Stress, Anxiety & Performance. Definitions Arousal Stress Anxiety State Trait Cognitive Somatic...

Stress, Anxiety & Performance

Definitions

• Arousal• Stress• Anxiety

– State– Trait– Cognitive– Somatic

• Physiological Arousal• Activation

What is somatic anxiety, how does it differ from physiological arousal, and does this make sense? (note: William James thought deeply about this in

1890)

Side note – James & emotion

• James on free will (and perhaps emergence)

• James on emotion

Cause and effect might not be as simple as you imagine

Just a little contrast with what comes later – see Wenger

Anxiety, arousal, & Performance

• So, there’s lots of kinds of arousal and anxiety.• How are they related to performance?

– There are several theories– First, how do you think they are related to

performance?– Think about it…how do anxiety and arousal

regulate performance for you?

Anxiety & Performance

• Making a start:– Drive theory (Hull & Spence, 1943; Zajonc, 1965)


• Next (for us, not in the research chronology):– The “Inverted-U hypothesis” & “Zones of optimal

functioning” (ZoF)


• Multidimensional anxiety theory– based on the distinction between cognitive

anxiety and somatic anxiety. The theory predicts:• a negative but linear relationship between cognitive

anxiety and performance • an inverted U relationship between somatic anxiety and

performance • Somatic anxiety should decline once performance

begins but cognitive anxiety may remain high if confidence is low

– ...hasn’t really got much support...yet


• Catastrophe Theory (Hardy & Fazey, 1987)

One example of the many models posited – the general idea is one of higher order interactions

(seems intuitively appealing to me)


• Catastrophe Theory/Models

A model showing hysteresis – a non-linear approach to the arousal performance relationship (this just illustrates one of the predictions of catastrophe

theory)


• Catastrophe Theory/Models Current evidence - effect of self-confidence

As self-confidence increases...


• Catastrophe Theory/Models Current evidence - hysteresis effects

Effort?“Asymmetry” factor

“Bifurcation” factor

“Cusp point”


• Catastrophe Theory/Models Current evidence - hysteresis effects

Effort?

Worry

Explanations fit a processing efficiency theory approach (see later)


• Reversal theory

This is one of those theories that tend to excite a lot of new age interests – intuitively appealing and popular in business, but short

on explanation


• Interpretation of anxiety states– Gives rise to measuring both intensity and

direction of anxiety response– Often, the direction predicts more variance (in

performance) than the intensity– Now some look at discrepancies between self-

ideals and actual states...• Carver, Lawrence, and Scheier’s (1999) interaction self-

discrepancy framework• Higgins’ (1987) self-discrepancy theory


• Interpretation of anxiety states: self-confidence & anxiety– E.g. Beattie, Hardy, Woodman (2004)


• E.g. Beattie, Hardy, Woodman (2004)Step 1: identify these “selves” in terms of levels of self-confidence

Step 2: identify actual levels of self-confidence and anxiety prior to competition

Step 3: calculate discrepancies

Step 4: association of discrepancies with performance & anxiety?


• Anxiety and self-confidence:– Bandura (1986) high self-efficacy implies trying harder

• Close to ought/ideal high S-C better performance than those who are far from ought/ideal (who will have low S-C)

– But...Carver & Scheier (1999): discrepancy between actual and ought level of S-C extra effort to redress discrepancy• Those with higher actual/ought discrepancy should outperform those with little

discrepancy


• Self-confidence and performance, another note:


• Self-confidence and performance, another note:

Note decrease in self-confidence, but increase in performance score (no sig. change in the effort measure)

Explanations/Theories

• Processing efficiency theory (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992)– Worry: • drains attentional resources (reduced attention

available for the task)• Signals importance of task, assigning more attentional

resources if deemed necessary• Thus as worry increases, effort can also increase

– Implies that cognitive anxiety can be negative (unpleasant), but motivating• (results in extra effort, and thus improved performance,

provided eventual success is still believed possible)


• Conscious processing hypothesis– Reinvestment of declarative knowledge under

high anxiety– Tied to ideas of explicit/implicit learning, use of

process vs. outcome goals (see KNR 406) and so on

Anxiety and Performance

• Anxiety types, or intensities– Choking vs. panic• Kennedy vs. Novotna (New Yorker,

2000)– Panic is blind fear?– Choking is considered failure?– Choking is the domain of everyone

(maybe most spectacularly of the expert?), panic of the inexperienced, perhaps?

– Stereotype threat (Beilock et at, 2006)» See conscious reinvestment

theories (Masters, et al.)

Anxiety and Performance

• ...and working memory


• Theory of Ironic processing (Wegner, multiple citations)– Cool!• Tricia’s presentation

– Ever laid awake in bed and thought: “I mustn't think about that exam, so I can get to sleep”

– What happens next?


• Theory of Ironic processing (Wegner, multiple citations)– Similar performance expectations to the conscious

processing hypothesis– Based on the notion that “free will” is a lot more

complicated than one might first think


• Theory of Ironic processing (Wegner, multiple citations)– Mental control: intentional operations + ironic

monitoring• Under increased mental load...monitoring outweighs

operating, people focus on that which they are trying to avoid, and disaster ensues• Another area that has taken off, though not in sports

psychology as much as mainstream psychology


• Theory of Ironic processing (Wegner, multiple citations)

• Operating process: carry out intended actions (conscious/effortful)• Monitoring process: check that all’s well [if not, renew]

(unconscious/automatic)– Suppression: operating process searches for distractors, while

monitor searches for the unwanted thought– mental load lessens operator function but not monitor, so

ironic thoughts pop up even more frequently


• Theory of Ironic processing (Wegner, multiple citations)

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