Chapter 5 - Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety

Arousal

a blend of physiological and psychological activation, varying in intensity along a continuum

Anxiety

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

Trait anxiety, State anxiety

Trait anxiety

Anxiety;

a stable personality disposition

acquired disposition that predisposes a person to perceive a wide range of objectively nondangerous circumstances as threatening and to respond to these with disprportionate sate anxiety levels

State anxiety

Anxiety;

an emotional state characterized by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension

accompanied by/associated with activation or arousal of the autonomic nervous system

“right-now” feeling of nervousness that can change from moment to moment

Cognitive, Somatic

Cognitive state anxiety

state anxiety;

the degree to which one worries or has negative thoughts

Somatic state anxiety

state anxiety;

the moment-to-moment changes in perceived physiological activation

Perceived control state anxiety

state anxiety;

the degree to which one believes one has the resources and ability to meet challenges

Stress

substantial imbalance between physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and his or her response capability under conditions in which failure the meet demands has important consequences

Stress Process

has 4 predictable stages

Stages 1-4

Stage 1 of the Stress Process

Environmental demand — physical and psychological

Stage 2 of the Stress Process

Individual’s perception of the environmental demand — amount of psychological or physical “threat” perceived

Stage 3 of the Stress Process

Stress response — arousal, state anxiety, muscle tension, attention changes

Stage 4 of the Stress Process

Behavioral consequences — performance or outcome

Sources of Stress and Anxiety

Situational sources and Personal sources

Situational sources

Sources of Stress and Anxiety;

event importance

uncertainty

Personal sources

Sources of Stress and Anxiety;

trait anxiety

self-esteem

social physique anxiety

Drive theory

one well-learned skills, an individual’s arousal or state of anxiety increases, along with performance

Inverted-U hypothesis

performance increases with arousal up to an optimal point (peak perofrmance resides at the middle of physiological arousal), after which, performance declines with higher physiological arousal

Individualized zones of optimal functioning (IZOF)

describes a “sweet spot” of emotional and physiological arousal for each individual that leads to peak performance

Multidimensional anxiety theory

• Cognitive anxiety is negatively related to performance

• Somatic anxiety is related to performance in an inverted-U pattern

• There is little support for its predictions

Catastrophe theory

suggests that when arousal levels exceed an optimal point, performance can decline rapidly and dramatically

Reversal theory

arousal’s affect on performance depends on an individual’s interpretation of their arousal level

pleasant arousal = helps performance

unpleasant arousal = hurts performance

Anxiety direction and intensity

• viewing anxiety as facilitative leads to superior performance

• state anxiety is perceived and facilitative/debilitative depending on how much control the person perceives

• developing cognitive skills and strategies helps people view anxiety as facilitative

Significance of Arousal-Performance Views

• arousal is multifaceted (physical activation and interpretation of arousal)

• facilitative or debilitative depending on the interpretation

• self-confidence and enhanced perceptions of control = critical to perceiving anxiety as facilitative

Why arousal influences performance?

• increased arousal and state anxiety cause muscle tension, fatigue, and coordination difficulties

• changes in attention, concentration, and visual search