Chapter 6 Hagger & Chatzisarantis Emotion and Anxiety in Sport

Definition of terms AnxietyAnger HappinessGuilt Emotion Mood states Affect Mood

Arousal and Anxiety Definition of Anxiety Negative, maladaptive emotional state characterised by nervousness, worry, and apprehension with concomitant physiological activation Associated with an inability to cope with environmental stressors (Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2005)

Multidimentionality Anxiety Theory (CSAI-2; Martens et al., 1990) Cognitive Anxiety = Perceptions related to state of anxiety e.g. “worried”, “anxious” Somatic Anxiety = Physiological symptoms of anxiety e.g. butterflies in stomach, galvanic skin response Self-Confidence = Positive emotional statements regarding future performance e.g. confident, positive Arousal and Anxiety

I feel nervous Example Items from CSAI-2 Following are several statements that athletes have used to describe their feelings before competition. Think of a competition in which you have recently participated. Read each statement and then tick the appropriate box to the right of the statement to indicate how you felt at that moment. There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t spend too much time on any one statement, but choose the answer that best describes your feelings at that particular time. (Please tick one box) Not at allSomewhatModerately So Very Much So I am concerned about this competition

Definition of Arousal General physiological and psychological activation varying from deep sleep to intense excitation  State Anxiety = Feelings of nervousness, worry and apprehension in a given situation, changeable Trait Anxiety = General disposition that results in a person interpreting objectively non- threatening events as threatening and results in a disproportionately high anxiety response Arousal and Anxiety

Trait Anxiety Arousal Somatic State Anxiety Cognitive State Anxiety Trait States State Anxiety Self- Confidence Arousal and Anxiety

Mediational Model of Hierarchical Anxiety and Performance State Cognitive Anxiety Competitive Trait Anxiety Trait States State Somatic Anxiety State Self- Confidence Sport Performance Behaviour

The Role of Stress Definition of Stress “A substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet that demand has important consequences” McGrath (1970, p.20 )

Anxiety-Performance Relationship How does anxiety affect performance Is it a clear negative effect?  Craft et al. (2003) conducted a meta- analysis across 29 studies  Found small corrected relationships:  Cognitive anxiety (b = -.13, p <.05)  Somatic anxiety (b = -.09, p <.05)  Self-confidence (b =.36, p <.05)

Performance Physiological Arousal Low High Spence and Spence (1966) Drive Theory Anxiety and Performance

Performance Physiological Arousal Low High Landers and Boutcher (1986) The ‘Inverted-U’ Hypothesis Sprinter Pool Player Anxiety and Performance

Anxiety and Cognition How does anxiety affect sports performance? White (1998): High-ego, low-task competitors interpreted competitive situations as anxiety- provoking Dickson and McLeod (2004): Avoidance goals most strongly associated with increased cognitive anxiety Yoo (2003): Intervention to induce a task- oriented motivational climate reduced cognitive and somatic anxiety levels

Intensity and Direction in Anxiety (Jones et al., 1992, 1993, 1995) Anxiety alone not as important as INTERPRETATION of anxiety Two dimensions of anxiety Intensity = Degree of state anxiety experienced by athlete in a given situation Direction = Evaluation of anxiety as being positive and helping performance (facilitative) or negative and harmful to performance (debilitative)

 No differences in ‘levels’ / ‘intensity’ of anxiety  Elite or ‘expert’ athletes tended to view anxiety as facilitative  Strong relationships in Gymnasts and Swimmers between facilitative interpretation and performance (Jones and Swain, 1992; Jones, Swain and Hardy, 1993) Intensity and Direction in Anxiety (Jones et al., 1992, 1993, 1995)

Promoting a Facilitative Interpretation  Interviewed competitive swimmers and tested their anxiety levels and DIRECTION prior to competition  Interviews revealed key strategies among those with high-facilitative interpretations:  Activation (mantras, visualisation)  Restructuring (positive thoughts, reinterpreting)  Confidence-building (imagery, training log)  Relaxation (imagery, PNF)  (Hanton and Jones, 1999a; 1999b)

Hardy’s (1990)Catastrophe Theory Performance Physiological Arousal Low High Performance Low High Low cognitive anxiety High cognitive anxiety

Individualised Optimal Zone of Functioning (IZOF) Out of Zone In Zone (Best Performance) Out of Zone In Zone (Best Performance) Out of Zone In Zone (Best Performance) Athlete A (Low IZOF) Athlete B (Moderate IZOF) Athlete C (High IZOF) State Anxiety Level Hanin (1980, 1986, 1997)

Mood States in Sport “Mood” is often considered a series of emotional states that are less intense and more enduring that emotions Morgan (1980): Use the POMS to produce an “Iceberg Profile” for elite performers Cockerill et al. (1999): POMS explained little variance in sport performance Rowley et al. (1995): Iceberg profile consistent across performers, but effect on performance small (d =.15)

Morgan’s (1980) Iceberg Profile TensionDepressionAngerVigourFatigueConfusion Successful Performer Less- Successful Performer

Mood States in Sport Beedie et al. (2000): Made distinction between “absolute” and “relative” performance in sport – Rowley did not – and found: Absolute performance: d =.10 (small) Relative performance: d =.31 (medium) Also found moderate effect sizes for individual scales, positive for “vigour” and negative for “tension” and “depression” Important to make distinctions between mood components

Implications for Practice  Identify optimal arousal for best performance  Recognise the interaction between personal and situational factors in producing anxiety response  Recognise signs of increased arousal  Develop confidence in performers to help cope with anxiety  Foster a task involved motivational climate  Cognitive reappraisal techniques