Anxiety, Arousal, and motivation Arousal - Measure of energy level (scale from deep sleep to intense alertness) - Response to stress, controlled by sympathetic nervous system - Affected by both positive/ negative situations Drive reduction theory (Hull, 1943) - arousal increase = performance increase, no limits - Lack of homeostasis — need — drive — motivation — homeostasis — lack of homeostasis - Not always 100% true: performance needs limit Inverted U theory (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908) - Arousal increase = performance increase, to certain point, then performance decrease - Not always 100% true: arousal and task difficulty varies with every situation Catastrophe theory - Performance increase to certain point, then decrease rapidly + drastically - Recognise 2 forms of anxiety: somatic & cognitive Parasympathetic VS Sympathetic - Parasympathetic nervous system: restores body to calm and peaceful state - Sympathetic nervous system: prepares body for fight and flight response - Arousal = government by sympathetic nervous system Emotions + influence on performance - positive emotions = improved performance - Negative emotions = decreased performance Page 1 of 6 © Angel w. Anxiety, Arousal, and motivation Stress + The 4 stages - Response lead by our environment (a situation), not necessarily negative - Imbalance of demand and person’s capabilities Stage 1: Cause of stress Stage 2: Perception of threat - Common stressors: difficulty of task, - Effect of stressor = how athlete perceive pressure from others, personal its difficulty/threat incapabilities, etc - low threat = less physiological impacts Stage 3: Stress response Stage 4: Actual behaviour - Experience various physiological - Possible for positive/negative impacts responses to stress - from stress Increase HR Increase breathing Positive: improve focus, alertness, and Decrease digestive activity reaction time Liver release glucose Negative: leads to anxiety, fear, and anger Anxiety - negative emotion of stress - Irrational thoughts, fear of failure, self doubt and worry Somatic anxiety Cognitive anxiety - physiological (sweating, increased - psychological (worry about failing) HR, faster breathing) Trait anxiety (innate) - constant characteristic - Sport Competition Anxiety Test - (SCAT) State anxiety (situation specific) - Temporary emotion of stress - Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 - (CSAI-2R) Sport Competition Anxiety Test (Martens, 1977) - Pros: can be used to reduce worry and build confidence before competition - Cons: can’t be tested during competition, athletes might fake results Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens, 1990) - Problems: Participants might fake results, hard to recall specific emotions - Solutions: Build trust and confidence with participants Page 2 of 6 © Angel w. Anxiety, Arousal, and motivation Motivation - the direction and intensity of a person’s effort - Direction: situations that the individual approaches - Intensity: amount of effort the individual puts in a situation Intrinsic Motivation Extrinsic Motivation Influenced by inner self - Excitement - Fun enjoyment - Chance to improve skills Influenced by external awards - Money - Awards - Status / praise Issues: Difficult to maintain levels of interest Player might loose interest Issues: Decrease intrinsic motivation, Play for award and not development Likely to avoid difficult situations ***intrinsic motivation might be boosted from extrinsic motivation Self Determination theory - degree to which behaviours are chosen and self-initiated Amotivation External Regulation Introjected Regulation Identified Regulation Integrated Motivation Intrinsic Motivation Feelings of incompetence/ lack of control Completely controlled by external sources Avoid disapproval or feelings of guilt Personal choice but not necessarily enjoyable Activity is important for a valued outcome Activity is done for pleasure of task well done No desires for activity/ task Trains to get raised salaries Work out to impress friends Athletes devoting to long trainings Stretch to improve performance Mastering yoga pose 3 Main Motivation theory Page 3 of 6 © Angel w. Anxiety, Arousal, and motivation Goal orientation theory (Nicholls, 1989) Individual’s concern: - Demonstrate high ability and avoid demonstrating low ability - Motivation determined by: 1. Achievement goal 2. Perceived ability 3. Achievement behaviour 1. Achievement goal Task Orientation Ego Orientation View success as personal improvement View success as winning Values: - strong work ethic - persistence in face of failure - protects person from disappointment and frustration - Sets realistic and challenging tasks and challenges Problems: - judge success by how they compare to others - less effort and more excuses - select tasks they are sure to win - More emotionally fragile if they perceive they may be evaluated negatively - result of personal experiences (childhood socialisation) - remain relatively stable, independent of each other 2. Perceived ability - How the individual perceive their own abilities - Ego orientation: high perceived abilities = positive motivational behaviour, vice versa 3. Achievement behaviour Page 4 of 6 © Angel w. Anxiety, Arousal, and motivation Psychological skills training (PST) Why? - Less depression, anger issues, mind wanders during tasks - More focus, confidence, desire and motivation What? - Systematic and consistent practice of mental or psychological skills - Improve physiological state The 3 phrases Education Acquisition Practice Clarify psychological skills and how they are trained: - What will be expected of the psychologist, coach, and athlete in terms of role and commitment. - Learning and understanding of - Integrate psychological skills specific strategies - Athletes taught how to implement strategies themselves, becoming independent problem solvers into performance situations - Simulate skills athletes want to apply in actual competition - “Homework” set to practice different strategies under more realistic situations Types of Psychological skills Goal Setting Mental Imagery Self-Talk Focus athlete’s attention Enhance persistance Increase confidence + motivation Enhance task performance Improve concentration Increase preparation Increase motivation + selfencouragement Build confidence Setting goals e.g. lose weight, improve skills Recreating experience in mind Internal dialogue Outcome goals outcome of an event (winning) Good for motivation, but increase anxiety Performance goals Achievement (improving skill) Provide feedback on process Process goals Action/ process to perform well Provide focus during event PETTLEP: Physical — resemble actual physical performance Environmental — resemble actual physical performance Task — mirror attention demands of actual practice Timing — Prep and execute movements in real time Learning — if tasks are seen to be difficult Emotion — experience feelings as if in actual event Perspective — looking out as if in actual event (internal) OR viewing as a spectator (external) Page 5 of 6 Negative self talk - decrease performance and confidence - Stop by (thought stop): - Telling negative self talk to stop - Focus on performance Positive self talk Types of self-talk Example Attention control “He always sidest Motivation “this is my stage” Negative thought stopping “Stop!” Instruction “Deep breath” Skill Acquisition (focus attention on a particular skill element) “Knees bent but b Anxiety control (Linked wit attention control and thought stopping) “Just follow my ro Cultivate positivity (affecting self-efficacy) “I can do this” © Angel w. Anxiety, Arousal, and motivation Relaxation techniques Why? - regulate arousal - Reduce both cognitive + somatic anxiety Progressive muscle relaxation techniques - Focus attention on various muscle groups, tense and relax them in turn. - Enhances awareness of body tension, affect performance. - Last from 20 sec to 20 mins, depending on experience at practicing technique Breathing techniques - Deep, regular, and slow breathing pattern (E.g. Inhale to 4, Exhale to 8) - Calm the body and distract the mind by focusing on breathing - Increase oxygen intake and help remove waste products (decrease muscle tension) Page 6 of 6 © Angel w.
