Arousal

Drive Theory

• As the level of arousal increases, performance improves in a linear fashion

• P = D x H (performance is the product of drive and habit)

• The athlete is initially motivated by the challenge of the task and increased effort brings success and the drive to continue performing

• At high levels of arousal the ability to take in information from the environment is reduced and performers may only focus on the dominant response

Drive Reduction Theory

• Motivation is high at the start of the learning process, but once success has been achieved the initial drive is lost

• The drive is replaced with satisafaction

• A new challenge or extension is needed to provide further motivation

The Inverted U theory

• Increase in arousal can improve performance up to an optimum point, which occurs at a moderate level of arousal
• further increases in arousal have a detrimental effect on perfrormance
• Therefore, both low and high levels of arousal can produce a performance that is below our best
• The best level of arousal for optimum performance varies according to the task being attempted and the personality and expertise of the performer:
• Experts - cope well with high levels of arousal because they are experienced with dealing with pressures of performance
• Extroverts have naturally low levels of adrenaline and are better able to cope with increases in adrenaline levels
• The amount of stimulation required to provoke increases in arousal and adrenaline is dtermined by the Reticular Activating System (RAS) - the centre of arousal and motivation in mammals:
• Simple tasks require little decision making
• Gross skills can be peformed ar high arousal because they require less control and more muscular involvement

Cue Utilisation Hypothesis

• The number of environmental cues we can process is related to our level of arousal

• At low levels of arousal the performer has the capacity to take in a relatively large amount of information but it may cause confusion.

• At high arousal, performance may be at a lower level as the performer tends to focus on less information and therefore important cues may be missed

• At moderate arousal, performance tends to be at a high level because the player concentrates at just the right amount of information and picks up all the relevant cues.

Catastrophe Theory

• Increases in arousal improve performance up to a certain point but then, a further increase pushes the performer over the edge and performance falls dramatically

• Causes: worry about not playing well, threat of a difficult opponent or playing in front of a big crowd

• Changes in the situation can cause a sufficient increase in arousal to invoke the catastrophe

• The catastrophe is caused by a combination of cognitive and somatic anxieties

The Zone - an energised, yet controlled, frame of mind that is focused on the task

• Sometimes, athletes reach a level of performance that is both anxiety free and technically near perfect
• Is characterised by feelings of calm despite the intense pressure
• A sense of supreme confidence exists and the performer is almost totally immersed in the action
• The resultant performance is near perfect, with few errors, lots of energy and correct decision making
• The zone of optimal functioning (ZOF), proposed by the psychologist Hanin, is another adaptation of the inverted U theory
• It suggests that the optimum level of arousal varies depending on the type of task being performed and the person performing
• The best performance can be achieved when the challenge of the task is appropriate to the performers skill