Anxiety and Psychology and Sports Performance: Competitive Anxiety - Literature review Example

Anxiety and Psychology and Sport Performance: Competitive Anxiety Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction Anxiety is a psychological state that is characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive and behavioural components. It is a natural reaction to threats in the immediate environment and or part of preparation for a fight or to flee (Hanin, 1997). Anxiety creates a feeling of fear, worry, uneasiness and dread. In many cases anxiety is regarded as a normal reaction to a stressor. Sporting competitions can cause athletes to react both somatically and cognitively in a manner which impacts negatively thus affecting their performance abilities. Sometimes athletes face major problems particularly when they allow their mind to work against them rather than for them. Sports psychology is a field of psychology that aims at preparing the mind of an athlete for competition. This paper seeks to discuss Anxiety, Psychology and sport performance. Anxiety Anxiety can be described in three distinct dimensions: cognitive, somatic, and behavioural. The cognitive level involves worries and negative self appraisal (Hanin, 1997). This can be characterized by sense of confusion, feeling heavy, negative thoughts, poor concentration, fear, forgetfulness, loss of confidence, unable to decide, unable to take instructions, constant dissatisfaction, and defeatist self-talk. At cognitive level of anxiety an individual is subjected to failure thoughts which in turn affect his final results (Mackenzie, 2002). At somatic level, anxiety involves rapid heart beat, increased perspiration, shortness of breath and stress. Other somatic anxiety symptoms include: increased blood pressure, sweating, adrenaline surge, butterflies in the stomach, dry mouth, muscular tension, tightened neck and shoulder, trembling, distorted vision, twitching, yawning, pacing up and down, clammy hands and feet, voice distortion, vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite, sleeplessness and loss of libido (Mackenzie, 2002). At behavioural level, anxiety involves tension, agitation and restlessness. Other symptoms associated with behavioural anxiety include: biting fingernails, lethargic movements, inhibited posture, and playing safe, going through emotions introversion, fidgeting, and avoidance of eye contact (Mackenzie, 2002). There are two main types of anxiety; state anxiety (transient, situation specific dread) and trait anxiety (general, enduring trait of apprehension.). Arousal is a form of undifferentiated bodily energy or alertness which ranges on continuum from low during sleep to high during intense excitement. Whereas arousal involves undifferentiated energy, anxiety is an emotional label for a negatively interpreted arousal experience (Woodman, et al., 2001). For this matter, top athletes view pre-competitive arousal as a sign of excitement rather than anxiety. Hand in hand with this, Tiger Woods (2001) said; “the challenge is hitting good golf shots when you have to ... to do it when the nerves are fluttering, the heart pounding, the palms sweating …. That is the thrill”. According to Jones and Swan (1992), research suggests that arousal can have either a debilitative or facilitative effect on athlete’s performance depending on how he or she perceives it. Their findings established that anxiety scales need to measure direction as well as intensity of emotion. Causes of Anxiety The main causes of anxiety include: Predisposition of anxiety Perceived importance of the situation Negative attribution style like predicting poor performance to individual’s own ability Perfectionism Fear of failure Competition specific stress (Woodman, et al., 2001). Theories and Models of anxiety There are five main theories that best describe the relationship between arousal or anxiety and athletic performance. These include: Inverted-U Hypothesis; with regard to Oxendine (1984) arousal and performance are related in a curvilinear manner. Increase in arousal helps to improve performance up to a certain point beyond which further increase may impair it. The relationship between arousal and performance is approximated to an inverted U shape. Consequently, if athlete’s arousal increases beyond this point then his performance diminishes. This theory is understandable but it is hard to test empirically due to lack of independent measures of arousal and inadequate specification of point beyond which diminishing returns occur. Drive Theory: (Hull, 1943), established that there is a linear relationship between arousal and performance. This theory was largely rejected because of its inaccuracy and simplistic nature; it cannot explain why some athletes choke under high arousal. The Catastrophe Model: Hardy (1996) explains that arousal has different effects on sport performance depending on cognitive anxiety. He argued that, arousal increases performance when cognitive anxiety is low but may lead to a sudden catastrophic decline in performance when cognitive anxiety is relatively high. Many spectators support the catastrophe theory but its complexity makes it difficult to test. Processing efficiency theory: Eysenck and Calve (1992) suggested that anxiety can affect the processing efficiency; mediated by working memory resources, rather than task effectiveness. In this regard, they suggested that anxious athletes have to work extra hard in order to maintain same level of performance they would display if not anxious. This is a promising theory but it has been give little attention. Conscious processing hypothesis: Masters (1992) established that anxiety can cause paralysis by analysis by encouraging athletes to exert conscious control over previous automated skills. Following Masters Hypothesis, anxiety may reduce regression from implicit or automatic control to explicit or verbal control. Skills learned implicitly are resistant to effects of anxiety than skills taught explicitly (Masters, 1992). Despite these observations, this finding is not replicated consistently. In order to understand consequences of anxiety, sport psychologists must establish why athletes choke when under pressure. In this case, the term chocking refers to persistent problem where there is a sudden impairment or failure of athletic performance due to anxiety. This is usually demonstrated by the availability of anxiety symptoms and the feeling that the harder one tries, the worse is his performance (Woodman, et al., 2001). Chocking has afflicted many sports stars including Ian Woodman a golfer and Eric Bristow of darts. Chocking is mainly attributed to excessive self-consciousness and concerns with skill execution mechanism. How to measure Anxiety Various psychometric tests have been used by sports psychologists in order to understand and measure anxiety. It is necessary to make distinction between momentary states and permanent traits (Spielberger, 1966). He went ahead and established that, anxiety states (A-State) is the individual’s response to a specific situation like sky diving, and anxiety traits (A-traits) are the individual’s personal characteristics; the general personal anxiety level. Marten (1990) established that any measure of sport anxiety must consider cognitive anxiety (negative thoughts, worries) and somatic anxiety (physical response). The Competitive Anxiety Inventory considers the differences between A-state and A-trait and distinguishes between cognitive and somatic anxiety to measure anxiety. Anxiety tests in sport psychology entail both physiological and psychometric measures (Smith, et al., 1998). Physiological measures of arousal include the heart rate, blood pressure, and galvanic skin response. Although these physiological measures are significantly useful there is no single agreed physiological index of anxiety. Important to note, the perceptual factors like whether arousal should be interpreted positively or negatively implies that physiological anxiety measures are limited. Self-report tests of anxiety are convenient and popular measures in sport psychology. The typical state anxiety tests are Competitive Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens et al., 1990) and Mental Readiness Form (MRF; Krane, 1994). Another commonly used anxiety test is Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS; Smith et al., 1990). The CSAI-2 gives direction of anxiety scale that is essential in assessing whether anxiety is perceived as facilitative or debilitative of performance. Controlling competition anxiety Anxiety comprises of both state and trait dimensions that display themselves as cognitive and somatic symptoms. It is evident that an athlete with high anxiety trait is prone to be more anxious in stressful conditions. In order to curb anxiety among athletes both somatic (relaxation) and cognitive (mental imagery) techniques can be used. The following are the methods or techniques through which anxiety can be controlled. The Five Breath Technique: this exercise can be done in any body posture as the athlete may wish. For instance, it can be undertaken while the athlete is standing, lying down, or sitting upright. Under this technique the athlete to inhale slowly, deeply and evenly through the nose, and exhale gently through the mouth as if he is flickering, but not extinguishing the candle flame (Karageorphis, 2007). Below is the procedure of the five breath technique; Inhale deeply while allowing your face and neck to relax when exhaling i. The second inhalation should be deep while allowing shoulder and arms to relax as you exhale. ii. Take a third deep breath relaxing the chest, stomach, and back when breathing out. iii. Take a deep fourth inhalation and allow your legs and feet to relax as you breathe out. iv. Make a deep fifth breath and allow the whole body to relax as you exhale. v. Continue to breathe deeply as long as you need to, and every time you exhale say the word relax in your mind’s ear (Karageorphis, 2007). Banson’s relaxation response: this is a form of meditation that is designed for an individual to achieve a deep sense of relaxation and it is ideal for remaining calm in between rounds of competition. Within one week practice, this technique can be mastered as it comprises of seven easy steps (Karageorphis, 2007). i. Sit in a comfortable position and adopt a relaxed posture ii. Pick a short focus word that is of significant meaning for you and that you associate with relaxation like relax, smooth, calm, easy, etc. iii. Slowly close your eyes iv. Relax all muscles of your body v. Breathe smoothly and naturally, repeating the focus word vi. Be passive to prevent other thoughts from entering your mind vii. Repeat this process for 10 to 15 minutes (Karageorphis, 2007) Conclusion Anxiety as aforementioned is a natural reaction to threats in the immediate environment and or part of preparation for a fight or to flee. Anxiety creates a feeling of fear, worry, uneasiness and dread. In many cases anxiety is regarded as a normal reaction to a stressor. Anxiety has diverse consequences to athletes and therefore sport psychologist should strive understand anxiety and use appropriate anxiety control techniques to enhance athlete’s performance. References Burton, D. (1998). “Measuring Competitive State Anxiety”. In J. L. Duda (ed.), Advances in Sport and Exercise Psychology Measurement (pp. 129-48). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology Gould, D., Greenleaf, C., & Krane, V. (2002). “Arousal-Anxiety and Sport”. In T. Horn (ed.), Advances in Sport Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 207-41). Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Hanin, Y.L. (1997) Emotions and athletic performance: individual zones of optimal functioning. European Year Book of sports psychology, 1, p. 29-72 Karageorghis, C. (2007) Competition anxiety needn't get you down. Peak Performance, 243, p. 4-7 Mackenzie, B. (2002) Competitive Anxiety. Retrieved on 27/10/2011 from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/companx.html Martens, R. (1990) the Development of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). Human Kinetics Masters, R. S. W. (1992). Knowledge, Knerves and Know-How: The Role of Explicit Versus Implicit Knowledge in the Breakdown of Complex Motor Skill Under Pressure. British Journal of Psychology, 83, 345-58 Moran, A. P. (2004). Sport and Exercise Psychology: A Critical Introduction. London: Psychology Press/Routledge Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., & Wiechman, S.A. (1998). “Measurement of Trait Anxiety in Sport”. In J. L. Duda (ed.), Advances in Sport and Exercise Psychology Measurement (pp. 105-27). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology Spielberger, C.D. (1966) Anxiety and behaviour. Academic Press, New York Woodman, T., & Hardy, L. (2001). “Stress and Anxiety”. In R. N. Singer, H. A. Hausenblas & C. M. Janelle (eds.), Handbook of Sport Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 290-318). New York: John Wiley Yerkes and Dodson (1908) The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Neurological Psychology, (1908) Read More