Sports Psychology Flashcards
What is the definition of arousal?
- The state of alertness or readiness of an individual to perform a task
- Level of arousal varies on a continuum from deep sleep to extreme excitement
- Arousal involves both physiological and psychological activity
What six factors in sport effect levels of arousal?
1) Level of competition
2) Prizes/rewards
3) Team trials - Evaluation
4) Crowds watching
5) Importance of event
6) Not playing well
When does an increase in arousal help performance?
1) When a performer is autonomous
2) When the skill is gross
When does an increase in arousal hinder performance?
1) When the performer is cognitive
2) When the skill is dine or discrete
What is the equation to explain Hull’s drive theory?
P = f (D x H)
What does P = f (D x H) mean?
Performance is a function of drive multiplied by habit
What is a dominant response?
How a person normally perform
What does Hull’s drive theory show?
That increased arousal for an expert or whilst completing a simple task means the dominant response will be correct therefore increasing performance.
That increased arousal for a novice or whilst completing a complex task means the dominant response will be incorrect therefore deteriorated performance through mistakes.
What criticisms are there of Hull’s drive theory?
1) Top class performers may fail under increased arousal
2) Fails to recognise over or under arousal
3) Fails to recognise different levels of arousal required for different skills
What year was Hull’s theory done?
1943
What year was Spence and Spence theory done?
1966
What does inverted U theory show?
Performance improves with arousal up to a point (optimal point), where increased levels of arousal bring about decrease in performance
What points of arousal does the inverted U theory highlight?
1) Low (under aroused)
2) Moderate (optimally aroused)
3) High (over aroused)
What are the symptoms of under arousal?
1) Little adrenaline - low HR
2) Physiological - Sluggish
3) Cognitive - Lack of focus
What are the symptoms of moderate arousal?
1) Good selective attention
2) Concentrated
What are the symptoms of over arousal?
1) Shaking - increase in HR
2) Physiological - Tension
3) Cognitive - Lack of clear thinking
What are the good points surrounding the inverted U theory?
1) Recognise optimal levels of arousal
2) Recognises under and over arousal
3) Flexible for different skills and different performers
What are the bad points surrounding the inverted U theory?
When arousal is too high, not always a gradual drop in performance and sometimes a steep drop in performance
What can effect the optimal level of arousal?
1) Skill level of performer
2) Personality of performer
3) Type of task
How can the nature of the skill affect where the optimal level of arousal is?
Higher levels of arousal are needed for gross or simple skills.
Lower levels go arousal are needed for skills which are fine or complex
How can the skill level of the performer affect where the optimal level of arousal is?
Autonomous performers can cope with higher levels of arousal and may help them to focus.
Cognitive performers can easily become over aroused so they need low levels of arousal for optimal performance.
How can the personality of the performer affect where the optimal level of arousal is?
Extroverts enjoy high levels of excitement and can usually perform well in high level situations.
Introverts are more likely to perform well under low arousal conditions.
What year was the catastrophe theory constructed?
1987
What does the catastrophe theory show?
An adaption of the inverted U theory. They noticed that performance does not always decline gradually after the OLA and instead sometimes a dramatic decline occurs.
