Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety

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Arousal,Stress, andAnxiety
Arousal,Stress, andAnxiety
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Is Arousal the Same as Anxiety?
Arousal is a general physiological and
psychological activation, varying in intensity
along a continuum. Anxiety is a negative
emotional state with feelings of worry,
nervousness, and apprehension associated with
activation of the body.
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Defining Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety
States
Trait
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Measuring Arousal and Anxiety
Physiological signs (heart rate, respiration,
skin conductance, biochemistry)
Global and multidimensional self-report
surveys e.g. Sport Anxiety Scale (trait
anxiety) e.g. Sport Competition Anxiety Test
(trait) e.g. Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2
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Trait and StateAnxiety Relationship
High versus low trait anxious people usually have
more state anxiety in highly evaluative
situations.
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Stress and the Stress Process
Stress A substantial imbalance between physical
and psychological demands placed on an individual
and his or her response capability under
conditions where failure to meet demands has
important consequences.
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Stage 1
The Stress Process
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
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Stress and Stress Process Implications
Intervene during any of the four stages of the
stress process or cycle. Viewing stress as a
process, not a discrete entity
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Sources of Stress and Anxiety
Event importance
Situationalsources
Uncertainty
Trait anxiety
Personal sources
Self-esteem
Social physique anxiety
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How Arousal and AnxietyAffect Performance
Drive theory
InvertedU hypothesis
Individualized zones of optimal functioning
Multidimensional anxiety theory
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How Arousal and AnxietyAffect Performance
Catastrophe model
Reversal theory
Anxiety direction and intensity
Significance of all these views
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Drive Theory
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InvertedU Hypothesis
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Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning
(IZOF) Hypothesis
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Catastrophe Model
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Catastrophe Model
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Reversal Theory
How arousal affects performance depends on an
individuals interpretation of his or her arousal
level.
Arousal can be interpreted as pleasant/excitement
or as unpleasant/anxiety.
Arousal interpreted as pleasant facilitates
performance, and arousal interpreted as
unpleasant hurts performance.
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Multidimensional Anxiety Theory
Cognitive anxiety negatively related to
performance
Somatic anxiety related to performance in an
inverted-U pattern
Little support for its predictions
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Anxiety Direction and Intensity
An individuals interpretation of anxiety
symptoms is important for understanding the
anxiety-performance relationship.
To understand the anxiety-performance
relationship, both the intensity (how much
anxiety one feels) and direction (a persons
interpretation of anxiety as being facilitating
or debilitating to performance) must be
considered.
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Anxiety Direction and Intensity
Viewing anxiety as facilitative leads to
superior performance.
Some support has been found for this view.
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Significance of All the ArousalPerformance
Views Arousal is multifaceted
Arousal and state anxiety do not always have a
negative effect on performance they can be
facilitative or debilitative depending on the
interpretation.
Some optimal level of arousal leads to peak
performance, but the optimal levels of
physiological activation and arousal-related
thoughts (worry) are not the same.
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Significance of All the ArousalPerformance Views
Combination of a.) physiological arousal and b.)
arousal interpretation are more important than
actual levels of each.
It is doubtful that the optimal level of arousal
is always at the midpoint of the arousal scale.
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Why Arousal and AnxietyInfluence Performance
Increased muscle tension and coordination
difficulties
Attention and concentration changesNarrowing of
attentionShift to dominant styleAttend to
inappropriate cues
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Why Arousal Influences Performance
Attentional narrowing
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Implications for Practice
Identify optimal combinations of arousal-related
emotions needed for best performance.
Recognize how personal and situational factors
interact to influence arousal, anxiety, and
performance.
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Implications for Practice
Interactional Model of Anxiety
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Implications for Practice
Recognize arousal and state anxiety signs
(feeling ill, dazed,muscle tension etc.)
Tailor coaching strategies to individuals Differe
nt strokes for different folks. Sometimes arousal
and state anxiety must be reduced, other times
maintained, and other times facilitated.
Develop performers confidence.
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Recognize Symptoms of Arousal and State Anxiety
Cold, clammy hands
Constant need to urinate
Profuse sweating
Negative self-talk
Dazed look in eyes
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Recognize Symptoms of Arousal and State Anxiety
Feel ill
Headache
Cotton (dry) mouth
Constantly sick
Difficulties sleeping
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Recognize Symptoms of Arousal and State Anxiety
Increased muscle tension
Butterflies in stomach
Inability to concentrate
Consistently perform better in nonevaluative
situations