arousal

what are the two elements of motivation?

• intensity of behaviour (arousal)

• direction of behaviour (the response we make because of the level of arousal)

define arousal?

the level of excitement that a person feels, or the physiological and psychological readiness a person feels.

what is physiological readiness?

somatic arousal, which is physical e.g. faster heart beat before a competition

what is psychological readiness?

cognitive anxiety e.g. anxiety or worry felt before the same big event.

who created the drive theory?

Hull (1943)

describe the drive theory graph

• their is a linear relationship between arousal and the performance of the dominant response (learned behaviour that is most likely to occur when arousal increases)

what does the drive theory suggest about cognitive learners?

• beginners are affected negatively and perform badly when arousal is high as their dominant response is likely to be incorrect 

• low levels of arousal suit learners at the cognitive and associative stages of learning 

• high arousal inhibits the performance of perceptual and fine motor skills e.g. spin bowling in cricket

what does the drive theory suggest about autonomous learners?

• experts are affected positively and perform well when their arousal is high because their dominant response is likely to be correct 

• high arousal will benefit expert performers who like to be challenged 

• high arousal helps the performance of dynamic skills e.g. shot putt 

what are some limitations of drive theory?

• it isn’t applicable to novices

• it does not explain how some performers can produce high performance at low levels of arousal

• linear relationship very rarely occurs; doesn’t take into account other factors like nature of task, personality, ability

describe the inverted U theory

as arousal increases the quality of performance increases up to the optimum point. after the optimum point, or if arousal continues to increase, performance will deteriorate gradually showed by downwards curve.

what is the effect of under arousal on performance?

it will be below potential due to attentional broadening. the performer does not focus on relevant cues and does not filter out irrelevant information, causing overload.

what is the effect of optimal arousal on performance?

has a positive effect of selective attention and cue-utilisation. this maximises the capacity to make fast and accurate decisions. 

what is the effect of over arousal on performance.

hypervigilance and attentional narrowing (performer is over-focused and filters out relevant info). this leads to poor decision making so negatively effects performance.

what types of skill require low levels of arousal

complex skills, fine skills or open skills

what types of skill require high levels of arousal

simple skills, gross skills or closed skills

what is a positive of drive theory?

• it explains the performance of elite athletes due to having their dominant response fluent and well learnt

• helps coaches understand that beginners need low levels of arousal

• it explains high performance in explosive activities

what are some positives of the inverted U theory?

• it considers other variables (task type, personality and skill level)

• it recognises that optimum arousal levels are different for each athlete

• it considers that performance can decline at high levels of arousal

what are some limitations of the inverted U theory?

• increase/decrease of performance is rarely smooth

• it only considers somatic/physical arousal

describe the catastrophe theory graph

• if somatic arousal increases, so does performance up to optimal point, but only if cognitive anxiety if kept low

• if high cognitive anxiety combines with high somatic arousal the performer goes beyond the optimal point 

• the performer loses concentration and there is a sharp decline in performance e.g. dropping a straightforward catch in cricket

HOWEVER 

• if arousal is controlled (lowered) after the performer goes ‘over the edge’, performance can improve, and the upward curve of arousal can be re-joined

• if arousal continues to increase after the sharp drop in performance, then further deterioration will occur

what are some positives of the catastrophe theory?

• it is more realistic than other theories

• it explains why performers experience a rapid decline

• it is a multidimensional theory (considers somatic arousal and cognitive anxiety)

what are some limitations of the catastrophe theory?

• some performers never experience a rapid decline

• it does not take into consideration task, skill or personality

• it is not a proven theory