Research into sports psychology and successful
performances suggests that the best performers
tend to have: • higher levels of self-confidence •
more task-oriented focus • control over their anxiety
levels • more determination and commitment.
Bandura (1977) developed the principle of
self-efficacy, suggesting that self-confidence is
often specific to a particular situation. Bandura
believed that a performer’s self-efficacy is
influenced by four factors.
Performance accomplishments
Vicarious experience – this
refers to performances we
have observed before
Verbal persuasion – if
significant others can
encourage and support
a performer
Emotional arousal – how a
performer feels about their
level of arousal can affect their
confidence level.
ANXIETY & AROUSAL - The ability to deal
with pressure is vital for
success in sport. When a
performer freezes or ‘chokes’
at the vital moment, anxiety is
usually the cause.
Anxiety is said to
have three
dimensions:
• cognitive – worry
and negative
feelings about your
own performance
somatic – physiological
symptoms such as raised heart
rate, increased perspiration,
shortness of breath
behavioural –
experiencing tension,
agitation and
restlessness.
Sports performers can
suffer from two types of
anxiety linked to
performance:
• state anxiety –
which is
situation-specific and
can be liked to a
particular role (such
as penalty-taking),
place, or level of
competition
• trait anxiety –
which is a
general and
enduring feeling
of apprehension.
EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE
The inverted U - as arousal
increases so does
performance until a certain
level, after that performance
decreases.
Drive theory - a
proportional linear
relationship, the
higher the arousal the
higher the
performance.
The Catastrophe
model - arousal
and high
performance is
dependant on
cognitive anxiety.
The Processing efficiency
theory - affected by anxiety
rather than task effectiveness.
Choking - concerns with
other peoples think
about their
performances.