A Conclusion - The Link Between the Concepts (Motivation, Arousal, Anxiety and Stress)

At the elite level of sport there is often no difference between the skill level of participants, but their ability to handle arousal, anxiety and stress (Jarvis, 1999), therefore it’s important that we recognise how these concepts interact with one another and affect performance, as it may either make or break an elite performer.  As stated by Saklofshe & Zeidner (1995) although anxiety and arousal are not identical they are strongly related, and as such the link between anxiety and performance is attributed to the link between anxiety and arousal.  For example, high levels of anxiety are linked to high levels of arousal. We know that anxiety is the negative emotional state which presents itself when we become aroused (Weinberg & Gould 2011), so some psychologists may argue that you can’t have anxiety without arousal.  Similarly, Jarvis (1999) states stress is the process whereby an individual perceives a threat and responds with a series of psychological and physiological changes including increased arousal and the experience of anxiety, so stress as a process only occurs when we are aroused and feel anxious about the imbalance between the demands of the environment and our ability.  It is clear that these three concepts are closely linked, and athletes need to be aroused to suffer either anxiety or stress.  How they perceive these feelings then affects how motivated they are to tackle a situation.

All three concepts (arousal, anxiety and stress) will have an impact on an individual’s level of motivation.  Many psychologists would argue that there is a direct link between motivation and arousal, with arousal level often being used as an indicator of motivation (Fogiel, 2003)). However, as we have already mentioned, how arousal affects motivation is very much reliant upon the athletes perception of that arousal.  For example, a runner who hasn’t run their personal best all season may want to quit, or they may train harder over the winter with the view of coming out stronger next season.  If an athlete has a need to avoid failure personality, and they feel anxious in competitive or evaluative environments, they are likely to become demotivated.  On the other hand, an athlete who enjoys competition is likely to be actively seek challenging situations which increase their level of arousal, because they are motivated to be successful.  It’s key that athletes and coaches recognise feelings of anxiety so they can employ coping mechanisms that will help the athlete to become more motivated. 

In conclusion, all they key concepts of sport psychology are closely tied together and interact with one another to form a resultant behaviour.  However, the most important thing to remember is that the impact of motivation, arousal, anxiety and stress are specific to the individual, and it is their perception over these feelings which determine how they will react.

References:

Fogiel, M. (2003) The Psychology Problem Solver (3^rd Edition) Research and Education Association: New Jersey.

Jarvis, M. (1999) Sport Psychology.Routledge: London.

Saklofske, D. & Zeidner, M. (ed) (1995) International Handbook of Personality and Intelligence. Plenum Press: New York.

Weinberg, R. & Gould, D (2011) Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. (5^th Edition). Human Kinetics: Leeds.