Arousal

Discussion: Arousal is an integral element that is needed when preparing ones-self for sporting competition ( or practice for that matter). According to Weinberg and Gould, the athlete must become aware of his or her psychologigal states before they can control any thoughts or feelings they may have. This means when preparing for competition it is important to create an arousal state that is indicative of the competition you are competeing in and be aware of that state in order to set yourself up psychologically to compete. The athlete must energize him/herself when feelin flat and be aware of what he or she is doing in order to enhance his/her sport performance. With that said, if arousal levels are too high then sport performance can be hindered due to the athletes attention be focused on more than just the competition.

Anxiety is a pshychological state that, if uncontrolled, can hinder a performance greatly. Individuals must be able to cope with this anxiety in a positive mannner so that it doesn't consume them and cause catastrophic results. Anxiety as a form of arousal is beneficial if kept in check because it make the athlete aware of what is about to transpire.

When dealing with arousal it is important to understand the theories behind it. The Drive Theory states that "as an individuals arousal or state anxiety inreases ,so too does his or her performance". The Inverted - U Hypothesis states if arousal is too low then perfomance is low and if arousal is too high then performance is also low, therefore arousal must be at an optimal level for the individual in order to reach peak performance. Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning is a concept which states that " A person's zone of optimal functioning may be at the lower, middle or upper end of the anxiety continuum. In the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory arousal is said to inversley affected by an increase in state anxiety, therefore decreasing performance. In Kerr's model,the Reversal Theory, he establishes that if an athlete see arousal as a pleasant experience , tthen the performance will benefit, however if is viewed negatively then performance will be hindered. When discussing Hardy's Catastrophe Model, it becomes apparent that arousal can be beneficial, but only to a certain point. Hardy believes that as arousal increases it forms an inverted-U as stated previously but if anxiety surpassess the levels of optimal performance