Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety

arousal

generalized physiological and psychological activation of the person, with neural excitation varying on a continuum from deep sleep to extreme excitement

arousal has an ___ function, which reflects an intensity level of ___

energizing, motivation

arousal may start with a ___ or an ___ stimulus

thought, external

arousal results in autonomic nervous system responses such as …

• increased heart and respiration rates

• butterflies in stomach

• muscle tension

• sweating

activation

used synonymously with arousal, and refers to overall physical/mental state that’s required by an athlete to be ready to perform a task or activity

If increases in arousal/activation come from experiencing high stress when competing in sport or preparing to compete, what may result?

physical tension

competitive anxiety

situation-specific, negative emotional response to one’s view of competitive stressors and general involvement in competition (as threats)

competitive stressors

demands primarily/directly associated with competitive performance

competitive stressors examples

• level of physical preparation

• standard of the opponent

• internal/external pressures/expectations to perform

organization stressors

demands primarily/directly associated with sport organization

organization stressors examples

• performer’s role in the organization

• sport relationships

• interpersonal demands

personal stressors

demands associated primarily/directly with personal life of the individual

personal stressors examples

• lifestyle issues

• financial demands

• relationships with family

state anxiety varies … and fluctuates proportionately to perceived …

from moment to moment; threat of situation

aspects of state anxiety

individuals assess how they feel “right now” - feeling that can change from moment to moment

[state anxiety] Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2)

assesses intensity of state cognitive and somatic anxiety symptoms as well as self-confidence

trait anxiety

general predisposition to respond across many situations with high levels of anxiety because of typically appraising situations as threatening

aspects of trait anxiety

• individuals rate how they feel generally

• typical style of behavior

if you are predisposed to higher trait anxiety, you will be in a state of ___ more often than those not predisposed to trait anxiety

anxiety

Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2)

measures trait anxiety and has a somatic scale and 2 cognitive scales

cognitive anxiety

concerned with internal, mental thoughts/worries that occupy the mind

somatic anxiety

concerned with external, physical symptoms

The Stress Process

[stress process stages] 1. environmental demand

physical and psychological

[SP stages] 2. individual’s perception of the environmental demand

amount of psychological or physical “threat” perceived

[SP stages] 3. stress response

physical and psychological

• arousal

• state anxiety (cognitive and somatic)

• muscle tension

• attention changes

[SP stages] 4. behavioral consequences

performance or outcome

How do the stages relate to each other?

once athlete hits stage 4, they cycle back to stage 1

complex tasks involve …

high in decisional demands and require fine motor skills

complex tasks benefit from ___ levels of arousal for optimal performance

low

complex task example

target rifle shooter

simple tasks involve …

gross motor skills, strength, speed

simple tasks benefit from ___ levels of arousal for optimal performance

high

simple task example

weightlifters

once athletes determine what range of arousal level is best for them on a given task, they should …

reproduce this arousal at next competition

inverted-U hypothesis describes the relationship between ___ and ___

arousal, performance

inverted-U chart & explanation

increases in arousal (low → high) result in progressive performance gains up to an optimal level of arousal (peak), but once this optimal level is hit, further increases in arousal result in performance decrements

[inverted-U] What characteristics determine the optimal level of arousal?

those of both the task and performer

drive theory

increases in drive/arousal are associated with linear increases in performance, providing the task is well learned

[drive] Is drive theory still used?

No, since there’s not enough evidence to support it

multidimensional anxiety theory - competitive state cognitive anxiety vs competitive state somatic anxiety

these types of anxieties have different antecedents and relationships to performance

[MAT] somatic anxiety is predicted to display an ___ relationship with performance

inverted-U

[MAT] What type of relationship do cognitive anxiety and performance display?

negative linear - as cog anxiety increases, performance deteriorates

[MAT] IZOF and MAT suggest that an appropriate level of ___ anxiety can have ___ performance effects, but not so much for ___ anxiety

somatic, positive, cognitive

[MAT] MAT only has partial support, as it fails to consider …

• beneficial effects of cog anxiety on performance

• interactive effects of competitive anxiety subcomponents upon performance

[MAT] MAT in sum + chart

• cognitive anxiety is negatively related to performance

• somatic anxiety is related to performance in an inverted-U pattern

cusp catastrophe model

cusp model describes interactive effects of cognitive anxiety (not somatic) and physiological arousal on performance

[CC] cog anxiety determines whether the effect of arousal on performance will be … (3)

• smooth and small

• large and catastrophic

• somewhere in between

[CC] How is cusp different from MAT in terms of cog anxiety?

cusp catastrophe model says increase in cog anxiety can have positive performance consequences dependent upon levels of physiological arousal

[CC] When cog anxiety level is low, what will variations in arousal lead to?

small performance effects characterized by inverted-U

[CC] When cog anxiety is high, what happens when arousal increases?

positive effects on performance

[CC] However, when cog anxiety is high and arousal increases beyond threshold, what happens?

catastrophic drop in performance

individual zones of optimal functioning

IZOF is a practical tool that helps athletes identify/establish a level of emotions experienced within which best performance occurs

[IZOF] if intensity of emotions is outside of the optimal zone …

performance will suffer

[IZOF] What does IZOF say about how athletes perceive their emotions in relation to their impact on performance (facilitative or debilitative)?

there is interindividual and intraindividual variability

[IZOF] Why has IZOF been criticized?

lack of explanation as to why different levels of emotions may be optimal or detrimental to performance

IZOF example #1

IZOF example #2

directional theory says that how arousal affects performance depends on an individual’s interpretation of

their arousal level

[directional] arousal can be interpreted as ___ or as ___

pleasant/excitement, unpleasant/anxiety

[directional] arousal can also be interpreted as ___ or as ___

facilitative, debilitative

[directional] when arousal is interpreted as pleasant and within personal control …

facilitative to performance

[directional] when arousal is interpreted as unpleasant and beyond one’s control …

debilitative to performance

muscle tension - bracing

when one muscle in a pair tightens, the other half of the pair sets up a counter tension to hold body in place → this double pull builds up tension in the body

[MT] What does muscular tension prevent?

movement coordination

[MT] If movement coordination is impaired, what does this interfere with?

skill execution

[MT] What does proper form require?

the right amount of tension

[attention - cue utilization theory] When attention and perception changes, what happens?

narrowed attention

[CUT] things that happen when attention narrows

• decrease in scanning

• shift to one’s dominant style

• attend to inappropriate cues

• signal detection theory

[CUT] signal detection theory

• sensitivity to stimuli

• errors of omission vs commission

cue utilization theory in sum

As arousal increases, the athlete’s attentional field narrows.

processing efficiency theory

explains debilitating and facilitating effects of cognitive anxiety on performance described by catastrophe model

[PET] when one is anxious …

a proportion of their attentional capacity for the task is filled by task-irrelevant worry

[PET] when attentional capacity is filled by task-irrelevant worry …

working memory capacity is reduced

[PET] when working memory capacity is reduced …

cognitive processing efficiency is impaired as well as performance

[PET] cog anxiety may also signal ___ of the task to the individual, leading to ___ investment in task

importance, increased

processing efficiency theory in sum

Worry drains working memory → less efficient thinking.

attentional control theory

anxiety impairs efficiency of attention because it causes a shift in attention to threat-related stimuli rather than toward task and goal relevant info → performance negatively affected

[ACT] What may the inability to exercise attentional control be compensated for?

inhibition and shifting functions that stop the effect of threat-related stimuli and shift attentional resources to task demands

[ACT] effiency

relationship between effective task performance and use of attentional resources

[ACT] While anxiety influences efficiency, it does not influence ___

effectiveness

[ACT] Both PET and ACT assert there is fundamental distinction between ___ and ___

performance effectiveness, processing efficiency

[ACT] performance effectiveness

quality of performance

[ACT] processing efficiency

relationship between performance effectiveness and use of processing resouces

[ACT] high levels of cog anxiety are not inherently ___

negative

[ACT] benefit of high cog anxiety

it can motivate athletes to increase effort to prevent their anxiety from impairing performance, but at the expense of using greater amount of concentration

attentional control theory in sum

Anxiety hijacks attentional control → more distractible.

conscious processing hypothesis

CPH attempts to explain mechanisms underlying anxiety-induced performance decrements

[CPH] What do high anxious performers start to use?

excessive thinking

[CPH] What does excessive thinking lead to? What type of attention is involved?

execution of skills with inward attention

[CPH] What does inward attention lead to?

failure to execute skills - “paralysis by analysis”

[CPH] athlete adopts mode of control based on explicit ___ associated with early stages of ___

factual knowledge, learning a skill

[CPH] attempts to only focus on encouraging athletes to exert control over previously automated skills will cause …

performance impairments

[CPH] anxiety may induce regression from automatic control to …

explicit/verbal control

[CPH] Choking is a result of misguided ___ control combined with elevated ___

attentional, arousal

[CPH] Choking is caused by concern with excessive ___ and mechanics of skill ___

self-consciousness, execution

conscious processing hypothesis in sum

Anxiety makes athletes overthink movements → choking.

goal of muscle-to-mind and mind-to-muscle approaches

reduce physiological arousal and competition anxiety

muscle to mind is focused on the ___

body

[muscle-to-mind] Breathing exercises are aimed at what type of anxiety control?

somatic anxiety