KIN 231.3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Cortisol, Catastrophe Theory, Autonomic Nervous System
Anxiety in Sport & Exercise KIN 231
MAR 1/18
Definitions + Basic concepts of Anxiety
Arousal – blend of physiological + psychological activation of autonomic nervous system (ANS)
- Ranges from deep sleep to peak activation
- Neither pleasant or unpleasant – simply arousal
- Can occur from a +ve or -ve event
- NOT anxiety (Gould et al. 2002)
Anxiety – negative emotion w/the following characteristics:
- Follows an appraisal (evaluation)
- Universal across people/cultures
- Distinct physiology
- Stimulus response
- Increased hr, shaky hands, anxious, sweat, etc
- Adrenaline, cortisol
- Associated w/unique set of action tendencies
I.e. to get angry, to mock, eat, etc
- Observed through discrete facial expressions
- Context specific
Cognitive Anxiety – athlete’s concerns or worries that reduce ability to focus or concentrate
Somatic Anxiety – physiological + affective elements that develop directly from autonomic
arousal – perceived by individual
Martens et al. (1990)
Example
- If HR goes up but you don’t recognize it, it is simply arousal – you need to recognize
anxiety
State vs Trait Anxiety
State Anxiety – associated w/worries + apprehension at any given moment (A-state)
Spielberger (1966)
- May change from moment to moment
- BMX (bike riding) increased A-state in inner start lane than outer lane
Di Rienzo et al. (2018)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Anxiety in Sport & Exercise KIN 231
MAR 1/18
Trait Anxiety – a stable part of personality (A-trait)
- Predisposes individual to perceive situations as physically or psychologically threatening
- Individual differences evident – some athletes are calm (low A-trait), others not (high A-
trait)
Anxiety - Context specific
Social Anxiety – occurs during social situations (Leary, 1992)
I.e. speaking in front of groups (up to 90% of people)
Social Physique Anxiety – experiencing anxiety due to others’ evaluations of physique in social
settings Hart et al. (1989)
- Often occurs in exercise context
Competitive Trait Anxiety (Martens, 1977) – tendency to become anxious + worried about failure
in competition
- Assessed by Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)
General vs Specific Anxiety – Does it matter?
1. Individuals tested w/SCAT
I.e. high competitive A-trait + low competitive A-trait (independent variable)
2. A-state measures taken – basal, pre, mid, + post competition
3. Response variables recorded – b’, physiological + psychological measures
What does “more” anxiety mean? (Mellalieu et al., 2006)
- Intensity of symptoms
- Examines amount or level of symptoms
- Frequency of cognitive intrusions
- Amt of time thinking and feeling about competition
- Directional interpretation of symptoms
- Either facilitative or debilitative
Sources of Anxiety
1. Experience + Skill Level
Few differences in the intensity of anxiety symptoms across experience + skill levels,
however, differences in direction
Skilled – facilitative
Unskilled – harmful
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Arousal blend of physiological + psychological activation of autonomic nervous system (ans) Ranges from deep sleep to peak activation. Neither pleasant or unpleasant simply arousal. Can occur from a +ve or -ve event. I. e. to get angry, to mock, eat, etc. Cognitive anxiety athlete"s concerns or worries that reduce ability to focus or concentrate. Somatic anxiety physiological + affective elements that develop directly from autonomic arousal perceived by individual. If hr goes up but you don"t recognize it, it is simply arousal you need to recognize anxiety. State anxiety associated w/worries + apprehension at any given moment (a-state) Bmx (bike riding) increased a-state in inner start lane than outer lane. Trait anxiety a stable part of personality (a-trait) Predisposes individual to perceive situations as physically or psychologically threatening. Individual differences evident some athletes are calm (low a-trait), others not (high a- trait) Social anxiety occurs during social situations (leary, 1992)
