Stress perform

What is Stress

Stress is an unsettling reactive experience to external factors

Stressors Lots of possibilities including:

Social, Physical, Chemical/biochemical, Bacterial, Climactic, Physical environment

Stress has often been considered

both in scientific and colloquial use, in relation to negative and/or aversive events, experiences or consequences

One of Selye’s (1976) great insights and contributions was to note that stress can be either:

Good (Eustress) Bad (Distress)

A stable biochemical balance, or homeostasis, is

requisite for organism health and well-being—even survival

Tolerance for deviations from the optimal homeostatic state is

extremely limited and hence we come “equipped” with complex systems to monitor and maintain an appropriate biochemical state

The GAS characterizes the stereotypic stress response as a three-stage syndrome:

Alarm Reaction,Resistance,Exhaustion

Selye defines stressors as

agents that evoke the GAS—responses intended to maintain or re-establish biochemical homeostasis.

Three general categories of muscle:

Skeletal Muscle,Cardiac Muscle,Smooth Muscle

Many measurable and/or observable consequence s of the GAS:

Skeletal muscle tonus, Smooth muscle effects, Behavioral activation,  Coronary output (HR, BP, etc), Ventilatory changes,Sweating, etc., Attentional and perceptual effects. * Ulcers are no longer regarded as substantial consequence of stress.

Relational

Emotions are always about person-environment relationships involving harms or benefits

Motivational

Acute emotions and moods are reaction to the status of goals in everyday adaptational encounters and in our lives overall

Cognitive

Personal meanings, expressed in terms of appraisal, are causal for emotional experience.

Primary Appraisal 

Assessments of one‘s stake in the outcome of an encounter. It is this appraisal because if nothing is at stake, there is no potential for emotion.

Secondary Appraisal 

Assessments of one’s options and prospects for coping. Coping potential, Blame or credit, Future Expectations

Interdependence between two types of cognitive activity:

Knowledge, Appraisal

Coping pt.2

A key variable following and shaping emotions especially negative ones.

Coping involves

complex, deliberate and planful efforts to manage a troubled person-environment.

Coping

Problem Focused, Emotion Focused Coping

Combined appraisal

determines stress response

Adaptive coping

growth, resilience

Maladaptive coping

Avoidance, rumination, health decline

Challenge

Demands ≤ perceived resources,Linked to approach motivation, confidence, growth

Threat

Demands > perceived resources,Linked to avoidance, anxiety, impaired performance

Physiological Patterns (BPS Modell), Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996)

Challenge state: ↑ cardiac output, ↓ total peripheral resistance, efficient blood flow.

Threat state: ↓ cardiac efficiency, ↑ vascular resistance, ↑ cortisol

TCTSA • Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (Jones et al.)

Challenge more likely when:  ↑ High self-efficacy ,Perceived control , Approach goals

Threat more likely when:  ↓ Low efficacy , Lack of control , Avoidance goals

Anxiety symptoms 

Racing heart, sweaty palms are ambiguous

Anxiety

Challenge appraisal: 'I’m ready, my body is energized.' and Threat appraisal: 'I can’t handle this.'

Stress is shaped by

interpretation, not just intensity

Problem-Focused Coping

Aims to alter the stressor itself

Examples: goal-setting, planning, preparation, seeking task-relevant info Adaptive when stressor is controllable

Problem Focused coping Study

Crocker et al. (1988): athletes reported strong reliance on this coping

Emotion-Focused Coping

Aims to regulate the emotional response to stress, Examples: relaxation, mindfulness, positive self- talk, social support , Adaptive when stressor is uncontrollable

Emotion-Focused Coping Study

Brooks (2014): reappraisal ('anxiety = excitement') boosted performance

Avoidance Coping

Efforts to escape or deny the stressor, Examples: disengagement, distraction, denial, venting, May help short-term but maladaptive long-term

Avoidance Coping Study

Dugdale et al. (2002): Olympic athletes relied less on avoidance coping in competition

Early Evidence of Coping

Athletes used both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping Highlighted multidimensional nature of coping, Key lesson: coping is not one-size-fits-all

Early Evidence of Coping Study

Crocker et al. (1988): examined athlete coping strategies

Coping Flexibility

Effective coping requires adaptability across contexts

Coping Flexibility Study

Eklund, & Gordon (2002): Olympic athletes shifted strategies Training phase vs. competition phase → different coping profiles, Flexibility > rigid reliance on one strategy

Coping Effectiveness

Good coping linked with resilience, confidence, reduced choking , Effectiveness depends on controllability of stressor, Flexible athletes cope better with unexpected pressure situations

What is Choking

Performance decrement under pressure despite high skill , Occurs in both motor and cognitive tasks, High stakes + high ability + breakdown

What is Choking Study

Beilock & Gray (2007): distinguishes choking from poor baseline performance

Distraction theories

pressure consumes working memory

Explicit monitoring theories:

conscious control disrupts automatic skills,  Ironic processes: suppression attempts backfire, Multiple mechanisms can operate together

Explicit monitoring theories study

Lam, Maxwell, & Masters (2009): reinvestment of conscious control led to performance decrements

Ironic Processing

Suppression backfires: trying 'not to do X' increases likelihood of X, Applied: avoid negative instructions under pressure

Ironic Processing study

Wilson et al. (2009): soccer players told 'don’t miss' were more likely to miss penalty kicks

Vulnerability Factors

 High trait anxiety,High self-consciousness,High reinvestment tendency (tendency to monitor automatic skills) • Mesagno et al. (2011): reinvestment predicted choking in athletes

Individual Differences

• Lienhart et al. (2020): individual traits moderate choking • Confidence, attentional style, and self-control shape vulnerability • Not all athletes choke → importance of tailored interventions

Coping with Choking

• Pre-performance routines: stabilize attention • Process > outcome goals: focus on controllables • Mindfulness: reduce rumination and worry • Simulation training: practicing under pressure (Mesagno et al., 2011) • Reappraisal: anxiety reframed as excitement (Brooks, 2014)

Applied Strategies

• Assess athletes’ coping profiles (Crocker, 1988; Dugdale, 2002) • Teach coping flexibility and adaptive reappraisal (Brooks, 2014) • Identify high-risk athletes (Mesagno, 2011; Lienhart, 2020) • Use pressure-training environments for inoculation

Integrating Evidence

Distraction → working memory overload • Explicit monitoring → overcontrol of automatic skills • Ironic processing → suppression failures • Individual traits moderate all effects

DEFINING IRONIC PROCESSING THEORY (WEGNER, 1994)

Ironic processes occur when deliberate attempts to suppress thoughts lead to their increased occurrence.  Under stress or cognitive load, the operating process weakens → ironic errors increase.

EFINING IRONIC PROCESSING THEORY (WEGNER, 1994) Two Systems

Operating Process (intentional control) and Monitoring Process (automatic search for failure).

Cognitive load taxes

working memory and executive attention

Stress and anxiety increase

monitoring demands, reducing operating efficiency

ATTENTIONAL IMBALANCE MODEL (AIM)

Describes imbalance between operating and monitoring systems.

Avoidant language ('don’t choke', 'don’t miss') heightens Cognitive reappraisal and cue rewording reduce

monitoring

Positive, approach-oriented cues ('aim here', 'smooth swing') support

operating process

Cognitive reappraisal and cue rewording reduce

ironic errors in controlled experiments.

Suppressing thoughts can reduce

ironic errors but cause slower reaction times

Burnout

Introduced into the social-psychological lexicon by Freudenberger (1975), where it means being concerned about physical and mental deterioration and workplace ineffectiveness. Exhaustion due to excessive demands.

Chronic or prolonged experience of:

Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization (and Cynicism), Perception of Inadequate Personal Accomplishment

The burnout syndrome has been associated
with a variety of undesirable outcomes: 

decreased performance,low motivation,impaired health,personal dysfunction,insomnia,alcohol and drug use, marital/family problems

Syndrome

A constellation of seemingly unrelated symptoms that
present defining features for a condition of some 
epidemiological significance.

Other syndromes in the public consciousness:

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).

Athlete Burnout Syndrome (Raedeke, 1997) An enduring or chronic experiential state characterized by:

An enduring or chronic experiential state characterized by:
Exhaustion (Physical and Emotional), Sport Devaluation (cynical view of sport involvement), Perception of Inadequate Personal Accomplishment  

Alternative Conceptualizations of Burnout

High accomplishment followed by withdrawal
(Coakley, 1992)Shooting Star metaphor to explain sport dropout

Endpoint of excessive physical training(Silva, 1991)

Overtraining syndrome related phenomenon (Firth et al., 1986)

Experiential commonalities but...

Anger and frustration vs. guilt (Freudenberger, 1975)

Specificity vs. generality (Maslach et al., 2001)
Discriminant validity of athlete burnout measures (Cresswell & Eklund, 2006) 

Social Exchange Theory

Burnout results from an ongoing negative assessment of the cost-benefit ratio associated with sport involvement (Dropout, Burnout) 

Social Exchange Theory (Smith, 1986)

Burnout results from an ongoing negative assessment of
the cost-benefit ratio associated with sport involvement,
a lack of recognition of viable alternative involvements. (Dropout, Burnout)

Dropout

Rapid shift to a perceived unfavorable costs/benefit ratio in the presence of  of a viable alternative involvement.

Burnout

Gradual shift to a perceived unfavorable costs/benefit ratio coupled with an absence of viable alternatives.

Commitment Theory (Raedeke, 1997, Schmidt & Stein, 1991)

A motivational explanation focused upon  protracted
involvement in sport endeavors. Relies upon athlete’s sport investment ,alternatives, and his/her satisfaction with involvement. (Attraction Based, Entrapped)

Attraction-based Commitment

Athletes want to be involved because they find their engagements to be personally meaningful and intrinsically rewarding.

Entrapped Commitment

Athletes feel they must be involved despite reservations and a lack of satisfaction

Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000)

Burnout is a result of chronic thwarting, or frustration, of an athlete’s fundamental psychological needs in the sporting environment ( Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness)

Performance

complex product of cognitive knowledge about the current situation & past events, combined with ability to produce the performance skill(s) required

 Effective Performance

Consistent execution of complex motor skills in a flawless or near perfect manner.

Optimal Mindset 

keeps focused on the task at hand at the expense of other competing stimuli

Physical performance is made up of

Nervous system(how our body is designed), Nutrition, Rest & Recov

The Nervous System

Central Nervous System (CNS) (Spinal Cord & Brain) Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) (Nerves that extend to the rest of the body)

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Spinal Cord connects to brain stem and runs through spinal canal and Carries signals back and forth between brain and peripheral nerves

Large system of nerves that are linked to brain & spinal cord. Includes sensory receptors that process changes in internal & external stimuli & communicate with CNS. Autonomic Nervous System-regulates all the involuntary things we do (Rest/Digest , Fight/Flight)

Frontal Lobe

• Motor control

• Learning & planning

• Speech

• Dopamine-sensitive neurons (reward, motivation)

• Attention & short-term memory

Parietal Lobe

• Integrates sensory information

• Spatial awareness & navigation

• Somatic perception & visual processing

Occipital Lobe

• Primary visual cortex

• Processing visual information 

Temporal Lobe

• Auditory perception

• Receptivity of language, visual memory, factual memory, & emotion

Cerebellum

• Controls balance

• Fine motor movements 

• Coordination 

Brain Stem

• Midbrain-motor function

• Pons-respiration and inhibitory functions 

• Medulla-respiration, cardiovascular, & digestive functioning

Perception

Detecting and interpreting changes in various forms of energy flowing through the environment such as light rays, sound waves, and neural activation.

Why is Perception important?

CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT CAN DIRECTLY INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR

PROCESSING VISUAL & AUDITORY INFORMATION 

VISION IS OUR PRIMARY SOURCE OF INFORMATION

Meta-cognitive knowledge

knowledge about interactions between performer, task, & strategy characteristics.

Meta-cognitive skills

procedural knowledge for regulating problem-solving and learning activities.

Divergent thinking

inductive, ideational process; coming up with many solutions.

Convergent thinking

deductive,systematically applying rules to arrive at a single correct solution.

Concentration

Ability to exert deliberate mental effort on what’s most important

Mental time-sharing ability

Learning from extensive practice to perform 2+ concurrent actions equally well

Vigilance

Ability to orientate attention to respond to randomly relevant stimuli over time

Selective Perception

Zoom in on task-relevant information while ignoring distractions

Perceptual-Cognitive Skills

Ability to identify & acquire environmental info for integration with existing knowledge so that appropriate responses can be selected & executed