ANXIETY SELF-EFFICACY LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

ANXIETY Anxiety can be defined as: ‘an emotional state, similar to fear, associated with physiological (somatic) and psychological (cognitive) arousal and with feelings of nervousness and apprehension.’ i.e. a subjective feeling of apprehension & worry. It is negative aspect of stress response. Anxiety has four components: trait anxiety, state anxiety, cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety.

Components of anxiety Trait Anxiety:- ‘a behavioural disposition which predisposes a person to perceive objectively non-dangerous circumstances as threatening & response to these with state anxiety levels disproportionate to the level of threat.’ (i.e. a general tendency to be worried or apprehensive)

Components of anxiety conti… State Anxiety:- ‘an emotional response to particular situations, characterised by feelings of nervousness & apprehension.’ (NB- worry & apprehension felt in relation to a particular event)

Components of anxiety conti… Cognitive Anxiety:- ‘the emotional feeling of worry or apprehension in a particular situation, i.e. just before an important game.’ brought about by thoughts & perceptions. Is directly negatively related to performance; that is you will perform best when you are least worried & vice versa.

Components of anxiety conti… Somatic Anxiety:- ‘a physiological dimension of state anxiety, causing increases in heart & breathing rates, ‘butterflies’ and increased perspiration.’ The perception of physical arousal This anxiety is related to performance as shown in the inverted-U curve, that is, low & high levels of somatic anxiety lead to low levels of performance & best performance is achieved with moderate levels of somatic anxiety.

Components of anxiety conti… The levels of both forms of anxiety (somatic & cognitive) which can be be tolerated by performers depends on their levels of self-confidence. i.e. if a team has a high level of confidence in each other & in their ability to win, they can cope with moments in the game when things seem to be going badly & when the outcome seems to be in doubt. They will still be worried, but this will not affect their game unduly.

Components of anxiety conti… Trait anxiety is a personality variable. If a person has a high trait anxiety, he/she tends to be fearful of unfamiliar situations & to response with obvious anxiety symptoms. State anxiety is an emotional response, often temporary & relates to particular situations, e.g. if nervous before dance production but not a team game, then showing state anxiety in relation to dance. People with high trait anxiety usually have higher state anxiety in competitive or evaluative situations than those with low trait anxiety.

S.C.A.T. test Martens developed a sport-specific competitive trait anxiety measure, the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT). It is helpful in investigating anxiety in sportspeople because it deals specifically with sport. Note, it is a test of competitive trait anxiety.

S.C.A.T. test research Results from SCAT research has suggests that:- Competitive trait anxiety & pre-game state anxiety are correlated. High trait anxiety tends to cause high pre-game state anxiety. Winners tend to experience less post-game anxiety than do losers.

Management of anxiety IMAGERY & MENTAL REHERSAL RELAXATION TECHNIQUES BIOFEEDBACK

Self-efficacy Bandura (1977) stated; self-confidence can often be specific to a particular situation & referred to this as self-efficacy. The ‘expectation that they will be competent & successful in a particular task’. People who expect to be confident in a particular situation are more likely to choose that activity. People with high levels of self-efficacy try harder & persist longer, whereas those low in self-efficacy give up in the face of difficulty, attribute failure to internal causes (they blame themselves), & experience greater anxiety ordepression.

Self-efficacy Bandura suggests that expectations of efficacy are the major reasons for: Our choice of activity. Amount of effort we put into it. Degree of persistance we show. In other words, expectations of efficacy explain motivation. (def- Self-confidence in a specific situation affecting motivation)

Self-efficacy: activity 1 Write down the situations in your sport where you feel a low sense of self-efficacy. How do you account for these feelings of low self-confidence?

Factors affecting self-efficacy Our expectations of self-efficacy depends on four sources of information:

Factors affecting self-efficacy conti… Performance accomplishments: Pervious experiences provide information from which self-efficacy develops. Past success, especially if attributed to controllable factors, increases self-efficacy. Probably has the strongest influence on self-efficacy. Once self-efficacy is established the individual is better able to tolerate some failure. If past experience is of failure, leads to low self-efficacy.

Factors affecting self-efficacy conti… Vicarious experiences: Means watching others successfully perform the task. After observing successful models, individuals usually approach his/her own efforts with more confidence. If the model (being observed) is of similar age or ability and is successful, then this may lead to higher self-efficacy.

Factors affecting self-efficacy conti… Verbal persuasion: Encouraging the performer to think they can do the task, thus increasing confidence in that situation. i.e. a team-mate who says ‘come on, you can do it’ may increase self-efficacy. If the person doing the encouragement is of high status to the performer, then self-efficacy is more likely to be raised. Persuasion does not appear to be a very powerful influence on self-efficacy.

Factors affecting self-efficacy conti… Arousal: The way the performer interprets the arousal they feel will affect their feelings of confidence. Research with swimmers, cricketers & gymnasts suggests that positive perceptions of arousal are related to higher levels of confidence. Mental rehearsal or physical relaxation can lead to higher confidence levels and a calmer approach.

Factors affecting self-efficacy conti… Bandura proposed that these four sources of self-efficacy combine to increase expectations of success, which inturn affects performance. Self-efficacy is dynamic. It will vary due to these four factors & how they interact together. Thus, self-efficacy is the mediating variable – the link between these four sources & athletic performance.

Factors affecting self-efficacy conti… Successful performance Vicarious experiences efficacy expectations athletic performance Verbal persuasion Arousal

Self-efficacy: activity 2 You would like a fellow student to attempt a high jump but he has low self-confidence. Using bandura’s four factors which influence self-efficacy, state how you would try & raise the athlete’s self-efficacy in this situation.

Self-efficacy: activity 2 solution Try to give him/her initial success by lowering the bar to start with or using some flexi-rope. Demonstrate how it can be done or, if you are much better than them, use someone of similar ability. An actual demonstration (live modelling) can be more effective in raising self-confidence than a video recording. Verbally encourage the athlete. Tell them that he should ‘have a go’, that you think he will succeed. Tell him that to be worried is a natural, very positive response because it prepares the body well Teach him/her some relaxation techniques or mental rehersal.

Learned helplessness Q - What is it? ‘tendency for a performer to give up or to avoid challenging situations because in the past they have been unsuccessful in similar situations; they feel that failure is inevitable.’ ‘psychological state that makes people give up very easily if a task seems difficult.’ ‘belief that failure is inevitable & a feeling of hopeless when faced with a particular situation.’ ‘an extreme lack of motivation and a feeling of hopelessness. Caused by reinforcement of failure.’

Learned helplessness conti… There are two types of learned helplessness: Specific LH (one sport). Example: ‘I am hopeless at gymnastics because I keep losing my balance’. Global LH (all sport). Example: ‘I am hopeless at all sport, therefore I avoid doing any sport however much fun it might be’.

Learned helplessness conti… The result of learned helplessness is that the individual will become passive & lose the motivation to act. People vary in the degree to which they succumb to learned helplessness, depending on their beliefs as to why they are unsuccessful – if they attribute failure to an unstable factor then they are more likely to keep trying. Low achievers often attribute their failure to uncontrollable factors. If LH is reinforced by the high status of others who are succeeding, then new peers can be found who are roughly equal in ability.

Learned helplessness conti… Everyday example of LH: Ask a non-sporting friend why they don’t join the badminton club, the initial response may well be ‘I don’t like sport’. However, if you persist you may get answers such as ‘I’m no good at badminton’, ‘I was never any good & never will be’ or ‘I’m useless at all sport’. The above is learned helplessness!

Strategies to combat the adoption of learned helplessness As learned helplessness is related to motivational factors, self motivational techniques may help to limit the effects of learned helplessness. Imagery / visualization of success may help. Set achievable short-term goals. Raise self-esteem by having more self-belief. Somatic stress management / relaxation. Meditation to mentally practice success.

Summary of learned helplessness LH is a lack of motivation due to a feeling of hopelessness. LH is caused by reinforcement of failure.