Arousal

define arousal

physiological + psychological readiness

define somatic arousal + give examples

physiological symptoms of arousal

e.g. increased HR/breathing rate/temperature

define cognitive arousal + give examples

psychological symptoms of arousal

e.g. nervousness, excitement, stress

describe drive theory

as arousal increases so does performance (linear relationship)

drive theory theorist

Hull

criticisms of drive theory (2)

some sports may have low optimum arousal

high levels of arousal may cause decrease in performance

describe inverted-U theory

as arousal increases, so does performance

until optimum is reached

then further increase in arousal causes gradual decline in performance

inverted-U theory theorists

Yerkes + Dodson

criticisms of inverted-U theory (2)

different sports need different levels of arousal not always moderate

decline in performance may not be gradual

describe catastrophe theory

as somatic arousal increases, so does performance

up to optimum

if cognitive arousal increases too much, there will be a rapid decline in performance

if cognitive arousal is reduced performance will increase again

catastrophe theory theorists

Fazey + Hardy

criticisms of catastrophe theory (3)

decline in performance may be gradual

many players are able to deal with high levels of cognitive arousal

low arousal could allow high performance

describe cue utilisation

under arousal - difficult to focus on relevant cues, concentration lost because attentional field is too wide, many unwanted cues in environment, selective attention can’t operate, information overload prevents decision making

optimum arousal - perfect state, attentional field is ideal width, able to concentrate fully, most important cues taken in so decision making is accurate

over arousal - attentional field narrows, relevant cues lost, often in state of panic, hypervigilance, selective attention can’t operate, concentration impeded