Sport Psychology - Stress, Arousal and Anxiety Flashcards
Define arousal
Arousal is a state of activation and readiness to perform
Define cognitive arousal
A state of psychological activation and readiness to perform
Define somatic arousal
A state of physiological activation and readiness to perform
Drive theory: There is a _____________ ___________________ between arousal and performance
Positive correlation
Drive theory: As arousal increases, effort levels increase and the performer shows their ___________ ______________
Dominant response
Drive theory: An autonomous performer has a _________ _____________ dominant response
Well-learnt
Drive theory: For a cognitive performer, what happens as arousal increases?
Performance decrease because their dominant response is not well learnt
Drive theory: For an autonomous performer, what happens as arousal increases?
Performance increase because their dominant response is well learnt
Describe the inverted U theory of arousal
As arousal increase, effort increase and performance increases until the performer reaches optimum levels
What dose optimum levels of arousal give?
Optimum levels of performance
What are a cognitive performer’s optimum level of arousal like? Why?
Low
Their dominant response is not well learnt, so they are required to concentrate on the task
What is an autonomous performer’s optimum level of arousal?
High
What is the optimum level of arousal for a golf putt? Why?
Low
It is a fine motor skill
Define the term cognitive anxiety
Psychological anxiety
Define somatic anxiety
Physiological anxiety
Define competitive trait anxiety
The performer perceives all competitive situation as threatening
Define competitive state anxiety
The performer perceives certain competitive situations as threatening
What is the relationship between arousal and anxiety?
As arousal increases, anxiety also increases
When does cognitive state anxiety increase in relation to performance?
Up to a week before
When does cognitive anxiety peak in relation to performance
At the start of the event
What happens to cognitive state anxiety during performance? Why?
It fluctuates depending on performance
When does somatic state anxiety increase in relation to performance?
An hour before
When does somatic state anxiety peak in relation to performance
At the start of performance
What happens to somatic state anxiety during performance?
It changes dependant on cognitive anxiety
Give an example of a physiological measure of stress
Heart rate monitors
Name 3 cognitive stress management techniques
Mental rehearsal/visualisation
Thought stopping
Positive self-talk
How many types of mental rehearsal are there? What are they?
2
Internal and external
When should thought stopping be used?
When negative thoughts occur
What is thought stopping
The use of a key cue or word
What does thought stopping do to attention?
Re-directs it from the cause of anxiety to the external stimulus
When should positive-self talk be used?
When negative thoughts occur
What is positive self-talk?
Where the performer replaces negative thoughts with positive statements about performance
Name 3 somatic stress management techniques
Biofeedback
Centring/deep breathing
Progressive muscular relaxation
What is biofeedback?
The use of a physiological measuring device
What does biofeedback allow a performer to do?
Recognise and control the causes of anxiety
What does centring involve?
Deep breathing and a mantra
What is centring usually used alongside?
Progressive muscular relaxation
What is progressive muscular relaxation?
The performer breathes in, contracts their muscles, holds the contraction and then relaxes the muscles and breathes out
What is progressive muscular relaxation used alongside?
Centring/deep breathing
