Arousal and anxiety

Question 1

what is arousal?

Answer 1

a state of activation that varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement

Question 2

what is anxiety?

Answer 2

negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness and worry associated with activation or arousal of the body

Question 3

what is sport anxiety?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what is trait anxiety?

Answer 4

general feelings of anxiety across situations

Question 5

what is state anxiety?

Answer 5

situational feelings of apprehension or tension

Question 6

what are the 2 types of anxiety?

Answer 6

cognitive anxiety
somatic anxiety

Question 7

what is cognitive anxiety?

Answer 7

the mental component of anxiety- worry, negative thoughts, feelings of nervousness or apprehension

Question 8

what is somatic anxiety?

Answer 8

perceptions of physical state- increased respiration, sweating, HR, physical nervousness, tense muscles

Question 9

what is anxiety intensity?

Answer 9

how much anxiety one feels

Question 10

what is anxiety direction?

Answer 10

one’s interpretation of anxiety as being facilitative or debilitative to performance

Question 11

what relationship does drive theory show?

Answer 11

linear relationship between performance and arousal
arousal increases the likelihood that the dominant response will occur

Question 12

what relationship does the inverted U theory show?

Answer 12

performance improves up to an optimal level of arousal after it deteriorates

Question 13

what relationship does catastrophe theory show?

Answer 13

performance doesn’t always decline after optimal but a dramatic drop which can lead to decline or recovery

Question 14

what are the theories of arousal and anxiety?

Answer 14

drive theory
inverted U theory

Question 15

which more recent theories have been proposed to explain the arousal / performance relationship?

Answer 15

individual zones of optimal functioning
multidimensional anxiety theory - distinguishes between cognitive and somatic anxiety

Question 16

what are the limitations of drive theory?

Answer 16

• too simplistic, predictions often fall short
  -can’t explain why elite athletes sometimes choke under pressure
• can’t explain why novice athletrs sometimes excel when under pressure

Question 17

what are the limitations of inverted U theory?

Answer 17

• unlikely that performance would decrease in a smooth declining arc
• over arousal more likely to lead to a vertical plummet

Question 18

what are the limitations of individual zones of optimal functioning?

Answer 18

• doesn’t explain why some perform better when in certain emotional states and others don’t
• doesn’t explain variation in performance for the same athlete experiencing the same emotion intensity

Question 19

what are the limitations of multidimensional anxiety theory?

Answer 19

• assumes cognitive anxiety is bad
• assumes there is a smooth decline in performance

Question 20

what are the limitations of catastrophe theory?

Answer 20

• very difficult to test and research
• how can you recreate that intense arousal level with an experimental setting?

Question 21

what is a limitation of control model of anxiety theory?

Answer 21

• doesn’t explain the anxiety-performance relationship