Stress, arousal, anxiety and pressure

Question 1

What is the definition of arousal?

Answer 1

physiological and psychological activity
intensity dimension of motivation at a particular moment
not associated with positive or negative experiences

Question 2

Whats the terms for being completely aroused and not aroused at all?

Answer 2

high arousal- frenzied

low arousal-comatose

Question 3

How does Kahnemans theory of attention link to arousal?

Answer 3

equates attention with cognitive effort

capacity limits vary depending on enviro, task, individuals arousal

Question 4

What is Weinbergs definition of anxiety?

Answer 4

negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness, worry and apprehension are associated with activation or arousal of the body

Question 5

What is Marklands definition of anxiety?

Answer 5

unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning the performance of a task under pressure

Question 6

Does anxiety aways lead to a bad performance?

Answer 6

anxiety is seen as negative but does not always impact performance negatively

Question 7

What are the 2 types of anxiety we have?

Answer 7

trait anxiety (born with)- athletes deposition to interpreting a situation as threatening and responding wit an increase in state anxiety

state anxiety- changes in feelings of nervousness worry and apprehension associated with arousal of the body

Question 8

What are the 3 types of state anxiety we have?

Answer 8

cognitive state- moment to moment changes in feelings of worry and apprehension associated with arousal of the body

somatic- changes in perceived physiological arousal

perceived control state (confidence)- degree of which one has the resources and ability to meet challenges

Question 9

What is stress defined as?

Answer 9

substantial imbalance between physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and their response capability, when failure to meet demands, have important consequences

Question 10

What is the four stage stress model described by McGrath 1970?

Answer 10

stage 1- enviro demand (phys, psycho, demand placed on athlete)

stage 2- indiv perception of the enviro demand (amount of phys, psych threat perceived, trait anx, high level of trait anx perceive high level of threat)

stage 3- stress response (arousal, state anx, muscle tension, attention changes)

stage 4- behav consequences (performance outcome)

Question 11

What is Baumeisters definition of pressure?

Answer 11

any factor or combination of factors that increase importance of performing well

pressure could increase stress when they cant meet the demand

Question 12

According to Wilson, what could pressure affect?

Answer 12

physiological- systematic stress influencing endocrine, cardiovascular and muscular systems

mainly affect cognitive functioning which means pressure leads to anxiety

Question 13

What are the 2 sources of stress and anxiety?

Answer 13

situational source- event importance, uncertainty

personal source- trait anxiety, confidence, self esteem

Question 14

How can we measure arousal (physiological, somatic)?

Answer 14

respiration
muscle tension
HR

Question 15

How can we measure anxiety (psychological)?

Answer 15

questionnaires

Question 16

What are the 2 types of questionnaires for measuring anxiety?

Answer 16

trait anxiety- sport anxiety scale 2 (SAS) smith (somatic, worry, concentration disruption)

state anxiety- competitive stress anxiety inventory 2, martens, done twice (cognitive state anx, somatic, self confidence)

Question 17

If someone had high trait anxiety what would they score in state anxiety questionnaire?

Answer 17

high state anxiety in a competitive situation

however this is not always a negative thing

Question 18

Describe the drive theory created by Spence explaining arousal and performance?

Answer 18

positive linear relationship
as arousal increases, so does performance
this states in order to have the best performance, your arousal needs to be high
no mention of anxiety

Question 19

Describe the inverted u theory by Landers?

Answer 19

criticised drive theory
optimum zone rather than positive linear
no mention of anxiety

Question 20

Describe the catastrophe theory by Hardy?

Answer 20

takes into account anxiety
if you have low cognitive anxiety-
performance and arousal will follow inverted u

high cognitive anxiety- as arousal increases, so does performance, up to certain point, arousal too high, not a curve but sudden drop

Question 21

Describe the multidimensional anxiety theory by Martens?

Answer 21

catastrophe only looks at cog anxiety 
need to look at all 3
cog- negative linear
somatic- inverted u 
confidence- positive linear

Question 22

According to the multi dimensional model, what levels should the different types of anxiety be for the best performance?

Answer 22

cog- low level
moderate somatic anxiety
high level of confidence

Question 23

How does Hanin criticise the multi dimensional model?

Answer 23

individualised zones of optimum functioning
each indiv has different levels of optimum arousal
some perform best at high levels of anxiety and some at low

Question 24

What does the reversal theory state about arousal?

Answer 24

the way arousal affects our performance depends on our perception of it

hedonic tone- perception of arousal

negative perception+ low arousal- boredom
good perception+ low arousal- relaxed
negative perception+ low arousal- anxiety (impact performance)
good perception+ high arousal- excitement

Question 25

What are the 2 directions for anxiety?

Answer 25

facilitative | debilitative

Question 26

How were the questionnaires for measuring anxiety criticised?

Answer 26

no directional element in the questionnaire every point, eg feeling nervous was viewed as negative some may see being nervous as good

Question 27

What was the directional element?

Answer 27

A component added to each question in the questionnaire to see if people viewed this as a positive or negative thing

Question 28

Using the directional element in the questionnaire, would would elite and novices score?

Answer 28

anxiety levels would be scored similar however, elite- seen anxiety components as positive thing novice- seen anxiety as negative therefore impacted on performance, dont feel they can meet demands

Question 29

Describe Jones model of facilitative and debilitative anxiety?

Answer 29

linked to 4 stage stress model stressor control- do we think we meet the demand for it (perception) yes- ability to cope and attain goals- facilitative anxiety no-cant cope and attain goals- debilitative anxiety

Question 30

How is choking under pressure different to catastrophe?

Answer 30

catastrophe theory looks at the emotional side whereas choking under pressure is specific to the skill, pressure to perform

Question 31

How does Baumeister define choking under pressure?

Answer 31

occurrence of an impairment in performance under pressure despite possessing skills, motivation and ability to perform optimally is choking pressure occurs when one factor or factors increase importance of performing well

Question 32

How does Hill define choking under pressure?

Answer 32

process whereby the indiv perceives that their resources are insufficient to meet the demands of the situation and concludes with a significant drop in performance

Question 33

How was Hills definition of choking under pressure criticised?

Answer 33

did not include anything about anxiety

Question 34

How does Mesagno include anxiety in his definition of choking under pressure?

Answer 34

critical deterioration in skill execution leading to substandard performance that is caused by an elevation in anxiety levels under perceived pressure at a time when successful outcome is normally attainable by an athlete

Question 35

What is the most up to date definition of choking under pressure?

Answer 35

an acute and considerable decrease in skill execution and performance when self executed standards are normally achievable, which is the result in increased anxiety under perceived pressure

Question 36

What are the 3 central elements you need to have to be classed as choking under pressure?

Answer 36

athlete has skills and ability to perform the task situation, personal incentives to perform optimally significantly poor performance under pressure

Question 37

What are the 3 theories for choking?

Answer 37

distraction theory self presentation theory self focus theory

Question 38

What model do the theories for choking link to?

Answer 38

Nideffers attentional focus model

Question 39

How does the distraction theory link into attentional focus model?

Answer 39

falls under external category | external levels of attention lead to distraction

Question 40

What is the distraction theory?

Answer 40

pressure and anxiety impairs inhibition to function inhibition function is used to resist interference from task irrelevant stimuli when under pressure and with anxiety we become distracted by task irrelevant info like the crowd

Question 41

How does the self presentation theory link to the attentional focus model?

Answer 41

falls in the assess (ex, broad) | worried about crowd judging

Question 42

What is the self presentation theory?

Answer 42

people attempt o monitor and control how they are perceived by others use attentional resources worrying about others athletic identity is the degree to which indiv identify the role of an athlete this is important in determining athletes self presentation concerns because competitions create worries about making a good impression linked to intermediate and expert

Question 43

What questionnaire was created to measure levels of self presentation as a reason for choking?

Answer 43

brief fear of negative evaluation

Question 44

What would someone score in the brief fear of evaluation questionnaire if they have high state anxiety?

Answer 44

score high as they would be worried about what people think

Question 45

What would you see in the performance with a crowd for those who score low in self presentation questionnaire?

Answer 45

not affected by the crowd see it as a positive thing therefore performance is improved in a crowd

Question 46

Where does the self focus theory fall in the attentional focus model?

Answer 46

rehearse- int, narrow | focus on the skill and movement

Question 47

What is the self focus theory for choking?

Answer 47

under pressure, a person realises consciously that it is important to execute the behaviour correctly consciousness attempts to ensure correctness of the execution by monitoring the process of performance consciousness does not contain the knowledge of these skills, reduces success pressure causes narrowing and internalising of attention, resulting in drop in performance

Question 48

What stage of learning does the self focus theory focus on?

Answer 48

autonomous usually perform skill automatically, no thought pressure causes them to think how to do the skill, which usually they should not do this drops performance

Question 49

What is the reinvestment theory?

Answer 49

tendency to introduce conscious control of a movement by isolating and focusing on specific components of it paralysis by analysis

Question 50

What are the 2 questionnaire used for reinvestment looking at self focus theory?

Answer 50

movement reinvestment scale | decision specific reinvestment scale

Question 51

What would the scores look like in the reinvestment scale when performing in low then high pressure?

Answer 51

low pressure- high and low reinvesters the same high pressure- high reinvesters drop in performance as they are thinking about movement

Question 52

According to the self presentation theory, what may lead to an athletes having a negative fear of evaluation and ultimately choking under pressure?

Answer 52

reduced athletic identity

Question 53

Which of the following is not automatically associated with positive or negative experiences?

Answer 53

arousal