Arousal is the state of general preparedness of my body for action; it involves physiological and psychological factors. Anxiety however is the negative aspect of feeling stressed and the worries of the possibility of failure. The four types of anxiety are trait, state, somatic and cognitive. Trait anxiety is an enduring personality trait which tends to be permanent and relatively stable. State anxiety however fluctuates in response to a particular situation and is associated with arousal. Cognitive anxiety is the thoughts and apprehension which increases prior to an event/competition. It also changes during competition as the performer/team fluctuates through success and failure. Somatic anxiety follows the Inverted U theory and consists of the physiological signs for example, increased heart rate and nausea. In the diagram below, it clearly shows the fluctuations of somatic and cognitive anxiety before and after the event.
The diagram clearly demonstrates that the cognitive component stayed stable before the start, but the somatic component began to increase prior to the onset of the event. There is also a combination of both negative and positive effects for somatic anxiety for a range of performance related activities shortly before the crucial event when cognitive anxiety was at an elevated level.
For many performers cognitive anxiety peaks. This means general nervousness, apprehension or worry overwhelms their mind and they force themself to believe that they are incapable to perform successfully. This triggers arousal levels from being under-aroused with low levels of adrenaline to a definite increase in the hormone adrenaline which is a somatic indicator of increased arousal. However it is the psychological or cognitive signs that also affect the performance. These consist of increased anxiety, tension, negative self-talk, and inability to concentrate and fear/anger of failure. These can be triggered by the presence of supporters, audience, coach, teammates and the opposition. Being over-whelmed by the situation performers lose the ability to control levels of arousal.
The diagram clearly demonstrates that the cognitive component stayed stable before the start, but the somatic component began to increase prior to the onset of the event. There is also a combination of both negative and positive effects for somatic anxiety for a range of performance related activities shortly before the crucial event when cognitive anxiety was at an elevated level.
For many performers cognitive anxiety peaks. This means general nervousness, apprehension or worry overwhelms their mind and they force themself to believe that they are incapable to perform successfully. This triggers arousal levels from being under-aroused with low levels of adrenaline to a definite increase in the hormone adrenaline which is a somatic indicator of increased arousal. However it is the psychological or cognitive signs that also affect the performance. These consist of increased anxiety, tension, negative self-talk, and inability to concentrate and fear/anger of failure. These can be triggered by the presence of supporters, audience, coach, teammates and the opposition. Being over-whelmed by the situation performers lose the ability to control levels of arousal.