Arousal

What is arousal

• physiological & psychological activation, varying in intensity along a continuum

What does arousal affect

• readiness to perform

• Drive to achieve

• Intensity of your motivation

What is arousal caused by

• high level of competition

• Pressure to win match

• Frustration from audience, decisions from REF

What is peak flow

• the ultimate positive psychological state

• happens when performer is in control of their arousal levels, presented with same challenge with their skill levels, 

Characteristics of peak flow

• high confidence levels

• Positive mental attitudes

• Relaxation and anxiety control

Factors affecting peak flow

• poor mental preparation & failure to reach optimal arousal

• Environmental influence- pressure from crowd, frustration from refs decision on

• effect of injury or fatigue

What does the inverted U theory suggest

• as arousal increases, so does performance up to a certain point.

• Performance only improves to optimal point and too much arousal causes performance to deteriorate

Experience- Expert and novice experiencing inverted U theory 

• they’re used to dealing with pressure, increased arousal so their dominant response will be correct.

• Novice like to work at low arousal as would be uncomfortable under pressure

Personality- Extrovert and introvert experiencing inverted U theory

• Extrovert- perform happy at high arousal

• Introvert- perform better at low arousal

Task- gross/fine, complex/simple experiencing internet U theory

• gross skill- high arousal as dont need precise control

• Fine skill- precision needed so low arousal

• Complex skill- decision making to process lots of info so low arousal

• Simple skill- less decision making so work well in high arousal 

What does the drive theory suggest

• as arousal increases, so does performance

What are the problems with the drive theory

• for beginner, their dominant response may not be developed so may choose wrong option- decreases their performance quality

Expert experience during drive theory

• their domains response is often correct so performance is still high as arousal increases

What does the catastrophe theory suggest

• arousal causes performance to peak at optimum level but instead of gradual deterioration, there’s sudden drop in performance

• Due to performer not controlling their anxiety, panic- somatic and cognitive anxiety 

What is zone of optimal functioning 

• each athlete has their own optimal inverted u curve

• instead of having an optimal point, there’s a zone

• arousal is displayed in an area or band.

What happens when performer is in the zone during zone of optimal functioning

• confidence, concentration, control, effortless