to stress
Exhaustion
- resources are depleted, stress resistance starts to decrease
- maladaptive response
what is the stress system?
SAM pathway leads to short-lasting responses, e.g. alertness, vigilance, situation appraisal, enabling a strategic decision to face the challenge in the initial phase of a stressful event
HPA pathway is slower acting
Cortisol ‘stress hormone’- promotes blood sugar availability, regulate metabolism, reduce inflammation
what are the effects of stress?
Acute/Chronic
Darwinian approach?- effects of stress to enable survival
Stress response is adaptive- prepares body for challenge on it.
Repeated acute bouts, chronic stress or perceived as intense leads to maladaptive responses (biological / behavourial / psychological)
what are the effects of chronic stress?
-Neurotoxic effects of glucocorticoids on brain
-High levels of GC for long periods has harmful effects on HPA-axis regulation, that impacts hippocampus and memory.
-Chronically high cortisol levels can lead to cognitive impairments: in attention, memory & emotion processing
-Vulnerability to mental health disorders
what are endless 5 facets of anxiety?
1- Interpersonal ego-threat
2- Physical danger
3- Ambiguity (fear of unknown)
4- Disruption in daily routine
5- Social evaluation
what are the 4-stage process of how stress can influence performance?
1- Facing objective demands
2- Interpretation the objective demands (perceived as threatening or non-threatening)
3- Response to perceived imbalance ….if perceived threat & the outcome really matters
Raised somatic anxiety- muscle tension, altered movement patterns.
Raised cognitive anxiety – disrupted concentration, attentional control & can end up worrying about their thoughts of worry
4.Behavioural consequences as result of stage 3
what is clutch performance?
Improved performance under heightened pressure
underpinning characteristics
-Fully absorbed on task
-High confidence
-Sense of control
-Enjoyment
-Enhanced motivation to succeed
-Focus
-Effort
-Heightened self-awareness
-High arousal levels
-Absence of -ve thoughts of consequences if don’t win
Strategies to achieve clutch
-Deliberate focus
-Optimal arousal levels
-Confidence in ability
what is FoF?
FoF- motivation to avoid failure
-Predisposition to perceive threat in challenges & thus experience anxiety
-Associated with anticipatory shame
-Consequences of failure are perceived as hugely (-vely) impactful
-Lower self-estimate (e.g. I’m no good, lack of control)
-Non-ego punishment (e.g. waste of time to not reach goals, uncertain future, a tangible loss)
-Reduced social value (e.g. others will think less of me if I fail)
+ve relationship with coaching style (controlling =hFoF, autnomoy supportive = lowerFoF)
Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) (Conroy et al 2001)
what is choking performance?
-Sudden & significant decrement in normal expert levels of performance under conditions of perceived pressure
Performance paradox
Mechanism is unclear
attentional theories - self-focus and distraction(PET)
-Pre-performance routines useful to prevent choking in Aus. footballer (Mesagno & Mullane-Grant (2010)).
what is psychological resilience?
the role of mental processes and behaviour in promoting personal assets and protecting an individual from the potential negative effect of stressors
