Arousal and anxiety (wk3)

Question 1

Define arousal and anxiety

Answer 1

-Arousal -> A state of activation that varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement
-Anxiety -> Negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness and worry associated with activation or arousal of the body. Anxiety and arousal are often intertwined. In a sport setting, anxiety refers to ‘an unpleasant psychological state in reaction to perceived stress concerning the performance of a task under pressure’ (Cheng et al., 2009)

Question 2

Describe trait, state and trait+state anxiety

Answer 2

• Trait anxiety -> General feeling of anxiety across situations. Also called ‘A-trait’. Personality characteristic.
• State anxiety -> Situational feelings of apprehension or tension. Also called ‘A-state’. Temporary. Situation specific.
• Trait + state anxiety -> High trait anxiety is associated with high state anxiety. Both have cognitive and somatic components. They are inter-related (don’t isolate them from each other)
  -All athletes experience arousal and most will experience anxiety

Question 3

Describe cognitive, somatic and cognitive+somatic anxiety

Answer 3

c-Anxiety components -> Anxiety is multi-dimensional. Can be classified into 2 types: cognitive and somatic anxiety:
* Cognitive anxiety -> The mental component of anxiety. Worry, negative thoughts, feelings of nervousness and apprehension.
* Somatic anxiety -> Perception of physical state – happens externally. Increased respiration, increased sweating, increased HR, physical nervousness (e.g. shaking, tense muscles). Not always accompanied by actual physiological changes (or changes as intense is perceived).
* Cognitive + somatic anxiety -> Individuals can experience both types of anxiety but often to different extents. This often varies between people and over time E.g. cognitive maybe more prevalent ahead of time vs somatic on the day

Question 4

Measuring anxiety with strengths and weaknesses
-Direct measurements via physiological measurements

Answer 4

• Directly measured via physiological measurements. Change in HR, respiration, skin conductance, cortisol (through a HR monitor and/or watch)
  + = Direct comparisons, quantifiable results
  -= Expensive, requires training, may not reflect anxiety

Question 5

Measuring anxiety with strengths and weaknesses
-Self-report questionnaires

Answer 5

• Self-report questionnaires – Global questionnaire i.e. low to high anxiety. Competitive State Anxiety Inventory Questionnaire – 27 items (3 subscales: cognitive and somatic anxiety and self-confidence)
  + = Cheap, no training, easy
  -= Response bias/ socially desirable responding, difficult to compare to other scores, not always able to explain how we feel, response scale can be limiting

Question 6

Measuring anxiety with strengths and weaknesses
-Multidimensional measures

Answer 6

• Multidimensional measures – Break anxiety down into cognitive and somatic. Differently experienced. Cognitive and somatic anxiety can be scored differently.
• Can be more trait and state specific

Question 7

Describe anxiety intensity and direction

Answer 7

-Anxiety intensity and direction -> Intensity: How much anxiety one feels. Direction -> One’s interpretation of anxiety as being facilitative or debilitative to performance. Interpretation of anxiety symptoms is important – facilitative interpretations leads to better performance.

Question 8

Theories of arousal
-Drive theory

Answer 8

• As arousal increases, the likelihood dominant response will occur
• Effects of arousal on performance depends on skill level
• Performance= Habit (skill level) x Drive (arousal)
• High arousal levels = Dominant response
• Skilled performer
• In advanced stages of learning, skill execution is usually correct
• High arousal improves performance
• Unskilled performer
• In early stages of learning, skill is usually incorrect
• High arousal impairs performance

Question 9

Theories of arousal
-Inverted U theory

Answer 9

• Increased arousal improves performance up to a certain point
• Further arousal impairs performance
• Optimal arousal differs from person to person

Question 10

Theories of arousal
-Individual zones of optimal functioning

Answer 10

• Each athlete has a zone of optimal anxiety in which they perform best
• Optimal level so not a single point but bandwidth
• Zone anxiety different to other emotions

Question 11

Theories of arousal
-Multidimensional anxiety theory

Answer 11

• Distinguishes between cognitive and somatic anxiety

Question 12

Theories of arousal
-Catastrophe theory

Answer 12

• One disruption happens, athletes have to regain control of arousal

Question 13

Outline/draw the control model of anxiety

Question 14

Why arousal influences performance
-Muscle tension and coordination difficulties, attention and concentration changes

Answer 14

Muscle tension and coordination difficulties – High state anxiety. Muscle soreness, aches and pains. Interfere with coordination. Use more muscular energy measured by ECG.
Attention and concentration change – Narrowing of attention, shift to dominant style, attend inappropriate cues.
-Attention and concentration changes -> Some anxiety is good as it focuses on the task at hand which can improve performance. Too much anxiety is bad as it reduces the amount of attentional resources devoted to the task.

Question 15

Weaknesses of each theory
-Drive theory

Answer 15

• = Too simplistic - predictions fall short.
• = Cannot explain why some elite athletes choke under pressure
• = Cannot explain why some athletes excel under pressure

Question 16

Weaknesses of each theory
-Inverted U theory

Answer 16

• = Unlikely that a performance decreases in a smooth declining arc
• = Over arousal more likely to lead to a vertical plummet

Question 17

Weaknesses of each theory
-Individual zones of optimal functioning

Answer 17

• = Still 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 when experiencing the same emotion intensity

Question 18

Weaknesses of each theory
-Multidimensional anxiety theory

Answer 18

• = Assumes cognitive anxiety is bad
• = Assumes there is a smooth decline in performance

Question 19

Weaknesses of each theory
-Catastrophe theory and control model of anxiety

Answer 19

-Catastrophe theory
- = Very difficult to test research
-Control model of anxiety
- = Doesn’t explain the anxiety-performance relationship
-These theories do not detail how anxiety and arousal exert their effects on performance. More recent theories provide speculative mechanisms.

Question 20

Applied implications on how we cam help individuals regulate their arousal and anxiety (8)

Answer 20

-Psyching up strategies need to be used with caution
-Optimal levels differ between individuals and high anxiety is not always detrimental to performance
-Sources of anxiety should be identified ASAP and athletes should prepare for ‘what if’ scenarios
-Increasing practitioner-athlete/patient communication and relaxing interpersonal conflicts can reduce anxiety levels
-Important to address motivational issues (e.g. fear of failure) and family issues (e.g. unhappy home life) that increase stress and anxiety
-Practitioners and athletes/patients need to work together to establish realistic goals
-Preperformance routines can reduce anxiety in self paced activities
-Anxiety management techniques should be practiced when anxiety is perceived as debilitative (e.g. imagery, self-talk)

Question 21

Key arousal notes to be familiar with (7)

Answer 21

-Arousal is controlled and regulated by the reticular activation system (RAS), which is located in the central cortex of the brain
-Extrovert have lower levels of intrinsic arousal compared to introverts. Therefore, extroverts will seek situations of high arousal, whereas introverts will seek low arousal situations.
-Anxiety can affect arousal levels.
-Symptoms of anxiety can be both physical, called somatic, which can be increased adrenaline or psychological (cognitive), such as negative thought and worry
-Stress is the perceived in balance between the demands of the situation and the capability of meeting those demands
-Stress which is triggered by a stressor can be positive or negative. If you feel that you can meet the demands, you will treat the situation more positively. If you feel the demands cannot be met, you will see this as a negative situation which can cause stress and anxiety.
-The stress process involves: environmental demands, perception of demands, the stress response (cognitive and somatic reactions), actual behaviour