Arousal and Sports Performance

These flashcards cover key concepts of arousal and its effects on sports performance, including definitions, theories, and implications for athletes.

What is the definition of arousal in sports psychology?

Arousal is a state of alertness and anticipation that prepares the body for sporting action, involving physiological activation and psychological activity.

What is the relationship between arousal and sports performance according to the Inverted-U Hypothesis?

Optimal arousal leads to peak performance; performance improves with arousal up to a point, after which it declines.

How does increased arousal typically affect focus?

Increased arousal often leads to narrowed attentional focus, which can be beneficial for simple tasks but may impair performance in complex tasks.

What negative effects can high arousal have on athletes?

High arousal can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and choking, negatively impacting decision-making and performance.

Define the phenomenon known as 'choking' in sports performance.

Choking is a sudden drop in performance due to excessive arousal and anxiety, often occurring in high-stakes situations.

What does the Catastrophe Theory state regarding arousal and performance?

If somatic arousal increases, performance improves only up to an optimal point; combining high somatic arousal with high cognitive anxiety leads to a sharp decline in performance.

What are the two components of arousal described in the notes?

The two components of arousal are intensity of behavior and direction of behavior, which describes the response made due to the level of arousal.

What concept suggests that each person has a unique optimal level of anxiety for peak performance?

The Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) concept suggests that individuals have an ideal bandwidth of anxiety that leads to their best performance.

What are the implications of high cognitive anxiety on performance according to the Catastrophe Theory?

High cognitive anxiety combined with high somatic arousal leads to performance deterioration after surpassing the optimal point.

How does Drive Theory relate arousal to the performance of the dominant response?

Drive Theory posits that there is a linear relationship between arousal and the performance of the dominant response, which is the most likely learned behavior to occur at higher arousal.