Arousal, Stress & Anxiety
· Emotions = short-lived feeling states that occur in response to events
o physiological & psychological components
· Arousal = blend of psychological and physiological activation, varying in intensity along a continuum (on a spectrum)
· Anxiety = negative emotional state with feelings of worry, nervousness, and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body.
· Stress = substantial imbalance between demands and available resources under conditions in which failure has important consequences. It can be reduced once the external cause is resolved but it can be prolonged and chronic.
Sources of Stress & Anxiety
- Situational; event importance, uncertainty
- Personal; trait anxiety, self-esteem, social physique anxiety
Anxiety
state of heighted awareness / vigilance stemming from an increase in situational uncertainty or conflict
1. state (immediate sensation from specific situation)
“right now” feelings that change from moment to moment. It is one’s internal specific reaction to a stress (psychological and physical). This reaction may also pass once the cause is resolved
2. trait (personality)
considered part of an individual’s personality and is a personality disposition that is stable over time. It is persistent and noted by feelings of dread and apprehension. Anxiety may remain once the concern has passed
- both lead to disruptions in cognitive & physical performance
- high- versus low-trait anxious people usually have more state anxiety in highly evaluative situations
Anxiety in Sport
Competitive State Anxiety – Anxiety induced by a specific competitive situation such as a team game that requires performance. May encompass worry about failure or another's’ expectations.
Competitive Trait Anxiety – Anxiety that is a characteristic of an individual's personality which influences one’s perception of a competitive situation.
Somatic Anxiety – Physiological expression of anxiety (e.g., sweating, heart racing).
Cognitive Anxiety – Psychological expression of anxiety (e.g., negative thoughts about performance, worry, inability to concentrate, and inattention).
Performance Anxiety – Anxiety or fear which negatively affects the attempted activity
POSITIVE impacts on performance NEGATIVE impacts on performance
Prepares you for an intense situation (fight or flight response) Physiological issues (chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating)
Can lead to a performance improvements Problems focusing
Can lead to performance impairments
Stress
WHO - “The state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation’. ‘Stress is there to prompt us to address challenges and threats in our lives”.
- Also been defined as the feeling of emotional and physical tension/ the reaction to pressure of threat.
- Can be acute, episodic or chronic.
- A process of events that leads to ‘a particular end’
- a substantial imbalance between physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and his or her response capability under conditions in which failure to meet demands has important consequences
POSITIVE impacts on performance NEGATIVE impacts on performance
Moderate levels Physiological issues (s (headache, sleep issues, blood pressure, cardiovascular risk)
Increased alertness Mood changes/irritability
Increased memory Memory impairments
Improved performance Can lead to performance impairments
Arousal
AROUSAL impacts on performance
Increased muscle tension, fatigue and coordination difficulties
changes in attention, concentration, and visual search
Narrowing or broadening of attention
Attending to inappropriate cues (performance worries and situation-irrelevant thought)
How arousal & anxiety affect performance
· Drive theory
· Inverted-U hypothesis
· Individualized zones of optimal functioning (IZOF)
· Multidimensional anxiety theory
· Catastrophe model
· Reversal theory
· Anxiety direction and intensity
Drive Theory (1943)
+ relationship between arousal & performance
as an individual's arousal levels increases, performance will also increase,
used as the basis for social facilitation theory (the presence of others enhances performance on simple or well learned skills– because an audience created a level of arousal)
Little evidence for drive theory
The Inverted U Theory (Yerkes, 1908)
Sporting performance improves as arousal increases but only up to a certain point.
Arousal is the level of alertness (anxiety/stress) a performer is experiencing
Low/under arousal = boredom
High/over arousal =panic
There is an optimal arousal level for performance, when this is too high, performance decreases (choking under pressure can occur).
does optimal arousal always happen at the top of the U?
Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) Hypothesis (Hanin, 2000)
Everyone has a specific optimal level of anxiety (not always at midpoint of continuum).
Optimal state is not a single point but a ‘zone’.
Criticised for lack of explanation about levels of anxiety for good/bad performance
Multi-Dimensional Theory of Anxiety (Martens, 1990)
Components of state anxiety (cognitive and somatic anxiety) will independently relate to performance.
The inverted U theory demonstrates the combined effects of cognitive and somatic anxiety, the multi-dimensional theory of anxiety separates the two.
states that there will be a negative linear relationship between cognitive anxiety and performance, but an inverted U relationship between somatic anxiety and performance.
also based in part upon the time scale of performance and self-confidence.
Somatic anxiety should decrease once performance has begun, but cognitive anxiety will remain if self-confidence is low.
Catastrophe Theory (Yerkes, 1908)
(developed from inverted U) suggests that certain levels of arousal can lead to an increase or collapse of performance
Physiological arousal links to performance in an inverted-u shape.
Combined with high levels of cognitive anxiety, performance can rapidly decline (a catastrophic drop).
Reversal Theory
Dependant on individuals interpretation of their arousal level
can be interpreted as a positive (excitement) or a negative (anxiety).
- positive facilitates performance.
- negative hinders performance.
too early to draw firm conclusions about theory
Jones (1995) Model of Facilitative and Debilitative Anxiety
An individual’s interpretation of anxiety symptoms is important for understanding the anxiety–performance relationship
we must consider both the intensity (how much anxiety one feels) and the direction (a person’s interpretation of anxiety as facilitating or debilitating to performance).
Viewing anxiety as facilitative leads to superior performance
State anxiety is perceived as facilitative or debilitative depending on how much control the person perceives.
Some support has been found for this view but developing cognitive skills and strategies helps people view anxiety as facilitative.
Anxiety Reduction Techniques
Somatic
Progressive Relaxation:
- Leaning the difference between tension and relaxation
- Relaxation of the body will lead to decreased mental tension
Breath Control:
- Breath control promotes physical relaxation
- it is a simple and effective somatic anxiety reduction technique
Biofeedback:
- Biofeedback teaches individuals to control their physiological responses to anxiety by becoming more aware of them
- Electronic monitoring device to detect internal responses
Cognitive
Relaxation Response:
- Basic elements of relaxation through meditation
- Teaches you to quiet the mind and concentrate
Autogenetic Training:
- Series of exercises to calm the mind by promoting physical feelings of warmth and heaviness
- Leads to feelings of relaxation, and calmness
Systematic Desensitisation:
- Replaces the nervous activity one feels with a ‘competing behaviour’
- Imagining anxiety provoking situations, paired with relaxation techniques to remove anxiety
Measuring Arousal & Anxiety
Self-reported measures of psychological and physical signs of anxiety & stress (heart rate, respiration, skin conductance, biochemistry)
- Global and multidimensional self-report scales (CSAI-2, SCAT, SAS)]