Chapter 4 – Arousal, Stress, & Anxiety
Arousal – blend of physiological & psychological activity in a person AND the intensity at
the moment.
 Arousal intensity is on a continuum – low (coma) to high (increased heart rate &
respiration, sweat
 Can be pleasant or unpleasant
Anxiety – a negative emotional state that has worry, nervousness, apprehension and
associated with activation or arousal of the body
Two parts:
cognitive anxiety – thought – worry, apprehension
Somatic anxiety – the degree of physical activity perceived.
Two types of anxiety:
1)
State anxiety – the ever-changing mood component
Cognitive state anxiety – the degree one worries or has negative thoughts
Somatic state anxiety – the moment-to moment changes in perceived
physiological activation.
2)
Trait Anxiety - a part of the personality – an acquired behavioral tendency of
disposition that influences behavior
a)
This predisposes an individual to perceive as threatening things that really aren’t
threatening
b)
High trait-anxious people usually have more state anxiety in highly competitive,
evaluative situations than do people with lower trait anxiety.
Measuring Arousal and Anxiety
 May look at physical changes: heart rate, respiration, skin conductivity, biochemistry
 May have the person report “my hands are sweating.” Called – self-report measures
 May rate low to high
Generally, if you have high trait anxiety, you will have high state anxiety.
 May be situation specific.
 May learn coping skills to over come this.
Stress – occurs when there is a substantial imbalance between the physical & psychological
demands placed on an individual and his/her response capability – and under conditions
where failure to meet the demand has important consequences.
Sources of Stress and Anxiety
1-Situational sources of stress
event importance
uncertainty
2-Personal sources of stress
trait anxiety
self-esteem
social physique anxiety
How arousal & anxiety affect performance
Drive Theory – as an individual’s arousal or state anxiety increase, so does his or her performance.
Related to Social facilitation theory – predicts that the presence of others helps performance on welllearned or simple tasks and inhibits or lessens performance on unlearned or complex tasks.
So – increased arousal will bring out the dominant response
Implication – eliminate audiences and evaluation in learning situations
Inverted-U Hypothesis –as arousal increases, so does performance up to an optimal point where best
performance results, Further increases in arousal, however, cause performance to decline.
Maximum arousal level is lower when: need fine muscle control (archery) or have to make complex
decisions (QB).
Maximum arousal level is higher when: skills are mostly large muscle actions (weight lifter) or
simple decisions are needed (sprinter).
Individualizing Zones of Optimal Functioning
 athletes have a zone of optimal state anxiety in which their best performance occurs.
 Does NOT have to be at the midpoint of the continuum, but varies with each person
 Optimal level is NOT one point, but a bandwidth.
Other Theories that have little support or little research
a) Multidimensional Anxiety Theory
 Looks at how somatic anxiety and cognitive anxiety affect performance.
b) Catastrophe Model – performance deteriorates with worry + high physical arousal
c) Reversal – how the athlete interprets arousal will impact performance. (can shift positive to
negative and vice versa)
Anxiety – Direction and intensity
How an athlete interprets the direction of anxiety (facilitating or debilitating) has a significant effect
on the anxiety-performance relationship.
Coaches should help athletes realize that arousal & anxiety are conditions of excitement - not fear
Why does arousal influence performance?
 Increases in arousal cause muscle to become more tense and this may interfere with coordination
 Attention & concentration change
increased arousal causes a narrowing of a performer’s attentional field, misses
important cues AND they scan the field of play less often
under-aroused, the focus is too broad – sees relevant AND irrelevant cues
Implications for Practice:
1Identify the optimal combination of arousal related emotions needed for best performance
2Recognize how personal and situational factors interact to influence arousal, anxiety, and
performance (p. 95)
3Recognize the signs of increased arousal and anxiety in participants, i.e.,-cold, clammy
hands, need to urinate frequently, profuse sweating, negative self-talk, dazed look in the eyes,
increased muscle tension, butterflies in stomach, feel ill, headache, dry mouth, constantly
sick, trouble sleeping, can't concentrate, performs better in noncompetitive situations.
4Tailor coaching & instructional practices to individuals. Ex- High trait anxiety + low selfesteem in a very evaluative situation = de-emphasize situation and stress athlete’s
preparation.
Moderate levels of trait anxiety + moderate self esteem in high stress = ok
Low trait anxiety + high self-esteem in a non-threatening environment = must have pep talk
5 - Develop confidence in performers to help them cope with increased stress and anxiety.
To increase confidence:
foster a positive environment, i.e., give frequent and sincere encouragement
instill a positive orientation to mistakes and losing. If losing becomes too important,
they won’t get better.
provide many simulation situations – practice for the unexpected.