Arousal

• What does motivation relate to in behavior?

  Intensity and direction of behavior
• What does arousal represent in motivation?

  The intensity aspect of motivation
• What are the two types of arousal?

  Somatic and cognitive
• How can arousal influence performance?

  It can be a positive or negative influence
• What is drive in the context of arousal?

  Directed, motivated behavior towards a goal
• What does arousal signify in terms of readiness?

  The energised state for action
• What is somatic arousal related to?

  Changing physiological state of the body
• What is cognitive arousal related to?

  Changing psychological state of the body
• What happens to a performer as arousal increases?

  Readiness and expectation increase
• What can happen if arousal gets too high?

  A performer can lose concentration
• What are the three theories of arousal?

  1. Drive theory
  2. Inverted U theory
  3. Catastrophe theory
• What does drive theory demonstrate?

  A linear relationship between performance and arousal
• What happens to performance at low levels of arousal according to drive theory?

  Performance is low
• What is the dominant response in drive theory?

  Most likely behavior when arousal increases
• Who predicted the relationship between arousal and dominant response?

  Hull in 1943
• What is the formula for behavior in drive theory?

  Behavior = habit x drive
• How does high arousal affect expert performers?

  • Beneficial for expert performers
  • Dominant behavior produces fluent responses
  • Example: elite taekwondo performers benefit from high arousal
• How does high arousal affect novice learners?

  • High arousal is detrimental
  • Novice learners may struggle with performance
• What does inverted U theory state about arousal and performance?

  Arousal improves performance up to an optimal point
• What happens to performance past the optimal arousal point?

  Performance begins to decrease
• What factors influence optimal arousal levels?

  • Personality: extroverts high, introverts low
  • Type of task: gross/simple high , fine/complex low
  • Stage of learning: cognitive/associative low, autonomous high
  • Level of experience: experienced high, novice low
• What are the impacts of under-arousal on performance?

  • Difficult to focus attention
  • Concentration is lost
  • Many unwanted cues present
  • Selective attention cannot operate
• What are the impacts of optimum arousal on performance?

  • Ideal attentional field width
  • Full concentration and learning
  • Accurate decision making
  • Cue utilization theory applies
• What are the impacts of over-arousal on performance?

  • Attentional field narrows
  • Relevant cues are lost
  • Performer may panic
  • Concentration is seriously impeded
• What does catastrophe theory add to the understanding of arousal and performance?

  Performance drops if cognitive anxiety is high
• How does performance drop in catastrophe theory?

  Plummets vertically, not smoothly
• What must an athlete do after a performance catastrophe?

  Reduce cognitive anxiety to recover
• What happens when somatic arousal is low in catastrophe theory?

  Skill learning can be enhanced with cognitive arousal
• What is cognitive anxiety?

  Anxiety experienced by the mind
• What is somatic anxiety?

  Anxiety experienced physiologically
• Catastrophe theory 


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• Inverted u theory 


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• Drive theory 


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• Drive theory Strengths

  • It explains high performance by experts at high arousal ( because experts can cope with higher levels of arousal )
  • It explains high performance at dynamic or explosive skills
  • Helps teachers when coaching novices ( as they understand that novices need low arousal to learn.
• Drive theory Weaknesses

  • It doesn't take into account the nature of the task or personality of performer
  • It doesn't explain decline in performance at high arousal
  • It doesn't explain how performers can produce high performance at low arousal.
• Inverted U theory strengths

  • It takes into account different variables like task type and skill level
  • It takes into account that performance can decline even with high arousal
  • It recognises that the inverted U can shift depending on task type (suggests complex or fine skills are best with low arosual)
• Inverted U theory Weaknesses

  • It doesn't explain a sudden drop in performance
  • Increases or decreases in performance are rarely smooth or steady
• Catastrophe theory Strengths

  • It explains why performance can suddenly or dramatically decline
  • It takes various factors into account like cognitive anxiety and somatic arousal
  • It explains how some performers can recover as they rejoin the upward curve
• Catastrophe theory weaknesses

  • It does not take task difficulty or skill level into account
  • It is a theoretical idea not a proven theory
  • Some performers never experience a sudden decline but a gradual one as suggested by inverted u