L4 - Stress + Anxiety Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is arousal?
A physiological and psychological activation from deep sleep to intense excitement
What is anxiety?
A negative emotional state with nervousness, worry, and apprehension due to body arousal
What is stress?
A substantial imbalance between demand and response capability with important consequences
What does the Drive Theory state?
Drive Theory states that as an individual’s arousal increases, so does their performance — especially when the skill is well learned. Can lead to poor performance if skill is not dominant or learned
What does the Inverted-U Hypothesis predict?
Performance improves with arousal to a point, then declines with over-arousal
What is a criticism of the Inverted-U Hypothesis?
It oversimplifies the relationship between arousal and performance and doesn’t account for factors like task type, individual differences, or skill level.
What is the IZOF model?
Each athlete has a unique bandwidth of optimal state anxiety for peak performance
What does Catastrophe Theory suggest?
High cognitive anxiety + arousal can cause a sudden performance drop
What does Multidimensional Anxiety Theory predict?
Cognitive and somatic anxiety affect performance differently
What is trait anxiety?
Personality trait: general tendency to experience anxiety
What is state anxiety?
Temporary feelings of anxiety in a specific moment
What are the components of state anxiety?
Cognitive anxiety (worry) and somatic anxiety (physiological changes)
What are signs of cognitive anxiety?
Worry, fear, doubt, lack of concentration, negative thoughts
What are signs of somatic anxiety?
Nausea, increased HR, muscle tension, sweating, breathing rate
What are common causes of anxiety in sport?
Pressure, uncertainty, fear of failure or injury, self-esteem threats, frustration
How does anxiety affect difficult tasks?
Often impairs performance
How do elite athletes interpret anxiety?
More facilitative, less debilitative; use psychological skills to manage it
What is directional anxiety?
How an athlete interprets symptoms – as a challenge or threat
What determines challenge vs threat appraisal?
Perceived resources and coping ability
What are signs of state anxiety?
Cold hands, dry mouth, tension, nausea, headaches, inability to sleep/concentrate
What did Woodman & Hardy (2003) find about cognitive anxiety and performance
Cognitive anxiety negatively correlates with performance; self-confidence positively correlates
What did Jones & Swain (1992) find in how elite swimmer interpret anxiety
They interpret anxiety as facilitative using self-talk, imagery, and goal-setting
What are steps after catastrophic performance decline?
Relax physically, restructure cognitively, reactivate in controlled way
What is the fight-or-flight response?
Increased HR, dilated pupils, adrenaline release, glycogen to glucose, etc.
