1. Self-efficacy = self-confidence in a
Performance particular situation
accomplishments
Vicarious experience
Self-efficacy
judgements
Verbal/social
persuasion
Emotional arousal

2. Anxiety - 3 dimensions
COGNITIVE SOMATIC
• State Anxiety –
Situation Specific. ANXIETY
Role, Place,
competition
• Trait Anxiety – A
General feeling of
Apprehension
BEHAVIOURAL

3. Theories linking anxiety & arousal to performance
Theory Source Comments
Inverted U Yearkes & A difficult theory to test, predicts a relationship between arousal and
Dodson (1908) performance as inverted U shape
Drive Theory Zajonc (1965) Over simplistic, fails to appriciate the different personalities of the
performer and the context of the performer
Catastrophe Hardy (1996) Suggests that arousal has different effects on sports performance
model depending on cognitive anxiety. Arousal will increase performance
when cognitive anxiety is low, but may lead to a sudden catastrophic
decline in performance when cognitive anxiety is high
Processing Eysenck & Anxiety may effect processing efficiency rather than task effectiveness.
efficiency Calva Anxious athletes have to work harder to maintain the same levels of
theory performance they would display if they were not anxious.
Choking ‘The inability to perform to an athlete’s optimum performance – sudden
impairment or failure of sports performance due to anxiety’
Why is it that sometimes the harder you try the worse you get!!!?
Over concern about situation, competition, ability, team mates etc?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/13185266.stm

4. Graphs for theories
Draw the Catastrophe theory…

5. Aggression Vs Assertion
Assertion is defined as ‘the
Aggression is defined as ‘intent to
use of legitimate force within
harm outside the laws of the
a game to win and not
game’
necessarily to harm’
Where aggression is controlled and channeled it becomes assertion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-25s4uwFQ
Instinct Theory (Freud 1933) Frustration/aggression hypothesis
Aggression is an innate biological drive in Due to certain acts in sport we become
humans to dominate (nature) frustrated as our goals are blocked
Thus leading to aggression
Social Learning Theory (Bandura 1977)
We learn to be aggressive by watching
What causes you to become others (nurture)
aggressive? Whatever aggression we are born with is
culturally overridden

6. Questions…
2. Bandura suggested that self-efficacy is influenced by four factors. Identify and apply
these factors to a sport of your choice. (8 marks)
3. As a coach of a sports team how would you raise an individuals level of self efficacy? (4
marks)
4. Discuss the possible relationships between anxiety and performance in sporting
activities. (12 marks)
5. High levels of arousal have often been linked with stress. Sketch a graph showing the
relationship between the performance of a complex skill and level of arousal. (2 marks)
6. Add a second curve to your graph showing how the performance of a simple skill might
me affected by arousal. (2 marks)
7. With reference to sporting performance, explain how cognitive and somatic anxiety differ.
(5 marks)
8. Using examples from sport, briefly describe the differences between aggression and
assertion. (2 marks)
9. Explain in more detail what is meant by social learning when applied to aggression. (4
marks)
10. The aggressive cue hypothesis (Berkowitz, 1969), is a theory which explains why
aggression may be explained by sports performers. Using an example from sport,
describe the aggressive cue hypothesis. (4 marks)

7. Choking usually occurs when a performer is overly
concerned with what others think about the performance
So we need to formulate strategies to overcome anxiety & as a result choking…
What do you do before a big event? Sporting or otherwise.
• Set your own achievable goals
• Use imagery before a competition to review strategy and technique
and create a sense of confidence
• Use positive talk, both in preparation and in competition
• Practice relaxation sessions – somatic (physical, progressive
muscular relaxation) and cognitive (mental, centering)
• Use music prior to a competition to help maintain focus by controlling
negative thoughts
• Behavioral coping skills – understand that pressure is a perception
not a fact, requires a change in attitude so that a pressure situation
becomes enjoyable.
• Performance monitoring – watch races and identify what they like
when they produce a good performance
• Simulation training – practice under conditions that mimic anticipated
pressure situations

8. Do large, supportive crowds help the home team in terms
of motivation?
Varca (1980) “A crowd leads to increased arousal of
performers”
Links to social facilitation, aggression, and arousal
theories
Are players more aggressive away from home?
What about supporters? (Dysfunctional Behaviour –
football hooliganism)

9. The crowd effect:
Social facilitation, social inhibition,
evaluation apprehension,
environmental conditions

10. The Crowd Effect Does the presence of ‘others’
influence arousal therefore,
affecting performance?
Social Facilitation
Zajonk (1965) “The influence
other people can have on
performance”
Co-actors – teammates and
opponents
(Interactive Others – direct
interference)
Audience – spectators
(Passive Others – no direct
interference)

11. Social Inhibition
“The negative effect of an audience
on a performer”
Effects – Arousal levels,
Competitive Drive,
Speed of Performance
Triplett (1898) found that cyclists
performance improved by 30%
when they were riding in a group
Ringelmann effect (1913)
‘performance improvement up to a
certain number but when group
size gets too big ‘social loafing
occurs – due to a loss in
motivation’

12. Drive theory
Zajonk (1965) Link between
arousal and performance SO
Audience increases arousal Audience + skilled performer =
improved performance
Learned behaviours tend to be
Audience + novice performer =
our dominant response reduced performance
---------------------
Performance affected by the
following factors: Dominant
Response
• Presence of others increases
performers arousal
• Presence of others promotes
performers dominant response
• Expert performer/simple skill =
correct response
• Novice performer/complex skill =
incorrect response

13. How do you cope with crowds?
• Practice selective attention
to cut out negative
awareness of others
• Use cognitive visualisation,
(imagery and mental
rehearsal), to help focus
• Ensure skills are grooved
to ensure successful
dominant response under
pressure
• Practice with simulated
crowd
• Stress management and
relaxation techniques

14. Evaluation Apprehension
(Cottrell 1972)
‘The worry that those watching are
assessing performance quality’
Leads to increased arousal and the
resulting dominant performance!

15. The importance of Competition
Martens et al (1998) –
Theory of competitive Strategies for
state anxiety Coping
(with
‘Competitive anxiety is defined as an competitive
individual’s tendency to perceive
competitive situations as
anxiety)
threatening and to respond to
these situations by experiencing TASK
state anxiety’
The more important the competition Read the information on
the higher the level of state pages 38 and 39.
anxiety Give one specific
example of how each
An athlete’s perception of external of the four techniques
sources is the key to anxiety! may be used by a
(media, audience etc) player in your chosen
sport

16. Environmental factors
These include the physical and
climatic setting but also the
crowd, competitors (teammates
and opponents), coaches and
media
Novice performers perform best in
low arousal environments
What does this mean?
An aggressive or close crowd
might make a performer more
anxious or more aggressive
A supportive crowd may reassure
performers
Playing home or away may also
have an effect on performance
Adverse climatic conditions (temp,
wind, humidity) may also affect a
performer (the more experienced
players will cope better)

17. Questions…
2. What is meant by social facilitation and what is its
main effect? (3 marks)
3. What effects can be experienced by an individual
if there is an audience present? (6 marks)
4. What is meant by evaluation apprehension? (2
marks)
5. As a coach of an individual who is affected
adversely by the presence of an audience, how
would you help him or her to overcome the
negative influences? (4 marks)