Chapter 5

anxiety (in sports)

an unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning the performance of a task under pressure

anxiety (general term)

anxiety is a negative emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, and apprehension and associated with activation or arousal of the body.

Drive theory

as an individual's arousal or state anxiety increases, so too does her performance. The more psyched up an athlete becomes, for example, the better that individual performs.

Jone's Model for Facilitative and Debilitative Anxiety

diagram

measuring anxiety

global and multidimensional self-report measures

Perception of Demand (second stage)

how the individual perceives the physical or psychological demand

comatose

not at all aroused

Inverted U Hypothesis

predicts that task performance should improve with increased emotional arousal - up to a point, after which further increases in arousal become disruptive and performance deteriorates

perceived control

regulatory component of state anxiety; degree to which one believes one has the resources and ability to meet challenges

Environmental Demand (first stage)

some type of demand is placed on an individual (physical or psychological)

trait and state anxiety trend

somewhat direct relationship

Behavioral Consequences (stage 4)

the actual behavior of the individual under stress

somatic anxiety

the degree of physical activation perceived (moment-to-moment changes in perceived physiological activation)

Stress Response (stage 3)

the individual's physical and psychological response to a perception of the situation.

cognitive anxiety

the thought component of anxiety (i.e.,worry and apprehension) *the degree to which one worries or has negative thoughts*

threat

they had the resources and coping skills to meet the demands placed on them

challenge

they had the resources and coping skills to meet the demands placed on them)

Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF)

top athletes have a zone of optimal state anxiety in which their best performance occurs. outside this zone, poor performance occurs

Trait Anxiety

trait anxiety is a personality factor that predisposes a person to view competition and social evaluation as more or less threatening.

trait anxiety

trait anxiety is part of the personality, an acquired behavioral tendency or disposition that influences behavior. In particular, "trait anxiety predisposes an individual to perceive as threatening a wide range of circumstances that objectively may not actually be physically or psychologically dangerous. The person then responds to these circumstances with state anxiety reactions or levels that are disproportionate in intensity and magnitude to the objective danger"

emotion

"an organized psychophysiological reaction to ongoing relationships with the environment, most often, but not always, interpersonal or social," involving subjective experiences, observable actions or impulses to act, and physiological changes

facilitative anxiety

"helpful" anxiety, euphoric tension, or the beneficial effects of apprehension over a task to be accomplished

Measuring arousal

- Psychological signs (heart rate, respiration, skin conductance, biochemistry) - self-report measures

Personal sources of stress

1) Trait Anxiety 2) Self-Esteem 3) Social Physique Anxiety

McGrath's simple stress model

1. Environmental demand 2. Perception of demand 3. Stress response 4. Behavioral consequences

Situational sources of stress

1. event importance 2. uncertainty

IZOF model (*key point*)

A person's zone of optimal functioning may be at the lower, middle, or upper end of the state anxiety continuum.

Compare and contrast ways to regulate arousal, stress, and anxiety

An interactional model of motivation should guide teachers and coaches in their efforts to help students and athletes manage arousal and state anxiety. Creating a positive environment and a productive orientation to mistakes and losing is an effective way to manage stress. Additionally, the following four guidelines for managing stress should be followed: (a) identify the optimal combination of arousal-related emotions needed for best performance; (b) recognize how personal and situational factors interact to influence arousal, anxiety, and performance; (c) recognize the signs of increased arousal and anxiety in sport and exercise participants; and (d) tailor coaching and instructional practices to individuals.

Trait Anxiety (*key point*)

High trait anxiety and low self-esteem are related to heightened state anxiety reactions in athletes.

How levels of trait anxiety impact perception of situations:

Highly trait-anxious people tend to perceive more situations—especially evaluative and competitive ones—as threatening than people with lower trait anxiety do. For this reason trait anxiety is an important influence in stage 2 of the stress process.

Reversal Theory

How arousal affects performance depends on an individual's interpretation of his or her arousal level

Muscle Tension, Fatigue, and Coordination Difficulties (*key point*)

Increased arousal and state anxiety cause increased muscle tension and fatigue and can interfere with coordination.

Catastrophe Model

Predicts that physiological arousal is related to performance in an inverted-U fashion, but only when an athlete is not worried or has low cognitive state anxiety.

Self esteem

Self-esteem is also related to perceptions of threat and corresponding changes in state anxiety.

social physique anxiety

a personality disposition defined as the degree to which people become anxious when others observe their physiques. It reflects people's tendency to become nervous or apprehensive when their body is evaluated

Attentional narrowing under conditions of high arousal.

Arousal and state anxiety narrow one's attentional field, decrease environmental scanning, and cause a shift to the dominant attentional style and to inappropriate cues.

Arousal

Arousal is a blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person, and it refers to the intensity dimensions of motivation at a particular moment.

Explain how and why arousal- and anxiety-related emotions affect performance.

Arousal-related emotions, such as cognitive and somatic state anxiety, are related to performance. Arousal and anxiety influence performance by inducing changes in attention and concentration and by increasing muscle tension. Hanin's individualized zones of optimal functioning, Hardy's catastrophe model, Kerr's interpretation of reversal theory, and Jones' distinction between the direction and intensity of anxiety should guide practice. An optimal recipe of emotions is related to peak performance, and when performers are outside this optimal range, poor performance results. This optimal combination of emotions needed for peak performance does not necessarily occur at the midpoint of the arousal-state anxiety continuum, and the relationship between arousal and performance depends on the level of cognitive state anxiety (worry) a performer exhibits.

multidimensional anxiety theory

Cognitive anxiety is negatively related to performance. Somatic anxiety is related to performance in an inverted-U pattern.

Social Facilitation Theory

Social facilitation theory predicts that the presence of others helps performance on well-learned or simple skills and inhibits or lessens performance on unlearned or complex tasks.

Identify the major sources of anxiety and stress

Some situations produce more state anxiety and arousal than others (e.g., events that are important and in which the outcome is uncertain). Stress is also influenced by personality dispositions (e.g., trait anxiety and self-esteem). Individuals with high trait anxiety, low self-esteem, and high social physique anxiety have more state anxiety than others.

state anxiety (*key point*)

State anxiety is a temporary, ever-changing emotional state of subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension associated with activation of the autonomic nervous system.

state anxiety

State anxiety refers to the ever-changing mood component. It is defined more formally as an emotional state "characterized by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension, accompanied by or associated with activation or arousal of the autonomic nervous system"

stress

Stress is defined as "a substantial imbalance between demand (physical and/or psychological) and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet that demand has important consequences"

stress (*key point*)

Stress occurs when a substantial imbalance exists between the physical and psychological demands placed on an individual and that person's response capability under conditions in which failure to meet the demand has important consequences.

Discuss the nature of stress and anxiety (what they are and how they are measured).

Stress, arousal, and anxiety each have distinct meanings. Stress is a process that occurs when people perceive an imbalance between the physical and psychological demands on them and their ability to respond. Arousal is the blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person that varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement. Anxiety is a negative emotional state characterized by feelings of nervousness, worry, and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body. It consists of cognitive, somatic, trait, and state components.

Event Importance

The more important an event, the more stress provoking it will be. The greater the degree of uncertainty an individual feels about an outcome or others' feelings and evaluations, the greater the state anxiety and stress. *The more importance is placed on a contest, the more state anxiety is experienced by participants*

Person-by-situation interactional model of anxiety

To accurately detect an individual's anxiety level, you must know the various signs and symptoms of increased stress and anxiety. Sometimes arousal and state anxiety need to be reduced, at other times maintained, and at still other times facilitated.

trait anxiety (*key point*)

Trait anxiety is a behavioral disposition to perceive as threatening circumstances that objectively may not be dangerous and to then respond with disproportionate state anxiety. People with high trait anxiety usually have more state anxiety in highly competitive, evaluative situations than do people with lower trait anxiety.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a major situational source of stress; the greater the uncertainty, the greater the stress. Often we cannot do anything about uncertainty.

debilitative anxiety

Viewing anxiety as negative leads to impaired performance

perception of control

belief that one has the power to influence important future outcomes

frenzied

completely aroused