Arousal and Anxiety

What are Arousal and Anxiety?

• Anxiety is not arousal

• Arousal

• Anxiety

Arousal

• A blend of physiological and psychological activation of the autonomic nervous system

  • On a continuum: from deep sleep to peak activation

  • Neither pleasant nor unpleasant necessarily

  • Part of fight-or-flight response system

Anxiety

• A negative, multidimensional emotion

  • Elicited following an appraisal (evaluation)

  • Universal across cultures

  • Has a distinct physiology

  • Associated with unique set of action tendencies

  • Feelings of worry/nervousness

  • Lack of balance between demand and coping

Arousal: Physiological Response

• Hypothalamus activates sympathetic nervous system and endocrine system

• Adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine

  • Blood pressure; heart rate; breathing rate; blood flow

  • +glucocorticoids (steroid hormones such as cortisol), helping to protect the body

• There is also a psychological appraisal for arousal

  • Positive: Exhilaration or excitement

  • Negative: feelings of uncomfortable arousal; anxiety; worry; nervousness

Anxiety: Multidimensional Response

• Multidimensional: mental and physical components

• Mental = cognitive anxiety

• Physical = somatic anxiety

Cognitive Anxiety

• Arises from thoughts/concerns: worry; nervousness

  • Frequency of intrusive thoughts increase hours before performance

Somatic Anxiety

• Arises from perception of physiological responses

  • Intensity increases rapidly before performance

Anxiety is Context Specific

• Related to sport and exercise

  • Competitive anxiety

  • Social anxiety

  • Social physique anxiety

• Plus many more…

Anxiety has Both State and Trait Components

• State anxiety

• Trait anxiety

State Anxiety

• Can change moments; associated with worry and apprehension due to perceived threatening situation

  • “The A-state”

Trait Anxiety

• a stable part of personality

  • “The A-trait”

Dimensions of the Anxiety Response

• Important to consider:

  • Intensity of symptoms (somatic)

  • Frequency of cognitive intrusions

  • +Directional interpretation of symptoms

The “Interpretation”: Cognitive Appraisal

• Cognitive appraisal contributes to an athlete feeling anxious or worried in a sport situation (vs. Just excited)

  • Appraisals can elicit a different set of MENTAL and SOMATIC responses

  • Initial arousal symptoms can be automatic/conditioned; we want to make appraisals controllable; and less negative

  • Accept arousal; reframe anxiety

Primary Appraisal

• Interpret the situation and how it relates to you, e.g., “Am I in danger?”; “Am I going to fail?”; “Am I ___?”

Secondary Appraisal

• Assess the resources you have available for coping, e.g., “What can I do about this?”

  • (I.e., balance demands with resources you have)

Personal Buffers to Anxiety

• Self-Confidence/Efficacy

  • Personal beliefs about capability are sources of anxiety

  • Confidence/SE lowers levels of pre-competitive anxiety

• Self-presentation efficacy: Confidence in one’s ability to successfully present a desired image to others

Anxiety-Sport Performance Models

• Drive Theory/Inverted U

• Catastrophe model

• Individual zones of optimal functioning

Drive Theory

• Suggests that performance is a function of arousal or drive

Inverted U Theory

• High arousal is associated with increased performance, but only up to a point

• Performance is:

  • Lowest when arousal is very low (boredom) or very high (anxiety/overly conscious)

  • Highest when arousal is at a moderate level (sport and individual variation)

• Hypothesis: As physiological arousal increases, performance improves but only up to a certain point, after which performance will decline

CUSP Catastrophe Model

• 3-Dimensional model for interactions of arousal, anxiety (somatic/cognitive), and performance

  • Proposes the inverted U best describes the influence of arousal on performance for people only at low-moderate levels of cognitive anxiety

• But… if performance pressure i high + moderate to height cognitive anxiety, increased arousal can lead to a “catastrophe”: that is, a sudden and substantial drop in performance

Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning

• The level of arousal (or anxiety) that leads to peak performance differed for different athletes

  • Each athlete has an optimal level of arousal of individualized “zone”; optimal zone varies among athletes

  • Research with Collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes supports this model

Choking in Sports

• Choking: the inability to perform up to previously exhibited standards

  • Experience an acute temporary, significant decrement in performant under high pressure or anxiety

• Causes can be internal or external

  • Arousal/anxiety (catastrophe model); loss of autonomy (SDT); fragile SE; heightened self-focus; attentional control

  • Crowd; coach; teammates; culture; ineffective motivation techniques

5 Strategies for Overcoming “The Choke”

1. Include some game like conditions in training

2. Improve athlete self confidence/efficacy (efficacy is a buffer)

3. Put the contest - and sport in general - into perspective (cognitive reframing, decrease pressure)

4. Avoid pressure statements

5. Interventions/PST for FLOW!

Pre-Contest Arousal Modification

• To help athletes obtain their optimal level of arousal

  • Clapping, chanting, music…

  • Physical contact

  • Using players’ names

  • Set immediate reformable goals

  • PST/intervention elements such as imagery, relaxation, breathing, etc…

• Note - athletes should identify their “optimal zone” and modify as needed

Coaching Strategies for Half-Time/Intermissions/Breaks

• A period often used for adjusting, regrouping, reviewing plans and strategies, and exchanging information

  • Delay offering input for time to process

  • Limit the amount of information provided (prioritize)

  • Solicitor input (autonomy supportive)

  • Allow time before restart for reflection/self-management

  • Avoid pressure statements (add SE/controllable)

  • Increase Roussel if needed

In the Zone = Flow!

• Positive state i which a person feels a balance between the challenges of the situation and their skills to cope

• State of flow:

  • Very positive state

  • Fully absorbed performance

  • No sense of time

  • Achieve positive results

  • Seemingly automatic

• In the presence of competitive anxiety, athletes may shift to a conscious, controlled processing system (i.e., paralysis by analysis)

  • Heightened conscious control of previously automatic skills disrupts coordinated fluidity and flow!

Flow

• Experienced athletes

  • More automatic processing

• Inexperienced athletes

  • Too much deliberate effort