Final Exam Flashcards
Stressful Situations
Can generate such anxiety that performance often deteriorates
- too tense (lowers coordination)
- I knew i’d blow it (lowers self-efficacy)
- Cant focus (narrows attention)
Introduction to Arousal
- Critical factor prior to and during performance
- The body needs to be at an optimal level to perform at its best
- Ideal level of arousal should match the requirements of specific tasks and individuals
- arousal regulation is a major concern for athletes
Defining Arousal
- General Psychological and physiological activation, varying on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement
- viewed as a energizing function that is responsible for harnessing the bodies resources during vigorous and intense exercise
- natural or non-directional state (either positive or negative)
- synonymous with intensity and activation
Defining Anxiety
- a negative emotional state or reaction is characterized by unpleasant feelings of intensity, preoccupation, worry and apprehension
- cognitive state anxiety vs somatic anxiety
- trait anxiety vs. state anxiety
Cognitive Anxiety
- Thought component
- Negative concern about competing
- caused by fear of negative social evaluation, fear of failure and lower confidence
- inability to concentrate
Somatic Anxiety
- physiological in nature (butterflies in stomach, fast heart beat)
- How athletes interpret physiological reactions
–> butterflies, sweating, shakiness, increased HR and muscular tension
Trait Anxiety
- more stable in nature
- part of personality
- predisposition to perceive certain situations as threatening and respond with higher levels of anxiety
- a highly anxious person finds situations anxiety provoking
State Anxiety
- measured with specific situations
- characterized by apprehension, fear, tension, and an increase in physiological arousal
- athletes high in trait anxiety tend to be high in state anxiety
Drive Theory - Linear relationship
- high arousal equates for better performance
- low arousal equates for lower performance
- high levels of arousal should benefit a skilled performer
- low levels of arousal should increase beginners chances to have successful performance
Drive Theory Findings
- More likely for gross motor activities (strength)
- no support for accuracy tasks
- little support in sport setting
Inverted U theory
- Predicts that as arousal increases from drowsiness to alertness there is a progressive increase in performance
- once arousal continues to increase beyond alertness - to a state of high excitement there is a progressive decrease in task performance
Inverted U criticism
Implies that there is ones ideal level of arousal for all individuals
- optimal arousal varies from individual to individual
- Hanins Individualized Zone of Option Functioning Theory, which is a variation of inverted U theory, addresses this limitation
IZOF
- Extends inverted U theory by incorporating individual differences into the framework
- IZOF is the level of arousal that enables an athlete to perform at their best
- Determined individually because IZOF varies from athlete to athlete
- Key is knowing where the IZOF is for each athlete in a given situation and then helping the athlete reproduce this arousal state more consistently
- If athletes are outside their IZOFS the outcome of their performance is typically more poor
Multidimensional Theory
Mind and body are intertwined but not completly - this theory distinguishes between somatic and cognitive anxiety
Hypotheses From Multidimensional Theory
- Somatic Anxiety has a curvilinear relationship to performance and cognitive anxiety has a negative linear relationship
- Cognitive Anxiety remains essentially stable prior to competition and somatic anxiety progressively increases
- somatic anxiety dissipates once the performance begins but cognitive anxiety can vary because the subjective probability of success can change throughout the game
How to determine optimal arousal
- compare arousal demands of sport task to athletes typical competitive arousal state
- loom for consistent performance shift from practice to competition
Identify arousal level during peak performance
Examine arousal before many competitions and compare each performance outcome (help find IZOF)
Signs of UNDER - Activation
BODY
- heavy muscles
- slow reactions
- slow HR
- low energy
MIND
- bored
- inattentive
- Not Up
- over confident
Signs of OVER Activation
BODY
- muscle tightness
- sweating
- pounding
- frequent urination
- butterflies in stomach
- hyperactivity
- dilated pupils
MIND
- anxiety
- frustration
- self-doubt and worry
- focus on wrong things
Strategies to Use
- Need to Relax
- Increase activation
Need to Relax
- too much activation is detrimental to performance
- most often this is the problem rather then using a profanity laced motivational speech to psych up a team
- breathing
- muscle relaxation
Breathing
- Breathing properly is relaxing and facilitates performance by getting oxygen in to the blood
- Breathing is affected by one or two ways in high pressure situations
1. breathing rapidly and shallowly
2. hold breath
Complete Breath
- Proper breathing comes from the diaphragm
- During inhalation the diaphragm moves down and the abdomen pushes out
- Athletes should complete 30-40 deep breaths each day
3 breathing exercises
- Complete breath
- Sighing with exhalation
- Rhythmic Breathing
Sighing with Exhalation
- Inhale slowly
- Hold breath for 10 seconds
- exhale through mouth with sigh
Rhythmic Breathing
Inhale to a count of 4
hold for a count of 4
exhale to a count of 4
- you can alter the rhythm by changing ratio count (1:2)