Anxiety
Anxiety is linked to the negative emotional feelings a person
experiences as a result of the cognitive and physiological
effects of arousal and stress.
Usually associated with nervousness, worry and apprehension.
Very prevalent in sporting situations when winning or not
losing are very important.
There are 2 different components to anxiety that of cognitive
and somatic anxiety.
Cognitive anxiety
Vague unpleasant thoughts a sports person may develop about
under achieving and negative expectations are the results of
cognitive anxiety brought on by stress.
Concentration may be affected, with attention disrupted and
images of failure are common. This form of anxiety is usually
experienced earlier than somatic anxiety.
Somatic anxiety
Usually as a result of a performer’s negative perception of the
body’s physiological reactions to stress.
Worry about queasy stomach, increased sweating, clammy
hands and so on – all naturally occurring responses to increased
arousal. Some performers worry that they will affect
performance.
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For some performers an ‘extreme climb’, playing in their first
big final etc. hold no real threat, with only a slight increase in
nervousness which they see as totally natural.
For others, the thought of having to demonstrate in front of a
class can trigger extreme arousal and anxiety.
Psychologists have differentiated between anxiety that results
from a changing ‘mood state’ and is usually short lived and
anxiety which is associated with a person’s general
characteristics and traits.
State anxiety
Depends on the situation facing the individual. They can vary
in intensity from situation to situation. Example defending a
corner in the last minute of the game with a 1-0 lead.
State anxiety can be either cognitive or somatic and it can even
be a learned response.
Recent research has found that somatic state anxiety is related
to the performers perceptions of their arousal not arousal itself.
Cognitive state anxiety is related to the mental appraisal of
arousal – it can be both negative or positive.
Trait anxiety
This is the general acquired behavioural tendency of a person
to become worried or anxious.
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Develop high levels of anxiety quickly, reacting to situations
with a very high and often disproportionate level of state
anxiety. Tendency to over react.
***Study diagram P631 on state/trait anxiety**
Anxiety within sport (competitive anxiety)
Performing well in difficult, challenging or highly emotional
circumstances, i.e. competitive situations, is a problem to the
vast majority of peformers.
It is important that coaches can measure and predict them in
relation to circumstances, and then possibly control them.
Elite and poorer performers both experience intense anxiety
both prior to and during performance. Elite performers tend to
be able to control it better.
State and trait anxiety can usually be measured through self
report tests. State anxiety can be measured in relation to
specific situations and circumstances.
Those measured with high levels of trait anxiety (high A-trait)
will perceive certain situations particulary competitive
situations as highly threatening (stressful).
Their response will be one resulting in severe state anxiety
(high A-state) together with a possible inhibited performance.
Below is an interactionist relationship between situation and
personality factors
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SITUATIONAL FACTORS
Eg. Competitive activity
INTERACTION
Performer perceives
Evaluation test as threatening
COMPETITIVE a-TRAIT
ANXIETY (high or low)
Impinges on performers
Perceptions of threat
LEVEL OF A-STATE ANXIETY
PERFORMERS ACTUAL BEHAVIOUR
Pre-competition
A-state anxiety can be affected by the performer’s perception
of:
 Fear of failure/making mistakes/bad performance
 Fear of evaluation/competition/importance of event
 Fear of injury/danger
 Lack of control/good opposition/unfamiliar ref. etc.
Factors which can affect anxiety levels during competition:
 Evaluation of others during comp. – crowd/coach etc.
 Interaction with others-friendly/aggressive opposition/
enjoyment factors/decisions of officials
 Injury during comp/fatigue
 Influence of environment-weather and pitch conditions
 Success/failure during comp – time left/score line
 Type of task – contact or other.
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Martens:sport competitions anxiety test (SCAT)
Martens developed the SCAT test over 5 years, it is a relatively
simple 15 item scale self report test. It has proved generally
reliable in measuring levels of trait anxiety in competitive
situations and thus helping coaches predict a performer’s
probable specific anxiety state.
Martens went on to develop his SCAT further. The
competitive state anxiety inventory (CSAI2) had separate
measures for both cognitive and somatic anxiety and has been
the most commonly used within sports psychology.
Validity of SCAT:
 Easy to administrate, even with large groups
 Respondents can reply how they think they should not
how they actually feel.
 Responses are open to misunderstanding by non-experts
 Questionnaire is not sensitive to small changes in anxiety
 Questionnaire is inconvenient in a real sport situation
 High scores on the anxiety intensity don’t necessarily
mean this state is detrimental.
These tests have been called into question. Many performers
measure high levels of competitive A-trait this may not directly
affect their anxiety state and thus actual performance.
They may have learnt through experience to cope with it, or
through psychological coaching how to reduce their anxiety.
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The skill of the coach/teacher is in knowing who are feeling
just right, those who are too anxious and those who need
motivating.
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