Arousal Regulation

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Arousal Regulation
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• Anxiety-Stress Spiral A circular effect of
  anxiety causing poor performance which in turn
  causes more anxiety.
• Relaxation Response factors
• A mental device/technique - usually a word,
  phrase (mantra) or object which focuses attention
  inward
• a passive attitude
• decreased muscle tone
• a quiet environment

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• Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Jacobs, 1929)
• Thesis - It is impossible to be nervous or tense
  in any part of the body where the muscles are
  completely relaxed.
• An anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body
• Physiological and Psychological relationship
  between the involuntary muscles and the
  associated skeletal muscles
• PMR Techniques
• Athlete should be lying down or sitting in a
  comfortable chair
• Requires substantial amount of practice (months).
  Once mastered it can be implemented in seconds
  through Scanning
• Tense a muscle and then relax it - recognize the
  difference between tension and relaxation.
• Full PMR requires a systematic relaxation of
  entire body
• Works very well imagery on enhancing specific
  performance outcomes (e.g. shooting a basket)
• Increases tolerance to pain

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• Autogenic Training (Johanne Shultz, 1959)
• Relies on feelings associated with limbs and
  muscles as opposed to a forced tensing and
  relaxation of a muscle group.
• Heaviness in limbs (due to a lack of muscle
  tension) and a feeling of general warmth (due to
  dilation of blood vessels)
• Composed of three component parts
• Six steps towards feelings of warmth and
  heaviness
• Use of imagery
• Use of specific themes to induce a relaxation
  response

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• Meditation - applies directly to focused
  attention. The athlete focuses their attention
  on a single thought, sound or object. Will
  typically result in a relaxation response if
  practiced with a passive attitude and decreased
  muscle tone
• Transcendental meditation - Eastern in origin,
  utilizes a mental training device in the form of
  a mantra. The mantra may be a phrase, number or
  even a simple sound (om, ahhom, one). Other
  mental devices include geometrical figures, or
  even breathing itself.
• Once entered into complete meditation, the
  mantra, sound or otherwise disappears
• Examples of meditation include Tai Chi which is
  useful in controlling gross motor skills. It is
  less useful in sports requiring fine motor skills

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• Biofeedback - based upon the principle that
  humans can voluntarily control their own
  autonomic nervous functions
• Uses instruments to help people control response
  of the autonomic nervous system (EMG, EEG, ECG,
  GSR)
• Subject is taken through a series of events with
  the telemetry equipment attached to them. They
  then try to control breathing and achieve the
  relaxation response.
• Used in cases where the person suffers from
  chronic stress/anxiety - Drawback -
• Difference between success and failure of two
  equally matched teams often depends on the
  athletes ability to cope with the perceived
  stress of competition
• Has been found to be very effective in producing
  relaxation response and moderately effective in
  helping athletic performance improvement

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• Arousal Energizing Strategies - for the most
  part, athletes tend to follow techniques
  designed to increase their level of arousal
  although some utilize relaxation procedures
• Athletes for the most part know what they need
  to do to get in the proper frame of mind. What
  happens when you have team sports and the team
  members utilize different strategies?
• Arousal Enhancing Techniques
• Goal Setting - Good for team sports with
  individuals who have different ZOFs
• PEP Talks - Most common form and includes such
  things as stories, poems, silence, reasoning,
  violent inflections.
• Bulletin Boards - Use of catchy phrases, cliches
  through-out the dressing room.. Inflammatory
  remarks by the other coaching staff or players

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• Arousal Enhancing Techniques
• Media News Coverage
• Fan Support
• Self activation Jimmy Connors slapping his
  thigh
• Coach-Parent-Athlete interaction - Parents doing
  the high-five prior to going on ice
• Pre-competition work-out

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• Why Sport Psychologists?
• A reduction in physiological arousal tends to
  account for a similar reduction in anxiety and
  tension.
• Coaches want to maintain in their players an
  optimal level of arousal and tend, on average, to
  improperly mentally prepare their athletes.
• Zone of Optimal Functioning
• Inverted U theory
• Matching Hypothesis - Interventions must be
  matched to the specific anxiety symptoms that are
  manifested by the specific athletese.g.
• High levels of cognitive anxiety should be taught
  on ways to control their thoughts (thought
  stopping, centering)
• High levels of somatic anxiety should be taught
  how to reduce their physiological arousal

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• Attentional cueing - utilizes self talk
  statements to trigger images and Attentional
  focus points designed to guide the athlete during
  the execution of a movement..
• Self-Talk can include task relevant statements,
  mood words containing emotional meaning and
  positive self affirmation statements.
• X-country skiing-
• Task relevant skills- up hill, quick and grip,
  weight back
• Mood Words - Go, Blast, Drive through, wheel
• Self affirmation - Feel great, feel strong, feel
  fast

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• What does self-talk look like?
• Retrospection
• Imagery
• Self-Talk Log
• Thought Stopping
• From negative thoughts to positive
• Countering
• Reframing

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• Immediate Self-Energizing Strategies
• Individual Goal setting
• Self Talk
• Attentional Focus
• Imagery
• Self-Activation