Sports Psychology: Confidence, Anxiety, and Arousal

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the physical and psychological demands of performance, including self-confidence, self-efficacy, trait and state anxiety, cognitive and somatic symptoms, assessment inventories, and arousal theories.

Sports Psychology

The study of how psychology influences sport, athletic performance, exercise, and physical activity.

Psychological Preparedness

The formation of mental functions, processes, and personality traits that assist athletes in solving problems during training sessions and competitions.

Self-Confidence

A belief in one's skills and ability to turn sporting potential into a great performance.

Self-Efficacy

An individual's situation-specific self-belief that enables them to perform better; also referred to as state confidence.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

A phrase coined by Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus (624-546 BCE) meaning 'a sound mind in a sound body'.

Trait Confidence

A disposition where an individual exhibits self-confidence across a wide range of situations, including socially, in school or work, and in athletic environments.

State Confidence

A temporary form of confidence that is specific to a particular situation or task.

Bandura's Model of Self-Efficacy

A psychological model identifying four primary factors that govern state confidence: enactive mastery, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological arousal.

Enactive Mastery

The most important source of self-efficacy in Bandura's model, derived from previous successful performances, practice, and direct personal experience.

Vicarious Experience

The second most important source of self-efficacy in Bandura's model, gained by observing someone of similar ability successfully complete a task.

Verbal Persuasion

The third most effective source of self-efficacy, consisting of external or internal encouragement and feedback from coaches, managers, or significant others.

Physiological Arousal (Self-Efficacy Source)

The least effective source of self-efficacy in Bandura's model, involving how an individual interprets their internal emotional and physiological readiness (getting 'psyched up').

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A phenomenon wherein an expectation or prediction materialises purely because a performer believes it will, directing outcomes positively or negatively based on self-efficacy.

Trait Sport Confidence Inventory (TSCI)

An interactive assessment used to measure, evaluate, and track an athlete's self-confidence before, during, and after a performance.

Anxiety

A feeling of unease, apprehension, worry, or fear that can range from mild to severe and impact performance.

Trait Anxiety

A stable aspect of an individual's personality representing an acquired behavioural disposition to perceive certain non-threatening situations as threatening across multiple life domains.

State Anxiety

A temporary, immediate emotional state characterised by apprehension, fear, tension, and heightened physiological arousal in response to a specific demand or situation.

Competitive Trait Anxiety

A performer's natural, enduring predisposition to experience anxiety across all sporting competitions and athletic settings.

Competitive State Anxiety

A situation-specific type of anxiety, commonly called competition or performance anxiety, occurring strictly during competitive events or high-pressure moments.

Cognitive Anxiety

The mental component of anxiety, encompassing negative thoughts, worries, indecision, confusion, poor concentration, and images of failure.

Somatic Anxiety

The physiological component of anxiety affecting the body, including increased heart rate, sweating, elevated blood pressure, muscle tension, dry mouth, and butterflies in the stomach.

Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)

A test developed in 1990 that uses a points system and performer responses to statements about competitive situations to quantify competition anxiety.

Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2)

A psychological inventory designed to measure an athlete's cognitive state anxiety, somatic state anxiety, and self-confidence levels prior to performance.

Arousal

A state of physical and mental readiness that fluctuates along a continuum from a low state to a high state.

High State Arousal

An elevated point on the arousal continuum where a performer displays high energy and excitement, which can cause increased muscle tension and impaired coordination.

Low State Arousal

A depressed point on the arousal continuum where a performer appears tired, lethargic, or distracted, frequently resulting in under-performance.

Inverted-U Hypothesis

A theory postulating that optimal athletic performance occurs at a moderate level of arousal, with performance declining if the athlete is under-aroused or over-aroused.