Anxiety and arousal have similar affects on the body, but anxiety tends to inhibit performance while arousal could either inhibit and be beneficial to performance. It is vital to understand the different effects anxiety and arousal have on performance for HSC PDHPE.
It is helpful to remember that anxiety is psychological, that is, comes from the mind of the athlete. On the other hand arousal is physiological resulting from bodily responses to a stimulus. Arousal levels required for optimum performance in a sport depend on the individual sport.
The HSC PDHPE syllabus wants you to know the difference between trait and state anxiety, and be able to identify the various sources of stress for athletes. It is also important that you understand which level of arousal is more optimal for performance. This knowledge needs to be combined in order to determine the effects of anxiety on performance compared with the effects of arousal.
Students learn about
- Anxiety and arousal
Students learn to:
- Explain the difference between anxiety and arousal in terms of the effects on performance
Past HSC PDHPE exam questions (2012-2022)
2014 Question 26
How do anxiety and arousal differ in terms of their effect on athletic performance? 4 Marks
2018 Question 25
Explain why the optimal level of arousal varies for different sports. 5 marks
2020 Question 23
(b) Compare how anxiety and arousal may have affected the athlete’s performance when competing in this 100-metre final. Provide examples to support your answer. 4 marks