Personality and behaviour

• Arousal is a physical and mental state of alertness or readiness

  People are always on a continuum from very aroused (feeling alert, excited and ready for anything). To very low arousal (very deep sleep)
• Arousal can cause increase in heart rate and sweating
• Inverted U theory


  As arousal increases so does performance. Up to the optimal level. If arousal increases further, performance will decrease.
• At low arousal levels, performance quality is low. This is described as under-arousal or boredom and might be experienced by an elite tennis player playing a lowly ranked opponent.
• At high arousal levels, performance quality deteriorates. This can be described as panic and might explain why a football player performs very poorly when their team is losing 3-0.
• Gross movements require higher levels of arousal
• Fine movements require lower levels of arousal
• Ways to control and optimise arousal


  • Deep breathing
  • positive self talk
  • mental rehearsal/visualtisation
• There are 2 types of aggression - direct aggression and indirect aggression
• How does mental rehearsal help with arousal


  • Reduce anxiety
  • Build confidence
  • Improve concentration
  • Improve results
• Use of indirect aggression

  • There is no physical harm caused, only ‘mental’ harm. The idea is to intimidate (scare) the opposition and make them feel less confident.
• Examples of indirect aggression

  • Volleying the ball hard in tennis to win a point but also to put off an opponent.
• Direct aggression involves physical contact
• Indirect aggression doesn't involve physical contact
• Introverts

  • Introverts are usually shy, quiet and thoughtful.
  • Introverts do not need a high level of arousal.
  • Introverts can easily become over-aroused.
  • Prefer individual precision sports
• Extroverts

  • Extroverts are sociable, enthusiastic, talkative and get bored easily.
  • Extroverts need high levels of arousal to motivate them and to prevent boredom.
  • Prefer team sports and often become leaders within the team
• Motivation is the drive or desire to achieve something. It can be either intrinsic or extrinsic
•  Intrinsic motivation:

  • comes from within.
  • success gives the person a sense of pride or accomplishment/satisfaction
  • Their sense of self-worth increases
  • When motivation comes from within it can result in a higher level of personal achievement
  • More effective than extrinsic motivation
•  Extrinsic motivation:

  • The drive to perform well or win for external rewards such as prizes or trophies
  • Extrinsic motivation could be something tangible such as money or a medal or intangible such as praise or applause
  • Performers may become reliant on extrinsic feedback
  • This may undermine their intrinsic feedback
  • Can result in an unhealthy sense of pride