1. Anxiety
How It Can Make Or Break One’s Performance

2. How can Anxiety be Useful?
Anxiety can be used as motivation
The fear can increase effort and preparation
“The capacity to experience anxiety and the capacity to plan are two sides of the same coin”(Barlow,2002)
Increases arousal/possible better performance
Demonstrates that you care

3. How can Anxiety be Harmful
Cloudiness of the mind
Changes in muscle tension
Negative focus
Reduced intrinsic enjoyment
Lack of confidence in team or self

4. Brief Anxiety Review Cognitive & Somatic Anxiety
Trait and state anxiety
Arousal
Self confidence

5. Anxiety and Sport Performance
With Amateur Athletes
Increased levels of anxiety are found in individual sports rather than team sports(wrestling, tennis, golf, shooting)

6. Different strokes for Different folks
Successful athletes interpret arousal to be facilitative
The more experience(confidence) an athlete had the lower the level of cognitive anxiety
This research was supported by a group of tennis players and swimmers
Obviously, the novice players did not compete as well as the advanced athletes

7. Coping with our anxiety
Different Models relating arousal and performance
Communication- Do not bottle anything up
Self Imagery- Visualize, plan, goal setting
Improving self confidence- may act as a protective factor from cognitive anxiety
Relaxation techniques-Used to reduce both cognitive and somatic anxiety

8. PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL EXERCISE

9. A Successful Imagery Routine
Selection of skill to be imagined
Bring technique into focus
Practice skill in “real time”
(Butler, 1996)

10. THE BIATHALON CASE STUDY
HIGH PRESSURE SHOOTER
THE BIATHALON CASE STUDY

11. The Biathlon Case Study
Each athlete was put into separate groups
Low Pressure
High Pressure
Task: To test the visual attention and focus under separate low and high pressure conditions
Factors: Each athlete was prescribed individual power outputs on a cycle ergometer before the shooting event
To summarize- The study was to test how Physiological arousal, cognitive anxiety, and gaze control affect performance

12. CHOKE! CHOKE!
Choking under pressure is defined as “the failure to perform up to what ever skill or ability the person has at the time”(Baumeister, 1984)
Choking under pressure is associated with changes in visual attention

13. LP GROUP
The “Low Pressure” group was told that the only goal behind this study was to, test their target fixation after certain power output levels.

14. HP GROUP
The “High Pressure” group was told that the National team coach was present
They were also told that, he would use their shooting percentages in National Team Selections.
Prizes were rewarded to most accurate shooters

15. Different Measurements Were Made
Physiological arousal
Heart rate
Rate of perceived exertion
Anxiety
Precompetitive cognitive anxiety/worry
Gaze Control
Measured the duration of the final fixation on the target

16. Results Each athlete was looked at individually
3 shooters were able to perform at high level in the HP condition
The reaming 7 percent at a low level choked under pressure

17. Cool, Calm, Collected

18. Butler’s Mnemonic Pressure Device
P-repare
R-elax
E-xternalize
S-tay positive
S-Single Minded
U- unite
R-evaluate
E-xtend yourself

19. How anxious are you?? THE SCAT THE CSAI-2
Sport Competition Anxiety test
THE CSAI-2
Competitive State Anxiety Inventory
Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, and Smith (1990)

20. References
Butler (1996). Sport Psychology In Action. Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford, England Humara, Miguel. "The Relationship Between Anxiety and Performance A Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective." Athletic Insight 1.2 (1999): 1-9. Print Joan N. Vickers & A. Mark Williams (2007): Performing Under Pressure: The Effects of Physiological Arousal, Cognitive Anxiety, and Gaze Control in Biathlon, Journal of Motor Behavior, 39:5, Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R. S., Bump, L. A., and Smith, D. E. (1990). Development and Validation of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory - 2. In R. Martens, R. S. Vealey & D. Burton (Eds.), Competitive Anxiety in Sport, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, Murphy, Shane M. The Sport Psych Handbook. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, Print.