A Practical Application of the Anxiety–Athletic Performance Relationship: The Zone of Optimal Functioning Hypothesis

1993 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikki Krane

Hanin (1980) proposed the zone of optimal functioning hypothesis (ZOF), suggesting that each athlete has a specific band width, or zone, of anxiety in which best performances will most likely be observed. The present study combined the ZOF hypothesis with the multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990). Unique cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety zones were identified, and it was hypothesized that athletes whose anxiety levels fell within these zones would be more successful than athletes whose anxiety levels were outside these zones. Results of separate cognitive and somatic anxiety ANOVAs indicated that poorest performances were observed when athletes’ cognitive and somatic anxiety were above their zones; performances when anxiety was within or below cognitive and somatic anxiety zones did not differ.

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume R. Coudevylle ◽  
Kathleen A. Martin Ginis ◽  
Jean-Pierre Famose ◽  
Christophe Gernigon

The purpose of the present experiment was to examine whether the use of selfhandicapping strategies influences participants’ anxiety levels before athletic performance. Seventy-one competitive basketball players participated in the study. A repeated measures design was used, such that state cognitive and somatic anxiety intensity and direction were measured before and after participants were given the opportunity to self-handicap. Overall, participants reported their cognitive anxiety to be more facilitating after they had the opportunity to self-handicap. Thus, participants who were given the opportunity to self-handicap (i.e., use claimed and behavioral self-handicaps), reported greater increases in perceptions of cognitive anxiety as facilitating their performance. This study shows the importance of looking at anxiety direction, and not just anxiety intensity, when examining self-handicapping’s effects on anxiety. Implications for sport psychologists are proposed.


sjesr ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 515-519
Author(s):  
Dr. Farooq Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Shah ◽  
Azmat Ali

Pre-competitive anxiety refers to the unpleasant emotional state of individuals. It is normal for every athlete to feel nervous before a sports competition. The pre-competitive anxiety levels in the current study examined three features i.e. somatic anxiety, self-confidence, and cognitive anxiety between the sample of poor and good performing athletes. The assessment has been made by using competitive state anxiety inventory -2 (CSAI-2), which is composed of 27 items distributed in equal three subscales of pre-competitive anxiety. The sample of the study was composed of 180 performers of different sports, into groups of 90 each good and poor performer whose ages were between 16 to 27 years. Data collected has been analyzed using a T-test. A significant difference has been found in all of the components of pre-competitive anxiety i.e. cognitive anxiety, self-confidence, and somatic anxiety among good performers and poor performers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Mustafa Önder Şekeroğlu

This study of 14 Russian women’s national volleyball team athletes aimed to determine their pre-competition and post-competition state anxiety levels according to some variables. This descriptive study used the Competition State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) developed by Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump and Smith (1990). This inventory has 9 items in 3 sub-factors: cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence.A comparison of the pre-competition and post-competition anxiety levels found no statistically significant differences in cognitive anxiety (p>0.05), somatic anxiety (p>0.05) and self-confidence (p>0.05). The highest pre-competition somatic anxiety score fell after the competition, while cognitive anxiety and self-confidence increased after the competition when it was low. There were no statistically significant differences in the athletes’ pre-competition and post-competition anxiety levels by age or income. Considering that success does not occur without a certain level of anxiety, coaches should consider the impact of psychological factors in technical and tactical training.


2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smart Z Mabweazara ◽  
Lloyd Leach ◽  
Barry S Andrews

Competitive state anxiety is a common response to stressful competitive sports situations that could affect athletic performance. The effects of state anxiety on swimming performance need further inquiry. The aim of the study was to determine the component of state anxiety that best predicts swimming performance. A quantitative, cross-sectional study design that made use of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 to measure precompetitive state anxiety was used. A total of 61 male high school swimmers whose age ranged between 14 and 19 years ( M = 16.16, standard deviation = 1.66 years) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 1 hr before competing in a 50-m individual swimming event. Performance was evaluated using finishing position. Due to the relatively short duration of the 50-m event, the available literature would suggest that Somatic Anxiety would have a greater effect on Performance—there is not enough time to allow cognitive anxiety to have a detrimental impact on performance. Thus, it was hypothesized that somatic rather than cognitive anxiety will best predict swimming performance. It emerged that both cognitive ( b = .787; p < .001) and somatic anxieties ( b = .840; p < .001) can independently predict swimming performance. However, when both cognitive and somatic anxieties were regressed onto swimming performance, somatic anxiety partially dominated cognitive anxiety ( b = .626; p < .001) and became the significant predictor of swimming performance. It is recommended that swimmers and swimming coaches make use of specific intervention strategies that eradicate the detrimental effects of somatic anxiety immediately before competition.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
Staci Renee Miller ◽  
Kris Chesky

This study applied the multidimensional anxiety theory to musicians by examining the intensity and direction of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence over multiple performance requirements among college music majors. This study assessed and compared teacher and student perceptions of the student’s performance anxiety and its subsequent impact on several studio lessons and jury performances. Seventy-one college musicians (39 females, 32 males) from the University of North Texas College of Music volunteered to participate in this study. Four different assessment tools were employed in this study: a demographic questionnaire, a modified version of the Competitive Trait Anxiety Inventory-2 (CTAI-2), a modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2), and a subjective self-assessment of performance. The results showed that of the 71 subjects initially assessed, 59 subjects (83.1%) reported experiencing performance anxiety. This study supports the application of the multidimensional anxiety theory by highlighting the existence of two distinct, yet related dimensions of performance anxiety; how these dimensions change in response to changing stress levels associated with changing demands; and the probable interaction with levels of self-confidence. This study underscores the challenges associated with how teachers may or may not recognize the existence and subsequent impact of performance anxiety among college students. Additional studies are needed to determine what educational variables, including psychosocial values, are associated with the development and fluctuation of self-confidence. Further research designs should implement the CTAI-2 and the CSAI-2 for the assessment of competitive performance anxiety experienced by musicians associated with music performance.


1998 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 675-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Thelwell ◽  
Ian W. Maynard

This study extended Hanin's 1980 Zone of Optimal Functioning hypothesis by assessing both intensity and direction components of competitive state anxiety. 20 volunteer semiprofessional cricketers responded to the modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 prior to ten matches. For each game, players' performances were intraindividually evaluated by three qualified cricket coaches using subjective criteria. Separate Cognitive Anxiety and Somatic Anxiety ‘below,’ ‘in,’ and ‘above’ zones for Intensity and Direction of state anxiety were identified via repeated empirical assessments. Two two-way analyses of variance were computed for Intensity and Direction of anxiety (Cognitive Anxiety Zone Level x Somatic Anxiety Zone Level) with standardized performance scores as the dependent variable. A significant interaction was found between the zone levels for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety Direction and performance scores. Examination of the Zone of Optimal Functioning hypothesis that focuses on the interactions between Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety and in particular the directional elements of the modified inventory seems warranted.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette L. Craft ◽  
T. Michelle Magyar ◽  
Betsy J. Becker ◽  
Deborah L. Feltz

The multidimensional approach to the study of anxiety (Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990a) considers subcomponents of anxiety, specifically cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence. Much of the research based on this theory has utilized the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990b). Findings have been inconsistent, with some research suggesting that the three subcomponents have separate relationships with performance and other studies failing to find any relationship between the anxiety subcomponents and performance. This meta-analysis examined the effect of state anxiety as measured by the CSAI-2 (i.e., cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence) on athletic performance. Studies were coded for characteristics that could potentially moderate the effects of anxiety on performance (i.e., features of design, subjects, sport). Interdependency between the three subscales was examined using multivariate meta-analytic techniques (Becker & Schram, 1994). Relationships among cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, self-confidence, and performance appeared weak. Exploratory modeling showed that self-confidence displayed the strongest and most consistent relationship with performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamuran Yerlikaya Balyan ◽  
Serdar Tok ◽  
Arkun Tatar ◽  
Erdal Binboga ◽  
Melih Balyan

The present study examined the association between personality, competitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and physiological arousal in athletes with high and low anxiety levels. Anxiety was manipulated by means of an incentive. Fifty male participants, first, completed the Five Factor Personality Inventory and their resting electro dermal activity (EDA) was recorded. In the second stage, participants were randomly assigned to high or low anxiety groups. Individual EDAs were recorded again to determine precompetition physiological arousal. Participants also completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) and played a computer-simulated soccer match. Results showed that neuroticism was related to both CSAI-2 components and physiological arousal only in the group receiving the incentive. Winners had higher levels of cognitive anxiety and lower levels of physiological arousal than losers. On the basis of these findings, we concluded that an athlete’s neurotic personality may influence his cognitive and physiological responses in a competition.


Retos ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 369-373
Author(s):  
Marco Batista ◽  
Jose Catarino ◽  
Helder Fernandes ◽  
Luis Vaz ◽  
João Serrano ◽  
...  

Abstract. The objective of this study was to encourage Rugby players to promote abilities in this sport, therefore we have evaluated the somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety and self-confidence values of U18 and U20 rugby athletes of the Portuguese Nationals Rugby Teams, who participated respectively in the U18 Elite European Championship and in the U20 Trophy World Rugby, comparing forwards and defenders. For data collection, we used the CSAI-2 which assesses cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence. The results showed more favourable average parameters for the group of athletes U20. However, there were only significant differences favourable to the U20 team in the domain of self-confidence, in a general level between teams and in the forward positions. Resumen. El objetivo de este estudio fue animar a los jugadores de rugby para promover las habilidades en este deporte, la evaluación de la ansiedad somática, ansiedad cognitiva y la autoconfianza de los atletas de rugby Sub 18 y Sub 20 de los equipos nacionales de rugby portugués que participó, respectivamente, en U18 European Elite Campeonato y en el U20 Trophy World Rugby, comparando avanzados y defensas. Para la recolección de datos, utilizamos el CSAI-2 que evalúa la ansiedad cognitiva, la ansiedad somática y la autoconfianza. Los resultados mostraron parámetros medios más favorables para el grupo de atletas Sub-20. Sin embargo, sólo hubo diferencias significativas favorables para el equipo Sub-20 en el dominio de la autoconfianza, en un nivel general entre equipos y en las posiciones de avanzados.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (13) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Mustafa Önder Şekeroğlu

This study was planned and conducted in order to examine the pre- and post-competition state anxiety levels of sportswomen of the Dutch women's volleyball national team. This descriptive study aimed at identifying the pre- and post-competition state anxiety levels of sportswomen of the Dutch women's volleyball national team is in the general survey model. The "Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2" (CSAI-2) consisting of 27 questions, developed by Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump and Smith (1990) was applied to the 14 sportswomen voluntarily participating in the study. The anxiety inventory comprises the cognitive, somatic and self-confidence sub-factors. Each factor consists of 9 items. The Cronbach Alpha Internal Consistency coefficient was found as 0.91 in Cognitive Anxiety, 0.62 in Physical Anxiety, and 0.95 in Self-Confidence. According to the study conducted, comparing the pre- and post-competition anxiety levels of the sportswomen of the women's national volleyball team, a significant difference was found in cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self- confidence anxiety levels of p<0,05. In anxiety levels according to years of practicing sports, a significant difference at a level of p<0,05 was found in pre-competitive somatic anxiety.


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