KP381 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Visual Search, Drive Theory, Long Term Ecological Research Network
Document Summary
An individuals interpretation of anxiety symptoms is important for understanding the anxiety- performance relationship. To understand the anxiety-performance relationship, we must consider both the intensity (how much anxiety one feels) and the direction (a persons interpretation of anxiety as facilitating or debilitating to performance) Viewing anxiety as facilitative leads to superior performance. Developing cognitive skills and strategies helps people view anxiety as facilitative. What do we actually know about arousal, anxiety, and performance: It is doubtful that the optimal level of arousal is always at the midpoint of the arousal scale. Arousal and state anxiety do not always have negative e ects on performance. They can be facilitative or debilitative depending on the interpretation. Self-con dence and enhanced perceptions of control are critical to perceiving anxiety as facilitative. Some optimal level of arousal leads to peak performance, but optimal levels pf physiological activation but arousal-related thought (worry) are not the same.
