1. P E U N I T 4 A O S 2
Control: Arousal and
Performance

2. Arousal
 The amount of readiness or activation a person
experiences when faced with a task
 The inverted-U graph shows the relationship
between arousal and performance and also the area
of optimum performance.

4. Optimum Arousal
 Individual to the athlete in question, the ‘inverted U’
and ‘optimum zone’ will chance shape and area
depending on the athlete in question.
 Athletes need to take responsibility in controlling
their arousal levels to ensure they maintain the
optimum level of arousal to maintain a high level of
performance.

5. Drive Theory
 According to drive theory, if an athlete is
appropriately skilled then it will help them to
perform well if their drive to compete is aroused (i.e.
they are ‘psyched-up’).

6. Arousal Reduction Techniques
 Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
 Breath Control
 Biofeedback
 Stress-inoculation training

7. Essendon VS St.Kilda, Rd 20, 2009
 Last 5 minutes
 Nick Riewoldt

8. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
 Popular muscle relaxation technique among athletes
 Progressively tensing and relaxing major muscle
groups
 Method example on p.315.
 Lets try it
 You will need to be in savasna (lying on your back
on the floor with your eyes closed)

9. Breath Control
 Helps an athlete relax and refocus while preparing
for the next action or part of the match
 It helps athletes ‘block out’ distractions, providing a
mental break for the activity

10. Biofeedback
 Physically based technique used to modify
physiological or autonomous body functions during
training (which can be carried over into competition)
 Electronic instruments are used to measure (and
provide feedback on) heart rate, skin/body
temperature, muscle tension, blood pressure
 These measuring devises give direct readings or
provide a sound relative to the intensity of the
stimulus.

11. Biofeedback
 Baseball pitcher
 Rifle shooter

12. Stress-inoculation training (SIT)
 Like when you are inoculated against the measles,
stress-inoculation exposed the athlete small levels to
help them adapt
 Coping to the stresses comes in the form of
developing
 Positive thoughts
 Mental Images
 Self-confidence statements

13. Arousal Promotion Techniques
 Elevated Breathing
 Act Energetic
 Positive talk and sounds (“talk it up”)
 Energising imagery
 Pre-competition workout

14. Elevated breathing
 Similarly to breathing as
an arousal reduction
technique (slow deep
breathing), short sharp
breaths can activate the
CNS to increase a state of
awareness
 Eg: Tennis players after
losing a few games in a
row

15. Act energetic
 At the beginning or
during a game, an athlete
may feel lethargic or
tired.
 Physically pumping,
slapping or hitting each
other can help pump
each other up; therefore
increasing arousal levels

16. Positive self talk
 Emotive words like ‘tough,
aggressive, hard hitting,
aggressive, dependable etc’
increase arousal levels.
 Coaches will tend to use
these words when
addressing the team
 Players can use these words
to pump themselves up.
 Music can also play a large
role in
increasing/maintaining
arousal levels
 EG: Pole-vaulters / high
jumpers

17. Energising imagery
 Involves visualising
something that is
uplifting to the athlete
 EG: Swimmers moving
sleekly through the water
like a dolphin
 EG: Baseballer’s literally
hitting the skin off the
ball and hitting it for a
home run

18. Pre-competition Workout
 Generally takes place
about 2-hours before the
match
 Allows the athlete/team
to become accustom to
the field/environment
 They then do their warm-
up and practice any
psychological skills in
front of the crowd