Transcript Arousal - Plantsbrook School

Arousal
Theories of arousal and the
consequences
Arousal is a blend of physiological and psychological
activity in a person, and it refers to the intensity
dimensions of motivation at a particular moment.
The intensity of arousal falls on a continuum ranging from not
aroused at all to completely aroused.
Aroused = mental and physical activation, increased heart rates,
respiration and sweating.
Drive theory
• Research by Hull (1943) and
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Spence and Spence (1966).
A proportional linear relationship
between arousal and
performance.
The more a sports person was
aroused the better their
performance OR P= H X D.
Hull thought drive was
synonymous with arousal. The
habit strength was a learned
behaviour/ dominant response
which occurred more often as
drive levels increased.
Problems with Drive theory
• The habitual behaviour/ dominant response is not always the
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correct one (think of beginners)
By increasing drive (arousal) performers often resort to previously
learned skills because they are dominant but may be incorrect.
In later stages of learning increased drive (arousal) would have a
positive effect because the dominant response is well learned.
Even highly skilled players ‘choke’ in highly charged situations.
Is it possible that in low arousal/ stress situations players will not
perform well, but in highly aroused situations, players will get
increasingly better?
Inverted ‘U’ theory
• Yerkes and Dodson (1908)
• At low levels of arousal,
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performance will be below par,
the athlete is not psyched up.
As arousal increases so does
performance, up to an optimal
point. After this point, further
increases in arousal lead to
declines in performance.
Each athlete has their own optimal
level of arousal.
Optimal arousal is higher for more
simple tasks and lower for more
complex tasks.
Problems with inverted ‘U’ theory
• Most athletes and coaches can relate to this theory.
• Critics question if optimal arousal always occurs at the mid-point of
the curve.
• One curve does not explain the different optimal levels of arousal
needed for simple and complex tasks.
Catastrophe Model
• Hardy and Frazey (1987)
• Physiological arousal is related
to performance in an inverted
‘U’ fashion when the athlete is
not worried or has low
cognitive anxiety state anxiety.
• If cognitive anxiety is high, the
increases in arousal pass a
point of optimal arousal and a
rapid decline in performance
occurs (the catastrophe).
• It would be very difficult to
recover from this point.