Anxiety in

Sport &
Performance
Settings
+ − +
 Arousal
• Describes the state of physiological
and psychological activation in a
person.
• Varies on a continuum from deep
sleep to intense excitement.

Calm Frenzy
 Anxiety
A multidimensional negative emotion with the
following characteristics:

1. Elicited following an appraisal (evaluation)

2. Universal across all cultures
3. Observed through discrete facial
expression
4. Has a distinct physiology
5. Associated with unique set of behaviours
 Two Components of Anxiety

•Cognitive Anxiety:
– Feelings
– E.g. concerns, apprehensions, and worries

•Somatic Anxiety:
– Physiological changes in arousal
– E.g. heart rate, blood pressure, sweaty
palms, muscle tension
 Josée Chouinard
“As I began competing
at higher levels, my
anxiety grew. It got so
bad that at night I
would dream that I was
skating my program
non-stop, and wake up
exhausted in the
morning.”
 Categories of Anxiety

• Trait Anxiety
– Person’s general predisposition to perceive a
situation as threatening.
– A stable part of personality

• State Anxiety
– Moment to moment changes in feelings of
apprehension, tension, and worry.
Dimensions of the Anxiety Response
• Intensity of Symptoms
– Amount or level of symptoms?

• Frequency of Cognitive Intrusions

– Amount of time (%) that thoughts and
feelings about competitions occupy mind?

• Directional Interpretation of Symptoms

– Facilitative (positive) or debilitative
(negative)?
 “Today is a very special day. It is race day. Shortly
after waking up this morning, I could feel the mini-
nuclear reactor in my stomach starting to fire up,
getting ready to turn the turbines. I run into my
teammates in the hotel room hallway and I can sense
that they are feeling the same thing. Again.” (Adam
Kreek, Race Morning Blog, Beijing Olympics, 2008)
 Keller et al., (2012)
Purpose: To determine how people’s perceptions of stress
(as bad for health) influences mortality.

Method: 28,753 adults completed 1998 National Health

Survey (U.S.) and followed-up 8 years later.

Findings:
•Those with high stress that thought stress was bad for their
health, were at 43% increased risk for premature death.
•Those with high stress alone (i.e. who did not perceive
stress as bad for their health), were among least likely to die
prematurely.
 Factors Influencing Anxiety
1. Age and experience
2. Trait anxiety
3. Competence and self-efficacy
4. Self-regulation strategies
5. Temporal Patterning
 Girls First Ski Jump – Zia Terry

http://www.yout
ube.com/watch?
v=ebtGRvP3ILg
 5. Temporal Patterning
(Martens et al., 1990)

Cognitive Anxiety

Intensity
of
Anxiety

Somatic Anxiety

+48 hrs. +24hrs. +12 hrs. +6hrs. +1hr. Comp -24hrs.

Time to Competitive Event

Standing in the start house before the fourth and
final run of the women’s bobsled competition,
Kaillie Humphries had just one question for her
brakeman, Heather Moyse. Could it be done? The
28-year-old Albertan has never liked to know just
how far in front—or in this case, behind—their
sled was. Only that they still had a chance to win.
“I just looked at her and said it’s possible, and
that’s all Kaillie needed to know,” said Moyse.
(Gatehouse, Feb 19, 2014)
“In Canada, we like to talk about ‘Owning the Podium’ but I’ve always thought that’s
wrong. It’s about owning the moment”
– Wayne Halliwell (Mental Coach)
How Does Anxiety Influence Sport Behaviours ? Early
Explanations

Drive Theory Inverted-U

(Hull, 1942) Hypothesis (Yerkes
& Dodson,1908)
How Does Anxiety Influence Sport
Performance?
Current Explanations

1. Multidimensional Anxiety Theory

2. Zones of Optimal Functioning
3. Catastrophe Theory
1. Multidimensional Anxiety Theory
(Martens et al., 1990)

Cognitive Anxiety

Somatic Anxiety

Anxiety
 2. Zones of Optimal Functioning
(Hanin, 1980)

• Individual athletes have a zone of optimal

anxiety in which their best performance
occurs.
3. Catastrophe Theory
(Fazey & Hardy, 1988; Hardy, 1990)
 Low Cognitive Anxiety (Y)

XZ

XX
Low Cognitive Anxiety
 High Cognitive Anxiety (Y)

XZ Performance
Recovery Drop
Path

XX
High Cognitive Anxiety
 Sport Competition Anxiety Test
(SCAT; Martens, 1990)

Rarely (1) Sometimes (2) Often (3)

1. Competing against others is socially enjoyable.

2. Before I compete I feel uneasy.
3. Before I compete I worry about not performing well.
4. I am a good sportsman when I compete.
5. When I compete, I worry about making mistakes.
6. Before I compete I am calm.
7. Before I compete I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
8. Just before competing, my heart beats faster than usual.
 Sport Competition Anxiety Test
(SCAT; Martens, 1990)

Rarely (1) Sometimes (2) Often (3)

1. Competing against others is socially enjoyable.

2. Before I compete I feel uneasy.
3. Before I compete I worry about not performing well.
4. I am a good sportsman when I compete.
5. When I compete, I worry about making mistakes.
6. Before I compete I am calm.
7. Before I compete I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
8. Just before competing, my heart beats faster than usual.
+ − +
+ −
“Underlying my success – all my reasons for
feeling good – I was still carrying a dump truck
load of negativity. Some of this was due to the
pressure to perform, some if it was due to the
emptiness and loneliness that seemed an
unshakeable part of me. My first feeling after
winning was relief, followed by gratitude that I
hadn’t screw up. Any sense of celebration was
always short-lived.” (Hughes, 2015, p. 57-58)
“Canada won five cycling medals in Atlanta [1996 Olympics],
which beat our sport’s all-time Olympic tally of four. On our
return home, we were swept up in celebrations. Yet all it
took was for one person to ask, “What do you really do
when you’re not training?” to reduce my achievement to
hunks of bronze. I began to ask myself, “Who are you, and
what do you really do?” So, here I was, an Olympic medal
winner, back at ground zero. My medals deepened my
depression, because now I knew I was the same worthless
person after Atlanta as I had been before.” (Hughes, 2015,
p. 65)
 Mike Babcock
Toronto Maple Leafs

“Mental illness has nothing to do with

mental toughness.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/mike-babcock-mental-illness-has-nothi
ng-to-do-with-mental-toughness-1.4420823
 If you or someone you know is struggling
with mental health …
• Student Counselling and Development
• N110 Bennett Building for Student Services
• (416) 736-5297
• , http://mhw.info.yorku.ca

PA & Dep, Anx 33