ENERGY MANAGEMENT: PSYCHING UP WITHOUT PSYCHING OUT

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ENERGY MANAGEMENT PSYCHING UP WITHOUT PSYCHING
OUT

• Damon Burton
• University of Idaho

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• What is arousal?

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AROUSAL DEFINED

• Arousal the general physiological and
  psychological activation of the body that varies
  on a continuum from deep sleep to intense
  excitement.

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AROUSAL CONTINUUM

• Low
  High
• Arousal
  Arousal
• Coma
  Frenzy
• couch potato
  working out

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COMPONENTS OF AROUSAL

• Intensity amount of activation of the Autonomic
  Nervous System.
• Direction interpretation of activation as
  positive and facilitating performance or negative
  and detrimental to performance.

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PHYSIOLOGICAL COMPONENTS OF AROUSAL

• Under stress, the Autonomic Nervous System is
  activated.
• The sympathetic component of the ANS pumps
  adrenaline into bloodstream to help the body
  prepare to handle demanding situation.
• The Fight or Flight Syndrome is a survival
  mechanism built into our caveman ancestors.

DQ 1 How often do we need Fight or Flight in
todays U.S.?
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PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES DURING MAXIMAL AROUSAL

• Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing
  increase.
• Muscles develop anticipatory tension.
• Glucose is released from the liver to provide
  extra energy.
• Through vasodilatation, blood is shunted away
  from the digestive system to the large muscles of
  arms and legs.
• The kidneys shut down and the bladder is emptied.
• Brain activity increases, enhancing alertness.
• Our cooling system engages to prepare for
  vigorous activity.

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WHAT TRIGGERS ACTIVATION OF THE ANS?

• Life-threatening situations that trigger the
  Fight or Flight Syndrome.
• Psychological stress such as preparing for a big
  test, an important speech, a crucial job
  interview or a major sport competition.

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MENTAL COMPONENTS OF AROUSAL

• Self talk.
• Imagery.
• Attentional focus.
• Perceptions of control.

DQ 2 When dealing with perceptions of control
What is more important, the athletes perception
or reality?
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Does arousal help or hurt performance?
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Relationships Between Physical and Mental
Components of Arousal
High Physical Arousal

• excitement
• challenge
• readiness

• somatic anxiety
• anger

Facilitative
Debilitative

• boredom
• fatigue
• lethargy

• relaxation

Low Physical Arousal
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FACILITATIVE AROUSAL

• High arousal that is interpreted positively as
  optimal challenge, readiness or excitement.
• Leads to a constructive approach to competition
  in which athletes are highly-focused, thinking
  positively, feeling prepared and in control, and
  imagining successful process and outcome.
• Prompts performers to rise to the occasion,
  attain personal excellence and promote Flow.

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DEBILITATIVE AROUSAL

• High arousal that is interpreted negatively as
  threat, worry, and fear of failure.
• Leads to a detrimental approach to competition in
  which athletes are highly-distracted, thinking
  negatively, feeling ill prepared and totally
  overwhelmed, and imagining disastrous performance
  and outcome.
• Prompts choking and poor performance, thus
  blocking Flow.

DQ 3 Describe a situation that you found to be
F.A. and you knew someone that viewed it as D.A.?
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• How does arousal
• relate to anxiety?

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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AROUSAL AND ANXIETY

• Anxiety a negative emotional state
  characterized by feelings of nervousness, worry
  and apprehension associated with activation of
  the body.
• Anxiety is a negative emotion that has a
  detrimental impact on performance.
• Trait anxiety is the tendency to view
  situations negatively and respond with higher
  levels of state anxiety.
• State anxiety is a momentary anxiety experience
  that includes both autonomic arousal and specific
  cognitions of worry and apprehension.

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Model of Competitive Emotions
Facilitative

• excitement
• readiness

• self-confidence

self
Physical
Mental

• somatic anxiety

• cognitive anxiety

Debilitative
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DIMENSIONS OF ANXIETY

• Cognitive Anxiety is negative expectations of
  success or worrying about the negative
  consequences of failure.
• Symptoms include self-doubts, concerns about
  doing well, lack of control, inability to
  concentrate and images of failure or disaster.
• Somatic Anxiety is the physiological and
  affective component of anxiety that develops
  directly from autonomic arousal and is
  interpreted negatively.
• Symptoms include muscular tension, butterflies
  in the stomach, shortness of breath, sweaty
  palms, cotton mouth, frequent urination, and
  increased heart rate.

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POSITIVE COMPETITIVE EMOTIONS

• Self-Confidence is positive expectations of
  success that should facilitate performance.
• Symptoms include feelings of control,
  perceptions of being highly prepared, few
  concerns about doing well, extreme belief in
  talent and ability, and images of success.
• Excitement/Readiness reflects a positive
  interpretation of autonomic arousal symptoms that
  should facilitate performance.
• Symptoms include muscular tension, butterflies
  in the stomach, shortness of breath, sweaty
  palms, cotton mouth, frequent urination, and
  increased heart rate.

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• How does arousal impact performance?

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DRIVE THEORY HOW ARE AROUSAL AND PERFORMANCE
RELATED?

• Performance
• 
  Arousal

High
High
Low
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INVERTED-U THEORY HOW ARE AROUSAL AND
PERFORMANCE RELATED?

• Performance 1
  2 3
• Individualized ZOF

Arousal
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CATASTROPHE THEORY WHEN COGNITIVE ANXIETY IS
HIGH?

• High Cognitive Anxiety
• Performance 1
  2 3
• Arousal

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HOW UNDERAROUSAL IMPAIRS PERFORMANCE

• Arousal is insufficient to prepare body for
  challenging competitive demands.
• Insufficient oxygen is pumped to the working
  muscles.
• The bodys cooling system is not adequately
  readied.
• Nonessential systems such as digestion and
  excretion are not put on standby.
• Glucose has not been released from the liver to
  fuel activity.
• Brain activity increases, heightening alertness.

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HOW OVER AROUSAL IMPAIRS PERFORMANCE

• Excessive muscular tension and coordination
  problems
• Index finger example.
• Attentional problems
• Attentional narrowing.
• Inability to shift attention.
• Brain specialization problems
• Excessive analyzer control.
• Adoption of an outcome rather than a process
  orientation.

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• How do task and
• personality variables
• influence optimal arousal?

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OPTIMAL AROUSAL SIMPLE VERSUS COMPLEX TASKS

• Attentional demands.
• Decision-making requirements.
• Nature of the motor response.

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ATTENTIONAL DEMANDS

• The number of stimuli in the environment.
• The number of cues you need to attend to.
• The duration and intensity of the stimuli.
• The conflicting nature of cues.

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DECISION-MAKING REQUIREMENTS

• Number of decisions necessary.
• Number of choices per decision.
• Speed at which decisions have to be made.
• The sequence of those decisions.

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NATURE OF THE MOTOR RESPONSE

• The number of muscles involved.
• The amount of coordination required.
• The precision and steadiness needed.
• The fine motor skills required.

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OPTIMAL AROUSAL TASK DURATION

• Long-duration events require execution of the
  skill as efficiently as possible to minimize
  energy expenditure through good technique and
  correct pace.
• Short-duration events require sharply-focused,
  explosive arousal for a few moments when athletes
  perform.

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• Does the inverted-U hypothesis still effectively
  explain how arousal influences performance?

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RECONCEPTUALIZING THE INVERTED-U

• Facilitative arousal conditions cognitive
  anxiety is low, self-confidence is high, and
  athletes adopt a process orientation.
• Debilitative arousal conditions cognitive
  anxiety is high, self-confidence is low, and
  athletes adopt an outcome orientation.
• Neutral arousal conditions low-moderate
  cognitive anxiety, moderate to high
  self-confidence, and a moderate outcome
  orientation.

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AROUSAL-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP FACILITATIVE
CONDITIONS

• Performance
• 
  Arousal

High
High
Low
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AROUSAL-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP NEUTRAL
CONDITIONS

• Performance 1
  2 3
• Individualized ZOF

Arousal
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AROUSAL-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP DEBILITATIVE
CONDITIONS

• High Cognitive Anxiety
• Performance 1
  2 3
• Arousal

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SPORT ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• Education Phase
• General Education.
• Personal Education through Awareness.
• Acquisition Phase
• Develop Energy Management Skills.
• Adjust Your Optimal Energy Zone.
• Practice and Rehearsal Phases

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AWARENESS TRAINING

• First step in energy management program.
• Use imagery to vividly recall your best
  performance
• Evaluate performance states.
• Next use imagery to recall your worst
  performance
• Evaluate performance states.
• Compare your responses.