Anxiety, self-control and shooting performance

55 rifle shooters were administered state-trait anxiety and self-control questionnaires. Shooting performance was recorded on 7 competitive occasions. Analysis indicated shooting performance is dependent more on anxiety state than on anxiety trait and self-control. Highly skilled shooters were less anxious and performed better across all competitions than moderately skilled shooters but did not differ on self-control and anxiety trait. The assumption that increased anxiety negatively affects performance through the mediation of self-control should be further studied.     

Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory

Attentional control theory is an approach to anxiety and cognition representing a major development of Eysenck and Calvo's (1992) processing efficiency theory. It is assumed that anxiety impairs efficient functioning of the goal-directed attentional system and increases the extent to which processing is influenced by the stimulus-driven attentional system. In addition to decreasing attentional control, anxiety increases attention to threat-related stimuli. Adverse effects of anxiety on processing efficiency depend on two central executive functions involving attentional control: inhibition and shifting. However, anxiety may not impair performance effectiveness (quality of performance) when it leads to the use of compensatory strategies (e.g., enhanced effort; increased use of processing resources). Directions for future research are discussed.     

Anxiety and performance in runners: Effects of stress and anxiety on physical performance

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of state and trait anxiety on physical performance under both neutral and stressful conditions. In Study I, 43 male and female track athletes answered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and twice underwent ergometric testing in the physiology laboratory after receiving a neutral or a stress-inducing instruction. In Study II, these 43 runners completed the state scale shortly before a test run in a practice session and once again just before the start in an official competition. Results showed a significant increase in self-reported state anxiety under the stress condition in both the laboratory and the field setting. At the same time, the mean physical performance, measured as physiological performance parameters (maximum oxygen intake, physical work capacity) or as running performance, significantly deteriorated under stress. The induced stress affected the heart rate in addition to the mere physical work load, with no sign of compensation occurring during the entire period of ergometric testing. Effects of anxiety on performance were tested by separate 2(trait) × 3(state) ANOVAs for each situation. For both laboratory situations, and for the practice situation as well, no significant relationships, neither linear nor nonlinear, were detected. In the competition situation, however, an inverted-U relationship was found in the low trait-anxious subgroup.     

Implicit theories of intelligence and IQ test performance in adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

During the past decade, several studies have reported positive effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of children and adolescents with mental disorders. One of the most important CBT interventions is to teach children and adolescents to challenge negative thoughts that lead to maladjusted behaviors. Based on the implicit theories of intelligence framework, the main purpose of this study was to test whether an incremental theory manipulation could be used to affect IQ test performance in adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Results showed that patients demonstrated enhanced IQ performance and experienced less state anxiety when they were exposed to an incremental theory of intelligence manipulation. Our findings suggest that incremental theory manipulation provides a useful cognitive strategy for addressing school-related anxiety in adolescents with mental disorders such as GAD.     

Anxiety and perceptual-motor performance: toward an integrated model of concepts, mechanisms, and processes

Under anxiety, people sometimes perform poorly. This concerns cognitive performance (e.g., taking an important exam) as well as perceptual-motor performance (e.g., picking up a cup from a table). There is still much debate about how anxiety affects perceptual-motor performance. In the current paper we review the experimental literature on anxiety and perceptual-motor performance, thereby focusing on how anxiety affects the perception, selection, and realization of action possibilities. Based on this review we discuss the merits of two opposing theoretical explanations and build on existing frameworks of anxiety and cognitive performance to develop an integrated model that explains the various ways in which anxiety may specifically affect perceptual-motor performance. This model distinguishes between positive and negative effects of anxiety and, moving beyond previous approaches, recognizes three operational levels (i.e., attentional, interpretational, and behavioral) at which anxiety may affect different aspects of goal-directed action. Finally, predictions are formulated and directions for future research suggested.     

Anxiety and Creativity

Abstract

Man parses through the present with his eyes blindfolded. He is permitted merely to sense and guess at what he is actually experiencing. Only later when the cloth is untied can he glance at the past and find out what he has experienced and what meaning it has had.     

Anxiety

The analysis is a study of the nature of anxiety in human experience. The author reviews the work of theologian Paul Tillich and psychologist Rollo May and clarifies the role of anxiety in life. The article reflects the need for a basic religious affirmation as one faces the anxiety of life which comes from the many threats to human existence.     

Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Measuring anxiety with and without an audience during performance on a stabilometer

Half of the 56 subjects (n = 28) performed 15 pre-treatment trials on a stabilometer, then six more with an audience of three faculty (Group 1), the other half performed the same task with no audience (Group 2). Subjects completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory prior to and after the treatments. Orthogonal contrasts indicated that Group 1 (audience) post State-anxiety was significantly different from its own pre-State-anxiety and significantly different from Group 2 (no audience) on post-State-anxiety. It was concluded that the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory is an appropriate measure of trait and state anxiety in studies of motor performance.