Ch. 5: Anxiety

arousal/activation

blend of physiological and psychological activation in ANS

cognitive anxiety

psychological component, reflects worry, concern, apprehension, and self-focus

somatic anxiety

physiological component, automatic responses of the body (sweaty palms, shaking)

competitive anxiety

anxiety occurring in sport-related situations, involves cognitive + behavioural + physiological stress

social anxiety

specific anxiety that occurs during social situations

social physique anxiety

experienced anxiety because of perceiving that others may evaluate our body

state anxiety

temporary feelings that can change one moment from the next

trait anxiety

part of individuals personality, predisposition to perceive things as threats

frequency of cognitive intrusions/symptoms

amount of time that thoughts and feelings about competition occupy an individuals mind (%)

directional interpretation of symptoms

extent to which cognitive and somatic anxiety symptoms are labelled as either positive or negative

five most-studied personal sources of anxiety

• gender

• experience and skill level

• trait anxiety

• self-confidence and self presentational beliefs

• self-regulation strategies

self-presentation efficacy

confidence in one’s ability to present images of being an exerciser

self-handicapping

any action that enhances opportunity of failure and internalize success

elevation of anxiety are associated with…

• being female

• novice expertise

• high trait anxiety

• low self-efficacy

• negative self-presentational beliefs

• poor self-regulatory skills

• use of self-handicapping strategies

drive theory

suggest that performance is a function of two factors; habit strength and drive

inverted U-hypothesis

suggest performance improved as arousal increases, to a certain point

individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) hypothesis

if within optimal zone, better performance is expected, and vice versa

Cusp catastrophe theory

describes combined influences of several components of competitive anxiety and activation in athletic performance

3 dimensions of Cusp catastrophe theory

• physiological arousal

• cognitive anxiety

• performance

optimal performance of any skill requires AT LEAST:

• appropriate cognitive processing speed

• appropriate coordination and level of muscle activation

attentional focus and selectivity hypothesis

elevation in competitive state anxiety reduces ability to pay attention and process information

choking

acute, significant decline in performance under high pressure or anxiety

confidence

belief that one can successfully perform desired behaviour

self-efficacy

strength of individuals belief that they have resources to achieve a given outcome