Stress Management

Question 1

stress

Answer 1

defined as an individual’s physical response to prepare the body for action, when a threat is percieved
positive response to stress (eustress)
-performer rises to the challenge + feels confident to complete the task
negative response to stress (distress)
-performer finds stressor threatening and difficult to cope with

Question 2

responses to stress

Answer 2

somatic response- physiological eg increased HR, blood pressure and sweating
cognitive response- psychological eg anxiety, irrational thoughts, poor decision making

Question 3

somatic techniques

Answer 3

biofeedback- use of equipment eg HR monitors to generate physiological data
show which situations cause most stress and which strategies are most effective

progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)- contraction of each muscle group in turn, then relaxing to help performer relax

breathing control- controlling and concentrating on rate and depth of breathing so they become less distracted and focus on task

centring- concentrate on body and breathe in, when breathing out you say a word describing how you wish to perform, negative thoughts are disregarded

Question 4

cognitive strategies

Answer 4

mental rehearsal- going over performance in the mind
visualisation- mental image of successful skill and re live it in the competitive situation
imagery- recalling previous successful performances, kineasthesis
internal or external
positive self talk- verbally reminding yourself of key points of a skill and telling yourself you can achieve it
attentional control and cue utilisation
-low arousal= takes in lots of cues and can’t distinguish which cues are relevant, become confused - low performance
-high arousal= takes in less cues and may panic, miss correct cues - low performance
-moderate arousal- filter out irrelevant cues and focus on relevant ones, lowers stress and improves performance

Question 5

nideffer attentional focus

Answer 5

different activities require different attentional focuses
having correct attentional style will reduce level of stress
dimensions
broad-narrow= how many cues are being focused on
broad-lots narrow-one or two
internal- external= where the focus is being placed
internal- thoughts and feelings external-environmental cues

Question 6

attentional styles

Answer 6

broad-internal= many cues concerning performer eg footballer planning set piece
narrow- internal= one or two cues concerning performer, often used to calm nerves
broad-external= many cues in the environment eg trying to decide who to pass to
narrow- external= small number of cues in environment eg basketball player focusing on net in free throw