Defining Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety Trait States
Defining Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety
Trait
States
The Stress Process
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Sources of Stress and Anxiety
Event importance
Trait anxiety
Self-esteem
Situationalsources
Personal sources
Social physique anxiety
Uncertainty
Drive Theory
Inverted–U Hypothesis
Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) Theory
Catastrophe Model
Catastrophe Model
Reversal TheoryHow arousal affects performance depends on an individual’s interpretation of his or her arousal level.
Arousal can be interpreted as pleasant/excitement or as unpleasant/anxiety.
Arousal interpreted as pleasant facilitates performance, and arousal interpreted as unpleasant hurts performance.
Anxiety Direction and Intensity
An individual’s interpretation of anxiety symptoms is important for understanding the anxiety-performance relationship.
To understand the anxiety-performance relationship, both the intensity (how much anxiety one feels) and direction (a person’s interpretation of anxiety as being facilitating or debilitating to performance) must be considered.
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Anxiety Direction and Intensity
Viewing anxiety as facilitative leads to superior performance.Some support has been found for this view.
Significance of All the Arousal–Performance Views
**Arousal is multifaceted**Arousal and state anxiety do not always have a negative effect on performance— they can be facilitative or debilitative depending on the interpretation.
Some optimal level of arousal leads to peak performance, but the optimal levels of physiological activation and arousal-related thoughts (worry) are not the same.
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Significance of All the Arousal–Performance Views
Combination of a.) physiological arousal and b.) arousal interpretation are more important than actual levels of each.
It is doubtful that the optimal level of arousal is always at the midpoint of the arousal scale.
Why Arousal and AnxietyInfluence Performance
Increased muscle tension and coordination difficultiesAttention and concentration changes:
Narrowing of attentionShift to dominant styleAttend to inappropriate cues
Why Arousal Influences PerformanceAttentional narrowing
The Flow Model
Complete absorption in the activityMerging of action and awareness; performance is on automatic pilot
Essential elements of flow
Total concentration, focusHigh confidence
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The Flow Model
Loss of self-consciousness; no thinking about performanceA sense of control, and loss of fear/anxietyNo goals or rewards external to the activity
Essential elements of flow
Effortless movement, performanceSlowing of time, motion
The Typical Context of Flow
A balance of skill and challenge