The document discusses the relationship between stress, anxiety, and performance, describing different types of anxiety and how anxiety can be measured. It also outlines techniques for controlling anxiety, including cognitive methods like imagery and relaxation, as well as somatic techniques like biofeedback and breathing exercises. The goal is to reduce cognitive and physiological anxiety in order to enhance athletic performance.

1. Stress and Anxiety

2. Learning Outcomes
• State the different types of anxiety
• Describe the link between anxiety, arousal
and performance
• State ways in which anxiety is measured and
analyse the pros and cons of different
measures
• Explain how different techniques are used to
control anxiety

3. Effects of arousal and anxiety
• Arousal is measured in the Reticular
activating system in the brain stem
• Responsible for Organising behaviour
• Arousal effects behaviour
• Effects of arousal not always negative

4. Negative v positive
Distress (or commonly
Negative effects stress)
Cognitive effects
Cognitive effects
Confusion
Confusion Somatic effects
Lack of
Lack of
concentration
concentration Irrational
Irrational
Increased
Increased
thought
thought Increased
Increased sweating
sweating
blood
blood
heart rate
heart rate pressure
pressure

6. Definitions of Stress
• Used to describe negative feelings a person
experiences in a potentially threatening
situation.
Seyle (1956)
“ The non-specific response of the body to any
demand made on it.”
If we are placed in a situation in which we feel pressurised,
unable to meet the task or worried about the consequences, we
may experience stress.

7. Examples
of
stressors

8. • Stress can be initiated by stressors (perceived
demands), are stressor could be any demands placed
on the performer that initiate stress:
Threatens our self-esteem e.g. audience
Causes us personal harm e.g. fear of injury
Develops fear of the unknown e.g. performance of the
opposition
Causes frustration e.g. mistakes being made
Increases pressure e.g. pressure from parents,
crowd and/or coach

9. Stressor
Stressor
Frustration, Foul, conflict
Competition Demands
Climate, Fatigue, Playing
badly, Injury worry
Alarm, Resist,
exhaust. Cognitive
or somatic
Eustress or distress!
Stress experience
Stress experience

10. McGrath (1970) suggest that when placed in a stressful situation, a performer
would respond by progressing through four stages:
Environment Demands Situation
Athlete
Athlete
perception
perception
is so
is so
important!
important! Perception of the environmental
demands Threat or
challenge
Stress response (physical &
psychological)
Eustress or
Enhanced or Distress
impaired
performance Actual behaviour

11. The Effects of Stress on Performance

12. Anxiety
• Anxiety is a negative aspect of stress and
includes irrational thoughts and fear of failure

13. Anxiety
“ When an athlete’s performance suffers in an
important event, it is often because of too much
worry about the outcome……being solely
concerned with winning causes an increase in
anxiety.”
T. Orlick, Psyching for Sport
Mental training for athletes,
1986
Causes = expectations, audience teammates
evaluation (evaluation apprehension)

14. Two components of Anxiety
Cognitive anxiety = “Thoughts” “Psychological”
Thoughts, nervousness, apprehension or worry that
a performer has about their lack of ability to
complete a task.
Somatic Anxiety = “physiological”
Physiological responses to a situation where the
performer feels they may not cope – increased
hr, sweaty palms, muscle tension.

15. Cognitive responses to anxiety Somatic responses to anxiety
• Loss of concentration • Sweating
• Feelings on apprehension • Increased muscle tension
• inability to cope •Feelings of nausea
• Attentional narrowing • Increased heart rate
• Fear of failure • Increased breathing rate
These are PYSCHOLOGICAL responses These are PHYSIOLOGICAL responses

16. Symptoms of Anxiety
Cognitive State Anxiety = Somatic State Anxiety =
worry, negativity, nervousness perception of physiological changes

17. Researchers have distinguished
THREE FURTHER TYPES

18. State Anxiety (A-state) = anxiety felt in a particular
situation.
• A temporary emotional reaction of someone in a
situation that they experience as threatening.
E.G.
A basketball player’s level of state anxiety would change
during the match.
Prior to tip off – elevated level (nerves)
During match – lower level
Final seconds faced with 3 free throws –
extremely high level.

19. Trait anxiety (A-trait) = an enduring personality
trait, giving a tendency to view all situations as
threatening.
Anxiety as a personality trait is a tendency to react to
situations in an anxious way.
E.G.
Two rugby players with equal skill are put under
pressure to kick a last minute goal.
They have different state anxiety reactions to the
situation because of their personalities – their level of
trait anxiety.
1)Laid back (low trait anxiety), doesn’t perceive kick
as overally threatening, doesn’t experience any more
state anxiety than expected.
2) High trait anxiety, finds all situations threatening.

20. Competitive Anxiety
• Form of anxiety is specific to sport
• Threats include:
– Not playing well
– Letting team down
– Meeting training demands before the event
– Personal relationships
– Injury
• Marten’s – the tendency to see competitive
situations as threatening

21. • There is a direct relationship between a person’s
level of trait and state anxiety.
• Those who score high on measures of trait
anxiety experience more state anxiety in highly
competitive and evaluative situations.
• Through experience, an athlete with high trait
anxiety can learn to cope with a particular
situation and lower their state anxiety.
• Knowledge of a person’s level of trait anxiety will
enable a prediction to be made about how they
will react to competitions, being assessed and in
threatening conditions.

22. Measuring Anxiety

23. MEASUREMENT OF STRESS
QUESTIONNAIRES
• Marten’s Sport Competitive Anxiety Test (SCAT - 1977)
• measures emotional and physiological responses to
stress in the competitive situation
• Speilberger’s State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI - 1970)
• measures emotional and physiological responses to
stress in general and specific situations
• Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI – 1990)

24. Pro’s and Con’s
• Quick • Socially acceptable
• Easy answers
• Cheap • Misunderstanding
• Lots of info question

25. More measures
BEHAVIOURAL MEASURES
• the performance of sports players is observed
• a subjective method
PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES
• require laboratory testing equipment, objective methods
• examples :
– galvanic skin response
– Electrocardiogram (ECG)
– Electroencephalogram (EEG)

26. Problems
• Observations involves • Physiological methods
looking for symptoms of put performers in
anxiety artificial circumstances
• Can take place in • Wired up
artificial environments • Can increase anxiety
which lead to extra
anxiety

27. Controlling Stress
The coach and performer can control stress through
approaching the problem in two ways:
1) Controlling & redirecting the
performer’s thoughts & attention -
reducing cognitive anxiety.
2) Reducing & controlling the
physiological components of
anxiety – reducing somatic
anxiety.

28. Cognitive techniques for controlling anxiety
Internal/external and stress
• Imagery – by method of relaxing by creating
mental images to escape the immediate effects of
stress. The principle is to recreate an environment
that is very relaxing. Mental
Rehearsal
• Visualisation – the process of creating a mental
image of what you want to happen or feel, locking
into the ‘perfect performance’. This diverts
attention away from the cause of anxiety.

29. • Attention control – maintaining concentration on
appropriate cues. This aims to improve the
performer’s ability to focus on appropriate cues
then the number of errors caused by other
distractions is reduced.
• Self-talk – developing positive thoughts about
one’s actions. Is vital that self talk remains
positive and focus on self-instructing motivational
content.

30. Somatic techniques for controlling anxiety
and stress
• Biofeedback – information about the changes in
physiological variables; the performer watches a
monitor displaying changes in readings. E.G. heart
rate, using a pulsometer or heart rate monitor.
• Breathing control – using diaphragmatic
breathing (breathing deeply) as a means of
focusing on relaxation. Encourages full oxygen
exchange, reduces the heart rate and
lowers/stabilises blood pressure.

31. • Centering – using deep breathing as a way of
refocusing your concentration. Requires the
performer to focus particularly on the rate of
breathing and maintaining a slow, steady pace.
• Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR) –
learning to be aware of the tension present in
muscles and removing it by relaxing. This is done
by alternating extreme tension that is held for a
few seconds the releasing the tension to relax.

32. Goal Setting
A technique used to control anxiety by directing
attention away from stress and towards an
achievable target.
• Outcome goals – achievement of a particular
result e.g. qualifying for the next round.
Achievement will increase motivation but the
performer cannot control the factors influencing
the outcome e.g. officials, opposition and
weather. Can lead to increase in anxiety if result
is not achieved.

33. • Performance goals – the performer’s attempts
are judged against others or even with
themselves. E.G. achieving a certain time in a
competition. Motivation will be maintained if not
increased.
• Process goal – concentrate on the performer’s
techniques and tactics, process goals often
influence performance goals. E.g. to perform a
slower backswing during a bunker shot may well
improve efficiency of the stroke.

34. Learning Outcomes
• State the different types of anxiety
• Describe the link between anxiety, arousal
and performance
• State ways in which anxiety is measured and
analyse the pros and cons of different
measures
• Explain how different techniques are used to
control anxiety