stress arousal and anxiety in sport Flashcards

Question

Answer 1

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Physiological, cognitive, emotional, or behavioural reactions when faced with demands - stress response occurs when situation is appraised to be beyond our resources
Person-situation interaction

Answer 2

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Cognitive
Emotional
Physiological - arousal
Behavioural

Answer 3

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Can be acute or chronic
Personal
Sport (competitive, non-competitive)
Organizational
Situational

Answer 4

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Environmental Demand: This is the situation or challenge you’re facing, like competing in a race or giving a presentation.

Appraisal of Demand: Here, you assess the demand in two ways:

Primary Appraisal: Is this demand a threat or a challenge?

Secondary Appraisal: Do you have the resources (skills, confidence, support) to cope with it?

Stress Response: Based on your appraisal, your body and mind react. This could include physiological responses (increased heart rate, adrenaline) and psychological ones (feeling focused or anxious).

Impact on Performance: The stress response influences how well you perform. For example, seeing a challenge might motivate and enhance performance, while perceiving a threat might lead to anxiety and hinder your abilities.

Essentially, this pr

Answer 5

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Physiological and psychological activation that varies on a continuum

KEY: Arousal on its own is not positive or negative - we interpret it

Answer 6

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A negative emotion in reaction to perceived stress concerning performance under pressure - situation specific
Manifests as a) cognitive
b) somatic
Trait vs. state anxiety

Answer 7

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While anxiety is perceived as a negative emotion, it doesn’t necessarily have a negative impact on performance

Answer 8

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competiton anxiety

Answer 9

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Individual variance in how athletes interpret anxiety in relation to their performance (facilitative vs. debilitative)

Both positive and negative emotions can facilitate or debilitate performance

Not a single point, but a range

Link to self-awareness

Answer 10

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Lazarus (2000) defines emotion as an “organized psychophysiological
reaction to ongoing relationships with the environment, most often, but not
always interpersonal or social”

Answer 11

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azarus suggests stress and emotion should be considered together -
however, Lazarus more interested in emotion
* Anxiety is ONE emotion in response to stress, but there are several others as
well (e.g., fear, anger, guilt - next slide)
* Learning about the specific emotion someone is experiencing can tell us more
than simply knowing that they are stresse

Answer 12

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AYS EMOTION (FEAR) CAN POSITIVELY IMPACT PERFORMANCE
* Direct effort and attention
⚬ Fear can ensure respect for the situation and ensure a safe course
of action is taken (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2012)
⚬ Decisions around risk taking
￭ Sometimes, risk is not taken to prevent injury - Erik Guay
￭ When a risk is taken - depends on the situation (e.g., Olympics
vs. training camp…)
￭ If going to take risk - calculated and lots has been done prior to
the competition to manage
⚬ Increased effort and preparation
Rogers & Paskevich, 2021)
Example: Fear
in alpine skiing
Positive Impact On Performance

Answer 13

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uscle tension, fatigue,
coordination
Attention &
concentration
disruptions
Negative self statements
Decreased motivation

Answer 14

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This concept, instrumental emotion regulation, suggests that emotions—both positive and negative—can be intentionally used to help achieve a goal. Unlike trying to suppress or eliminate negative emotions, this strategy acknowledges that even unpleasant emotions like anger or anxiety can sometimes be beneficial in certain contexts.

For instance, the Lane et al. (2011) study found that 15% of surveyed runners believed experiencing emotions like anger or anxiety actually boosted their performance. This might mean that those emotions heightened their focus, energy, or drive, which helped them push through physical challenges or reach personal bests. Essentially, these runners recognized how emotions typically viewed as “negative” could be channeled into something productive when pursuing a goal.

Answer 15

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Interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) refers to the deliberate efforts individuals make to influence or manage the emotions of others. This concept has been explored in various contexts, including sports, where emotions play a significant role in performance and relationships2.

Key Points:
Understanding IER:

IER involves intentional actions to regulate another person’s emotional state. This can include comforting someone who is upset, motivating a teammate, or calming someone down during a stressful situation.

Reasons for IER:

Instrumental Reasons: These are goal-oriented, such as improving team performance or achieving a specific outcome.

Social-Emotional Reasons: These focus on maintaining or enhancing relationships, fostering trust, or creating a positive social environment2.

Impact on Performance:

Effective IER can enhance individual and group performance by reducing stress, improving focus, and fostering collaboration.

Conversely, poorly executed IER might lead to misunderstandings or increased tension, negatively affecting performance

Answer 16

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Defined as ‘efforts’ to manage specific
external or internal demands (and conflicts
between them) that are appraised as taxing or
exceeding the resources of the person

Answer 17

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Coping
Types of Coping
⚬ Problem focused: efforts aimed at changing the situation
￭ Example: Penalty kick - prep for shot
⚬ Emotion focused: efforts aimed at changing one’s
response to the situation
￭ Example: Penalty kick - getting support from coach
⚬ Avoidance coping: removing self from situation
￭ Example: Penalty kick - don’t watch opponent’s shot

Answer 18

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The use of strategies to initiate, maintain,
modify (intensity, duration) emotions
(Lane et al., 2012; Ruiz & Robazza, 2019)
* Motives for emotion regulation:
⚬ Hedonic = to feel good
⚬ Instrumental = to serve a purpose,
such as performance
* Psychological skills are used to regulate
emotions

Answer 19

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Coping is primarily aimed at managing negative states (e.g., threat,
harm), while emotion regulation may also include augmenting
positive emotions (Jones, 2012)

Answer 20

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Psychological
skills Proactive - before response
Reactive - during response
Long term preparation
during performance
NOTE - not an exhasutive list

Answer 21

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Pre performance routines
* Planning - i.e., identify potential stressors and
strategies for management head of time
* Directing attention - goal setting
* Visualization

Answer 22

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Relaxation techniques - breathing,
progressive muscle relaxation
⚬ PRACTICE TIME!
* Self talk & reframe
⚬ A note re Reframe
* Increasing arousa

Answer 23

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Athlete and sport psych practitioner (and
ideally coach) work together to understand
athlete needs
* Biofeedback
* Simulate stress in training and practice stress
management techniques
* Physical training - for confidence

Answer 24

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Helps people gain awareness of their
nervous system and stress responses -
through measuring breathing,
heartrate, muscle activity
* Key (as usual): what works for each
athlete