Performance anxiety commonly happens in the sporting field, it could happen to anyone whether they are amateur or professional. Performance anxiety affects the outcome of the overall performance and can obstruct with the way an athlete anticipated or wants to perform.
According to the textbook Performance Psychology in Action (Kate, 2009) there are two models in which take into account anxiety and arousal and its effects in relation to performance. The first model is the inverted-U model established by two psychologists Yerkes and Dodson. Anxiety can either be beneficial or it can be detrimental to performance depending on three key elements which are trait anxiety, task difficulty and situational stress in forms of physical, cognitive and behavioural (Wilson, 2002). How an athlete performs can be affected by situational stressors such as the presence of an audience and depending on the type of performance it is. The presence of an audience can act as a social facilitation or it could also reduce their performance if they feel the pressure to have to be the best or feeling judged. This is called evaluation apprehension (Science aid, 2006). If an athlete is under …show more content…
It suggests that the athlete’s performance is affected by the combination of cognitive and somatic anxiety. (Hardy, 1990). Performance is greatest when somatic anxiety is low but cognitive anxiety is high. On the other hand, as soon as somatic anxiety also increases then performance can immediately decline (Kate, 2009). An athlete might experience low somatic anxiety a couple of days before a competition, then starts to increase the closer the event gets, however as the competition begins the anxiety normally declines again. When this occurs, the athlete may use means of relaxation to manage somatic anxiety to gradually improve performance. But if the athlete does not succeed in this, then performance can continue to deteriorate (“Psychology Arousal,”
According to the textbook Performance Psychology in Action (Kate, 2009) there are two models in which take into account anxiety and arousal and its effects in relation to performance. The first model is the inverted-U model established by two psychologists Yerkes and Dodson. Anxiety can either be beneficial or it can be detrimental to performance depending on three key elements which are trait anxiety, task difficulty and situational stress in forms of physical, cognitive and behavioural (Wilson, 2002). How an athlete performs can be affected by situational stressors such as the presence of an audience and depending on the type of performance it is. The presence of an audience can act as a social facilitation or it could also reduce their performance if they feel the pressure to have to be the best or feeling judged. This is called evaluation apprehension (Science aid, 2006). If an athlete is under …show more content…
It suggests that the athlete’s performance is affected by the combination of cognitive and somatic anxiety. (Hardy, 1990). Performance is greatest when somatic anxiety is low but cognitive anxiety is high. On the other hand, as soon as somatic anxiety also increases then performance can immediately decline (Kate, 2009). An athlete might experience low somatic anxiety a couple of days before a competition, then starts to increase the closer the event gets, however as the competition begins the anxiety normally declines again. When this occurs, the athlete may use means of relaxation to manage somatic anxiety to gradually improve performance. But if the athlete does not succeed in this, then performance can continue to deteriorate (“Psychology Arousal,”