Arousal, Stress and Anxiety

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Arousal, Stress and Anxiety

• Christian DeVries
• WSS 2402

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Arousal

• A blend of Physiological and Psychological
  activity in a person, and it refers to the
  intensity dimensions of motivation at a
  particular moment

The Arousal Continuum
Low (Coma)
High (Frenzy)
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Anxiety

• The negative emotional state with feelings of
  nervousness, worry and apprehension associated
  with activation or arousal of the body.

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Types of Anxiety

• Cognitive Anxiety The thought component worry
  and apprehension
• Somatic Anxiety The degree of physical
  activation perceived
• State Anxiety The ever changing mood component
• Cognitive State Anxiety the degree to which one
  worries or has negative thoughts.
• Somatic State Anxiety concerned with the moment
  to moment changes is perceived physiological
  activation .
• Trait Anxiety An acquired behavioral tendency of
  disposition that influences behavior.

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Stress

• A substantial imbalance between demand and
  response capability, under conditions where
  failure to meet the demand has important
  consequences. In Sports Psychology, stress is
  often categorized in four interrelated stages.

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4 Stages of Stress

• Environmental Demand What is being demanded,
  the task
• Perception of Demand What is the individuals
  perception of the demand
• Stress Response What is the persons response
  to the demand
• Arousal
• Anxiety
• Muscle tension
• Attention changes
• Behavioral Consequences What is the performance
  or outcome

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Sources of Stress (Stressors)

• Event importance
• Uncertainty
• Self Esteem
• Trait Anxiety
• Social Anxiety

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A and A Theories

• Drive Theory
• The relationship between arousal and performance
  is direct and linier
• As Arousal or State Anxiety increase performance
  increases. The more psyched up one is the better
  s/he will perform
• Inverted U
• Low arousal performances will be below par. As
  arousal increase so does performance up to an
  optimal point. As the athlete becomes further
  aroused performance will began to decrease

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Inverted U
Performance
Arousal
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A and A Theories

• Individualized zones of Optimal Functioning
• Athletes have a zone optimal state anxiety in
  which they perform best.
• Reversal theory
• How a performer interprets arousal will influence
  performance.
• Multidimensional Anxiety Theory
• Predicts that cognitive state anxiety (worry) is
  negatively related to performance

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A and A Theories

• Catastrophe Model
• With lower anxiety performance is related to the
  inverted U manner.
• With higher anxiety the athlete will reach an
  threshold and then have a rapid decrease in
  performance.

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Why should be we concerned with Arousal and
Anxiety?

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Why should be we concerned with Arousal and
Anxiety?

• Muscle Tension and Coordination Difficulties
• Attention and Concentration Changes

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Implications for Practice

• Identify Optimal Arousal-related Emotions
• Recognize Personal and Situational Factors
• Recognize Arousal and State Anxiety Signs
• Cold Clammy hand, need to urinate, sweating,
  negative self talk, butterflies, feeling ill,
  headaches, cotton mouth, troubles sleeping.
• Tailor Coaching Strategies to Individuals
• Develop Performers Confidence