Arousal Theory

7/30/2019 Arousal Theory

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AROUSAL THEORY

Relationship to performance.

Arousal & attentional narrowing.

Drive theory / Inverted U theory /

Catastrophe theory.


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USEFUL DEFINITIONS

Arousal can be defined as:

a state of readiness to perform that helps

motivate performers the energised state, or the readiness for action

that motivates a performer to behave in a

particular way

physiological state of alertness & anticipation

which prepares the body for action


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Theories of Arousal

We need the appropriate level of arousal / activationfor the action we are to perform (known asoptimal arousal), whether it is digesting a meal orcatching a cricket ball.

The effects of arousal can be either positive ornegative.

High arousal can cause us to worry & becomeanxious, which is negative if it isnt controlled.

Raising arousal level can also cause a state ofreadiness to perform this is largely a positive

aspect & can enhance performance.


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DRIVE THEORY (Hu ll , 1951)(NBdrive: directed, motivated or energised behaviour that

an individ ual has towards achieving a certain goal)

Key component is performers level of skill &sees the relationship between arousal &

performance as linear: performance increases inproportion to arousal.

A very high arousal level would result in a highperformance level, provided skill is well-learned.

However, if the skill is not well-learned,performance of skill will deteriorate as arousal

increases.


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Drive theory conti..

This theory helps explain why beginners find itdifficult to perform well under pressure. Often

beginners skill level decreases if they arecompeting in a relay race using new skills, e.g.football dribbling race.

However, also explains how experienced athletesperform better under pressure using well-learnedskills, e.g. good tennis players play better againststronger opposition.

Clearly the impact of arousal on performance iscomplex, consider the following:


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Ed Moses, Olympic medal winner (1976 & 84400m hurdles) said the way I get the best out is

by not expecting an easy race. Its easier when

theres pressure. You get emotional & you go outto perform.

Bob Tisdall described a fellow Cambridge studentwho desperately wanted to win a race for the

university to get a blue. He especially stayed ona fourth year to have another chance. Tisdallreported that the student froze in the starting

blocks in the finals. We had to pick him up and he

was stiff, like a corpse.


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Arousal improved Ed Moses performance

but devastated the performance of the

Cambridge student. Both athletes wereperforming well-learned tasks. Drive theory

fails to explain this outcome, & its focus on

the well-learned task cannot be applied tothe many sports skills which combine both

well-learned & novel elements.


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Inverted U theory

(Yerkes & Dodson, 1908)

An increase in arousal causes improvement

in performance up to an optimal point

(moderate arousal level). After this point,increased arousal leads to deteriorated

performance.


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Inverted U theory conti..

This theory accounts for some of the criticisms of thedrive theory and this inverted U relationshipexists in a number of different circumstances:

1. Activity typefine movements & complex

skills (which require large amount of attention)require a lower arousal level, e.g. putting in golf/ snooker shots / pistol shooting (high arousalinterferes with fine muscle movement, co-

ordination & concentration). Whereas tacklingin football or rugby requires a high level ofarousal (which helps skills requiring speed orstrength).


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2. Level of expertisea beginner needs onlyvery low levels of arousal to perform well.

Because control of the skill is not yet

automatic, i.e. a novice may loseconcentration or become anxious,

therefore low levels result in optimum

performance. In contrast, such low levels

of arousal will have no effect on the elite

performer, who needs much higher levels

to produce optimum performance


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3. Personalitypersonality types who enjoyhigh levels of excitement & are generally

more extrovert can cope in a high-arousal

situation. People who are more introvertedare general more likely to perform well

under low-arousal conditions.


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Catastrophe theory(Hardy,1988 & 96)

Sports psychologists have noted thatperformance does not always graduallydecrease as arousal increases, as shown inthe inverted U theory. Instead many top

sports people go to pieces in the big event.Catastrophe theory shows a much more

dramatic decline in performance.


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Catastrophe theory conti.

The theory takes into account that anxiety (negativereaction of performer to stress) can be of twotypes:

1. Somatic anxietyphysiological, e.g. sweating

2. Cognitive anxietypsychological, e.g. worryabout failing. (NBcognitive most crucial in

determining performers reaction to high levelsof stress).


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Catastrophe theory conti.The catastrophe theory concludes that increases in

levels of cognitive anxiety will help performanceif somatic anxiety is low. So if the body is relaxed

but the performer is feeling anxious then thisanxiety can help to improve performance.

If there is an increase in cognitive anxiety & somaticanxiety is high then performance will decline.

If there are high levels of cognitive anxiety & thereis a continuous increase in somaticanxiety/physiological arousal then performancecan suddenly deterioratea catastrophicresponse.

If after this catastrophic effect, arousal decreases,then performance will once again improve but not

back to its originally optimum level.


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Arousal & attentional

narrowingThere is a limited amount of attentional capacity

available at any one time.

The attention capacity that we have at any one timeis related to our level of arousal. When we arelethargic our capacity is low, but it increases asarousal increases. This partly explains the valueof arousal to effective performance.

However, if arousal continues to increase it beginsto have a damaging effect & research within sport

psychology has contributed to our understandingof whats happening!


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Attentional narrowing conti

Landers et al (1985), studied relationship betweenarousal, attention & performance, finding that atlow levels of arousal the performer picks up bothappropriate & inappropriate cues.

At this level, the performer has a broad attentionalfield,

e.g. footballer:- sees opposition players/teammates/movements/speed/direction/ position of ball / distance

between ball & players/positions on pitch/ hear

instructions from teammates, manager/ refereeswhistle/crowd. He will also hear his own breathing/sound of passing train/billboards/lights of stadium etc.

Footballer will not perform well because of broadattentional field!


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Attentional narrowing conti

As his arousal increases, his attention narrows& the irrelevant cues are ignored. Thisattentional narrowing enables him to

focus on relevant cues & so he performswell.

However, if arousal continues, his attentioncontinues to narrow & his performance will

deteriorate. There may be several reasonsfor this deterioation:

Att ti l i ti


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Attentional narrowing conti Too much arousal may undermine athletes ability

to narrow his attentional focus.

Arousal increases immediately before performanceof fine motor task causes additional attentionalnarrowing which seems to damage performance.

Attentional narrowing causes player to scan

attentional field less often or use his dominantattentional style, rather than several attentionalstyles as the occasion demands.

Although the effects of attentional narrowing create ahandicap for our footballer, who needs to be awareof all that is happening around him, itsadvantageous to the gymnast because a narrow

attentional focus enables her to shut out distractions.

Arousal Theory

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