Monday 28 March 2016

Stress & It's Effects On Sports Performance

Stress

   People often think of stress as a negative aspect and although this can be true, stress can also be positive. The two types of stress are known as distress (negative) and eustress (positive). According to Branscombe, et al (2014) eustress, is connected with somatic anxiety, causing high levels of arousal. The distress is more linked to the cognitive anxiety, which we know has been associated to the ‘catastrophe theory.’
   
   Aldwin (2007, Pg.24) defined stress as
‘The quality of experience, produced through a person-environment transaction that, through either over arousal or under-arousal results in psychological or physiological distress’
   
Aldwin further links stress back to arousal and anxiety, especially the catastrophe theory showing the optimal level of arousal must only be met not be subordinate or exceeded in order not to create distress. Stress is common and will partake in everyone’s life, especially those who participate in competitive sport as Bonnie Berger (1994, Pg. 104) states
‘When there is little or no competition… participants avoid negative psychological effects.’

Implying that competitive sport forms more distress, through losing and poor performance as a few examples.

However Landers (1994) believes that competitive sport is more a form of eustress than distress, due to research evidence by Schurr, Ashley & Joy (1977). This research showed athletes were less trait anxious compared to non-athletes. From this research we could assume that higher levels of eustress are actually made up by competing in sport. Although the research doesn’t relate to state anxiety, and when they are put in certain situations that could affect anxiety and stress levels.

   Selye (1982) theorises that stress is physiological involving the sympathetic nervous system in his and Cannon’s (1920) theory of fight or flight. However Selye (1982) thought that stress was a conventional response to the stressor, known as the Gene Adaptation Syndrome. If this was the case then we would not have seen different responses to the same or similar situations within sport. Edinson Volquez’s father died (stressor) an hour before his World Series game, his family told him to continue with the game, Volquez had six strong innings giving for baseball team Kansas City and winning the World Series. Whereas Johan Cruyff had an attempt of kidnap of family member, and due to this remained absent for the world tournament, in this situation the two didn’t act in the same way like Selye theorised.
The Lazarus theory; looks at the psychological stress, it involves the relationship of an individual and their environment. The theory takes into consideration the stressors created in their environment they perform in and how the individual responds to them. The individual cognitively appraises the situations significant to their wellbeing. (Lazarus, 1991) The theory shows the fact of individuals responding differently to stressors, which would explain why there are so many examples of different reactions within sport to similar situations.


Coping with Stress

    Along with Lazarus’s theory (1991) came the coping strategies that are actually use to optimise performance within sport, rather than letting stress overcome the individual. (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) According to Anshel (2005) it’s vital to understand the best approach to manage sports performers stress. Four ways researchers have come up with to do so are; ‘Reduction in stressors, a modification of cognitive appraisals, a reduction in negative effects, and increase in positive effects and facilitating effective coping behaviours.’   (Rumbold, L, J, Fletcher, D & Daniels, K, ND)


Modification of cognitive appraisals

    Hanton, Wagstaff and Fletcher (2007) used four international sports performers to log stress appraisals comprising of stressors, appraisals and responses. The prominent findings were that athletes felt the organisation caused stressors with no apparent control and few coping resources. They believe experts should modify these thoughts by ensuring athletes believe they have control and have sufficient coping resources to optimise performance.



A reduction in negative effects, and increase in positive effects

      Etzel et al (2015) states that reducing negatives reactions to stress and increasing positives can create better relationships with others, reduces distress and can benefit physically and emotionally. Learning to tolerate discomfort is seen as a coping resource for this. Although Dryden and Neenan (2012) believe that learning to tolerate discomfort can be conceived as teaching people to put up with negatives which could have an adverse effect on performance.  

  


Reduction of stressors


     O’Driscoll (2013) mentions reducing stressors and compares it to the flight response in Selye and Cannon’s fight or flight theory, implying people would flight rather than fight. This in turn would reduce the stressors rather than Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) theory of coping. Reducing all stressors would be physically impossible as some are not controllable. David Bentley is a retired footballer, who could not reduce stressors on or off the pitch, the most prominent stressor his wife’s pregnancy and retired age 26. 







Facilitating effective coping behaviours

     Coping is the solving of problems, in this example the problem is stress, by enabling coping behaviours, performance could be improved or remain at optimal level. Fredrickson (2001) believed emotion- focused coping would focus a person’s attention to the task at hand, rather than a criticism from team mates, a coach or the crowd. Giving the performer a greater chance of creative thinking, and enabling optimal performance. In which a study conducted by Nicholls et al (2012) of athletes pleasant emotions linking to better task performing, backing the theory. Although Brooks (2014) states that the experience of excitement and anxiety have a similar feel and are brought on by high arousal, the pleasant emotions can improve performance through excitement but the high arousal can lead to anxiousness and stress (Catastrophe theory) hindering performance.


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