Sport Psychology and the Relationship between Arousal and Stress

Sport Psychology and the Relationship between Arousal and Stress

Tom Pickett 325880

fao; Scott Reed

learning objectives:

LO1 - Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the theoretical underpinning of psychology in sports performance.

LO2 - Demonstrate knowledge of the main methods of enquiry in arousal and its effects on sports performance.

LO3 - Communicate effectively information and arguments on the theories of stress and apply the theories to optimising sports performance.

It is believed by many that sport is entirely based upon physical ability and fitness, however there are many arguments to suggest that it is completely psychological or a balance of either. Gardner, D, (2015) stated that sports performance depends 100% on psychological dependence and that our thoughts influence our actions. As everyone is individual, no single person has the same beliefs or personality to apply this.


Hollander, (1971) states that personality is ‘the sum total of an individual’s characteristics which make him/her unique’. 3 theories of personality have been analysed in this piece: Martens schematic view, psychodynamic theory and the trait theory. 

Figure 1 (Martens Schematic View)

Marten’s schematic view (MSV) (Figure 1) shows 3 sections; the psychological core (constant part of the personality), the typical responses and the role related behaviour. The typical response section represents individual’s responses to certain situations. The athlete may always get angry and shout after being intentionally fouled in football, but the athlete may be quiet and shy on first encounters. Typical responses to these situations are often seen as good indicators of your psychological core. (Adams, M. et al, 2009).The role related behaviour section is the most changeable as it changes and adapts to the situation. 

Figure 2 (Psychodynamic Theory)

The psychodynamic theory differs from the schematic view as it includes conscious and unconscious parts where the person is not in control of certain responses. (Figure 2) The ID or Instinctive Drive section is unconscious and may make the individual do/say things without a thought, similar to the previously stated ‘Psychological core’ of MSV. The ego section represents the conscious part of who that person is. For example going in for a slide tackle from behind in a game of football knowing that it is illegal to do so. The Super Ego section controls certain actions and decisions. For example, an athlete thinking about going in with a sliding tackle from behind but realising there are consequences to follow, and deciding against the sliding tackle. 
This theory is less simple to Martens schematic view by including the unconscious part, however is more realistic as MSV suggests that every decision or action is a conscious thought. That being said, unlike MSV, the psychodynamic theory does not consider role related behaviours, where the individual adapts to changes in roles, demands and environments. 

Figure 3 (Trait Theory)

The Trait theory (Figure3) works along 2 continuums of characteristics. These traits have been argued whether they are genetically inherited or whether they are determined by experiences that someone has gone through to gain characteristics (nature or nurture). This theory cannot determine behaviour during a sports performance however; some ones characteristics are often changeable within the continuums according to certain situations. For example, a football player who is normally quite willing and daring within a game, may back off from being so confident as they may have badly missed a shot from outside the 18 yard box, they may not want to waste any other chances. The biggest difference between this theory and the others is that it does not fixate someone’s characteristics as does the ‘instinctive drive’ (see figure 2) and the ‘psychological core’ (see figure 1). The trait theory however is ideal for suggesting why that individual has chosen to do a certain sport based upon their characteristics whilst performing. (Adams, M. et al, 2009) 

Motivation is the drive of an individual to start and then continue with the activities relating to their sport. Simply defined; it is the ability to initiate and persist at a task. (Taylor. J Ph.D.) Motivation can either be intrinsic, which is the individuals ‘want or need’ to participate, or can be extrinsic, where the individual strives to achieve tangible and intangible rewards.
Motivation fits into one of three general theories that parallel the traits of personality (Weinberg, 2015) the first is the Trait centred view or ‘Participation centred view’. This is where behaviour is a result of a combination of someone’s characteristics and personality. The individual’s intrinsic motivation affects the success of the athlete. However environmental influences are not taken into account. 

Gledhill (2007) says this theory is far too simplistic. The situation centred view suggests motivation is influenced by situations the athlete is in. E.g. an athlete may be lazy during training, yet fully motivated and involved in competitive game situations. This view takes into consideration the task given however still does not consider outside environmental values such as weather, crowds or location. Gledhill (2007) makes the point that how is it possible to measure the athlete’s motivation if the situation is unfavourable? E.g. being behind in a game of tennis. The interactional view is the best and the most widely acknowledged. It takes into account both personality and situations as factors that influence motivation. Such as weather, standard of play and opposition, quality of facilities, coach’s expectations and even self esteem. Another example of this could be expectations of large crowds and peers. Weinberg, (2014) stated that an experiment was undertaken with a pair of swimmers, where they were asked to swim without peers present and then again in front of peers. The swimmers were psychologically influenced to swim faster by the presence of their peers and showed faster times.

Arousal can be simply referred to as a state of physiological alertness and anticipation of the autonomic nervous system, which prepares the body. The name of the nervous system tells us that it is not voluntarily controllable. For example we are not in control of our heart rate, blood pressure or breathing rates. Arousal ranges on a continuum from deep sleep to extreme excitement.

Arousal can have positive and negative effects in performance, dependant on the athlete, or game situation. An athletes’ arousal is also fully changeable and is never constant during an event, reliant to certain situations they are involved in.. This can be explored through following theories.

The Drive Theory (see figure 4):

Figure 4 (Drive Theory)

An early theory that links arousal and performance, it suggests that as arousal increases, so does performance. It was developed by Hull (1951) and Spence (1956). The theory works on the equation:

Performance = skill x arousal. E.g. a basketball player that has recently learnt how to successfully ‘slam dunk’ and applies it to a game situation. If they were to score with this method, their arousal levels would increase.

Spence and Spence (1966) explored 25 studies on arousal and performance, and all but 4 positively correlated with this Theory.

(Gadsdon. S, 2001)

The Inverted U Theory (see figure 5)

Figure 5 (Inverted U Theory)

 explains that arousal can improve performance much like the drive theory, however, only to a certain point. After this point, as arousal increases further, performance worsens. (Gadsdon. S, 2001)

E.g. A basketball player that has missed a 3-point shot in a game, may keep on attempting to score 3-point shots however may fail to score at all, increasing frustration and possible anger levels. At this point, the athlete would be questioning themselves why they are failing to score the shot; decreasing concentration levels, resulting in decreases in performance, and high levels of frustration and anger.

Catastrophe Theory: (see figure 6)

Figure 6 (Catastrophe Theory)

as the name of this theory suggests, this is when high levels of arousal have catastrophic effects on performance. Compared to the inverted u theory, rather than a steady decline of performance upon peak arousal, performance level instantly plummets in the result of a negative situation. E.g. in a game of basketball, a player could be awarded a free throw. If the player was to miss the free throw, in front of a large crowd, peers and managers for instance, they may be so disappointed with themselves that their frustration and anxiety levels have an instantly detrimental effect on their performance, where their motivation to continue playing the game, is severely reduced. Figure 6 shows a dashed line that represents an athlete’s reduction in arousal levels, to a point that their performance may increase once again. For this to happen, an individual would normally gain a sense of achievement, i.e. a goal/basket or make a successful tackle/interception, giving the individual positive, intrinsic feedback and an increase of motivation levels. Positive extrinsic feedback may also be received from coaches, teammates and spectators. The catastrophe theory can also be used explain that a negative event can have such a detrimental effect on someone’s performance; they lose all motivation to even take part in the event any more. Examples of this can often be seen within football as players some times deliberately foul opponents because they are in a losing or worse-off situation. David Beckham in 1998, was fouled in a game between England and Argentina. As Argentina equalised a minute before, he deliberately tripped over the Argentinian player who had just fouled him, which he ended up getting sent off,  shown on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWsEuczNj48

An individual’s interpretation of their arousal, influences his or her performance. some athletes need extremely high levels of arousal and use it in a positive way rather than negatively. I.e. it is common for weightlifters to get angry before lifting to perform well. Here is an example of a weight lifter psyching up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrW-qSQBzwc

An athlete to use this high arousal in a positive way to perform better is described as Reversal theory. Other sports such as rugby, an increasing number of teams perform threatening dances to psych themselves up and to scare the opponents.

Athletes use very high or low levels of arousal depending on the sport. As people are individual and have their own requirements to perform better, they have Individual zones of optimal functioning. (IZOF). As weightlifters often require high levels of arousal, sports such as snooker and archery often require a calm and collective environment to allow the players to feel more relaxed and allows them to concentrate more on the task. However tennis players require a calm environment to play, their arousal levels can be moderately high as they need to use speed and strength to match the other player. Figure7 shows different athletes optimal zones and what levels of arousal they perform best at.

Figure 7 (Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) )

High levels of arousal, anxiety, stress and nervousness, bought on by high pressure situations can often cause athletes to ‘choke’. This is an unfortunate situation to be in, and can have severe results. The most common example is footballers that have to take penalties during a penalty shoot out. Examples of this can be seen here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jG1TRFIj6c 

Stress can be described as ‘A pattern of negative physiological states and psychological responses occurring in situations where people perceive threats to their well being, which they may be unable to meet’

(Lazarus and Follerman, 1984)

In order to optimise sports performance, the following two theories will be argued and compared.

figure 8 (General Adaptations Syndrome)

The General Adaptations Syndrome theory (figure 8) of stress can be explained via 3 stages: the Alarm, Resistance and Exhaustion phases. The alarm phase is the immediate ‘fight or flight’ response where an athlete may either get involved or avoid a certain situation e.g. a boxer who has been hit hard, may either retaliate or back away from the opponent. The resistance phase is where the athlete deals with the current situation until the motive to resist is minimized. Lastly the exhaustion phase comes after the stressor has passed, often leaving the athlete tired, fatigued or possibly injured. The initial shock of the stressor decreases homeostasis before the flight or fight response is undertaken. From this the resistance to stress level is increased and decreased once the situation is dealt with.

Figure 9 (Transactional Model)

Stressors can affect a performance depending on the athlete’s appraisal. If 2 athletes were to compete in a large event, one may be nervous and anxious (distress), yet the other may see it as a challenge and have a positive attitude towards it (eustress).  Lazarus and Follermans Transactional model (figure 9) 

describes this as the primary appraisal. The secondary appraisal makes the athlete think whether the situation is going to benefit them or not. Unlike the GAS theory, this theory allows the athlete to perceive the stress as ‘eustress’. In certain situations, it enhances performance. (Honeybourne, J. 2003)

Furthermore, Eysenk, M stated:

‘Individuals differences can be used as criticism of the GAS. Individuals perception of stress and their reaction to it varies’. (2005)

Also, GAS would be ideal to summarise the stress of an athlete that has high trait anxiety levels, however not for an athlete who is better at coping. Research has suggested individuals with high trait anxiety, experience more situation-specific state anxiety (Horikawa & Yagi, 2012). The transactional model is limited, as it does not measure objective coping, as does not psychological mechanisms. (Sharma, M) So this theory does not take into account what triggers athletes stress or what coping process they endure

References:

Adams, M, et al. (2010). Psychology of sports performance. In: Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Sport Student Book. p4. Chapter 17

Eysenck, M (2005). Psychology for AS Level. 3rd ed. Taylor & Francis. p144.

Gadsdon, S (2001). Psychology and Sport: Heinemann. p22.

Gardner, D. (2015). How Much of Your Sport is Mental?. Available: http://www.maxpreps.com/news/NSRCCf85gU68n1uBllox3w/how-much-of-your-sport-is-mental.htm. Last accessed 5th Mar 2017.

Hill, G (2001). A Level Psychology Through Diagrams. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p260.

Honeybourne, J (2003). BTEC National Sport Textbook: Development, Coaching and Fitness. Nelson Thornes. p97.

Horikawa, M & Yagi, A: The Relationships among Trait Anxiety, State Anxiety and the Goal Performance of Penalty Shoot-Out by University Soccer Players. PLoS One, 7(4) e35727

Scott, A. (2012). Lazarus and Folkman Transactional model. Available: https://www.slideshare.net/Psyccounting/lazarus-and-folkman-transactional-model. Last accessed 14 Mar 2017.

Taylor, J Ph.D. (2009). Sports: What Motivates Athletes?. Available: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/200910/sports-what-motivates-athletes. Last accessed 21st Feb 2017.

Weinburg et al (2014). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 6th Ed: Cloth Pass/Kycd.

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Video sources:

YouTube:

Top 10 Worst Penalty Kicks Fail (2^nd Nov 2014) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jG1TRFIj6c

Beckham Red Card v Argentina 1998 (26^th Apr 2012) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWsEuczNj48