Week 5 - The Stress Process

Question 1

what is stress?

Answer 1

• it is a transactional process
• not a demand/stimulus or an outcome/response

Question 2

Stress - Defintion

Answer 2

• Lazarus, 1998
• an ongoing process involving individuals transacting with their environment, making appraisals of the situation and endeavouring to cope

Question 3

what are stressors?

Answer 3

• environemental demands countered

Question 4

what is the definition of strain?

Answer 4

• Lazarus and Folkman, 1984
• individuals negative psychological physical behavioural responses to stressors - caused by an imbalance between demands and capabilities

Question 5

what is eustress?

Answer 5

• positive outcomes of the stress process

Question 6

who came up with the multi-model of stress?

Answer 6

• Fletcher and Fletcher, 2005

Question 7

Multi-model of stress

Answer 7

• Fletcher and Fletcher, 2005
• stressor
• primary appraisal (is the stressor relevant)
• secondary appraisal (is it a threat or challenge)
• tertiary appraisal (is my emotional reaction relevant)
• quaternary appraisal (is this emotion a challenge or a threat)
• strain/eustress
• (threat = -ve effects, challenge = +ve effects)

Question 8

Where should you intervene in the stress process for selectors watching?

Answer 8

• plan a = quaternary appraisal - want the athlete to go through the process-improve the problem not ignore
• plan b = secondary appraisal
• plan c = primary appraisal

Question 9

Challenge state definition

Answer 9

• Jones et al., 2009
• when situation / emotions appraised as relevant, and a challenge (i.e. individual can meet demands of the situation)

Question 10

Threat state definition

Answer 10

• Jones et al., 2009
• when situation/emotions appraised as relevant and a threat (i.e. individual perceives they cannot meet the demands of the situation)

Question 11

Challenge and Threat Theory

Answer 11

• Jones et al., 2009
• based on biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat (Blascovich et al., 2003)
• situations / emotions appraised as either a challenge or a threat
• produces different physiological markers and performance outcomes

Question 12

Challenge state (theory)

Answer 12

• Jones et al., 2009
• increased sympathetic activation :
• increased HR and left ventricular contractility, increasing SV
• releases epinephrine, causing vasodilation, decreases systematic vascular resistance
• efficient response for coping
• leads to positively valanced emotions and optimal sport performance

Question 13

Threat state (theory)

Answer 13

• Jones et al., 2009
• increase in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity :
• releases ACTH and corticosteroids
• cardiac activity increases - but no decrease in systematic vascular resistance (may increase), so blood pressure increases
• inefficient response for coping
• leads to negatively valanced emotions and lowered sport performance

Question 14

what are the psychological antecedents for challenge and threat?

Answer 14

• level of self-efficacy
• perceived control
• approach goals (striving to achieve, e.g. i want to play well)

Question 15

Situational properties of stressors that can influence appraisal

Answer 15

• controllability
• novelty
• predictability
• event certainty
• imminence
• duration
• temporal
• ambiguity
• timing in relation to life cycle

Question 16

what is organisational stress? (definition)

Answer 16

• Fletcher et al., 2006
• ongoing transaction between individual and environmental demands associated primarily/directly with the organisation within which they are operating

Question 17

What are organisational stressors? (definition)

Answer 17

• Fletcher et al., 2006
• environmental demands (stimuli) associated primarily/directly with the organisation within which the individual is operating in

Question 18

organisational stress in sport

Answer 18

• athletes don’t live/perform in a vacuum (Wagstaff, 2016)
• majority of stressors experienced by elite athletes were organisational not performance related (Jones, 1992)

Question 19

what are the sources of organisational stress?

Answer 19

• Fletcher et al., 2012
• factors intrinsic to the sport
• roles in the sport organisation
• sporting relationships and interpersonal demands
• athletic career and development issues
• organisational structure and climate of sport

Question 20

competitive vs organisational stressors

Answer 20

• organisational stressors mainly appraised as threatening, few deemed as challenge (unlike competitive stressors)
• organisational tend to lead to anxiety, disappointment, strain, resentment, poor performance, etc
• because outside your control/ poor control = difficult to be in challenge state

Question 21

dealing with threat appraisals - competitive stressors

Answer 21

• CBT/REBT - cognitive restructuring
• motivational self talk (improves self-efficacy)
• informational self talk (improves perceived control)
• pre-performance routines (improve approach goals and self-efficacy)

Question 22

dealing with threat appraisals - organisational stressors

Answer 22

• CBT/REBT - cognitive restructuring
• mindfulness acceptance theory
• goal setting (approach goals)
• meeting with the coach (improves role ambiguity)