Arousal is a state of physiological and psychological activation that readies a performer to act. Arousal ranges on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement.

How does under-arousal affect performance?

An under-aroused performer lacks motivation and concentration. Attention is too broad, so irrelevant cues are processed and key ones missed.

How does over-arousal affect performance?

An over-aroused performer suffers muscle tension and poor coordination. Attention narrows too far, so relevant cues are missed.

What is the optimal level of arousal?

The optimal level is the arousal at which a performer performs best. The level differs for each performer, task and situation.

Why do gross skills need higher arousal than fine skills?

Gross skills use large muscle groups and need power, which high arousal supports. Fine skills need precise control, which muscle tension from high arousal disrupts.

Edexcel A-Level Physical Education 9PE0

The Musculo-Skeletal System

Topic overview Muscles, bones and movements of the upper body Muscles, bones and movements of the lower body and trunk Contraction types and the stretch-shortening cycle Muscle roles and the acute response to a warm-up

Levers, Newton's Laws and Stability

Topic overview Lever systems in the body Mechanical advantage and disadvantage of levers Newton's laws of motion and force calculations Centre of mass and stability

The Respiratory System

Topic overview Structure of the airways and alveoli The mechanics of breathing Gas exchange, partial pressure and diffusion Lung volumes and capacities

The Cardiovascular System

Topic overview Heart structure and the conduction system Blood vessels, circulation and vascular shunting Heart rate, cardiac output and bradycardia Exercise responses and the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle

The Neuromuscular System

Topic overview Muscle fibre types and their characteristics Motor units, recruitment and gradation of contraction Muscle structure and the sliding filament theory Neuromuscular transmission and the response to warming up

Adaptations to Training

Topic overview Heart and lung adaptations to training Muscle and bone adaptations to training Nervous system and muscle fibre adaptations

Energy Systems

Topic overview Forms of energy and ATP The ATP-PC and glycolytic systems The aerobic system and fuel use The energy continuum and priming exercise

Fatigue and Recovery

Topic overview Fatigue from energy depletion and dehydration Lactic acid, hydrogen ions and fatigue Oxygen deficit, EPOC and the fast component The slow component and recovery windows

Diet, Nutrition and Supplements

Topic overview Energy balance, nutrients and optimal weight Hydration, electrolytes and sports drinks Legal supplements and their effects Carbohydrate loading and fuelling around exercise

Fitness Testing

Topic overview Gas analysis and aerobic field tests Lactate and functional threshold testing Anaerobic capacity and power tests Strength, agility and sprint tests

Components and Principles of Training

Topic overview Aerobic, anaerobic and muscular fitness Speed, agility, balance and coordination Principles of training and FITT Measuring intensity, Karvonen and monitoring technology

Training Methods and Periodisation

Topic overview Periodisation cycles and recovery strategies Continuous, fartlek, interval, circuit and cross training Flexibility, resistance, plyometric and SAQ training Training at altitude and in heat and humidity

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Classifying injuries and acute injuries Overuse injuries: shin splints, tendonitis and stress fractures Preventing sports injuries Rehabilitation methods, POLICE and RICE

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Distance, displacement, speed and acceleration Distance–time, speed–time and velocity–time graphs Angular motion and moment of inertia Conservation of angular momentum

Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics

Topic overview Forces acting on a projectile in flight Release velocity, height and angle Drag, streamlining and technology Lift, the Bernoulli effect and spin

Coaching and Skill Classification

Topic overview Mosston's coaching styles Tactics and strategies in competition Analysing a skill in phases Classifying skills on continuums Transfer of skills

Learning Theories

Topic overview Classical and operant conditioning Reinforcement, punishment and the S-R bond Thorndike's laws of learning Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Practice and Guidance

Topic overview Whole, part, progressive part and whole-part-whole practice Massed, distributed, fixed and variable practice Visual, verbal, manual and mechanical guidance Technology in guidance

Feedback and Motor Control

Topic overview Purposes and effectiveness of feedback Types of feedback Feedback technology and performance analysis Open and closed loop control

Information Processing and Memory

Topic overview Welford and Whiting's information processing models The sensory store and short-term memory Long-term memory and the multi-store model Reaction time, Hick's law and the psychological refractory period Schmidt's schema theory

Personality and Attitudes

Topic overview Sport psychology and the nature–nurture debate Trait theory: Eysenck and Cattell Interactionist theory and personality structure Attitudes, Wood's triadic model and cognitive dissonance

Arousal and Anxiety

Topic overview Arousal and the optimal level for performance Drive, inverted-U and catastrophe theories Anxiety, stress and stressors Cognitive and somatic stress management strategies

Aggression

Topic overview Aggression and assertion in sport Types of aggression Theories of aggression: Lorenz, Bandura, Dollard and Berkowitz Causes of aggression and strategies to reduce it

Motivation

Topic overview Types of motivation Internal, external, tangible and intangible rewards Achievement motivation: NACH and NAF Developing a need to achieve

Social Facilitation

Topic overview Social facilitation, social inhibition and types of others Zajonc's dominant response and evaluation apprehension Home advantage, distraction, proximity and coping with an audience

Group Dynamics and Cohesion

Topic overview Groups, teams, and task and social cohesion Carron's four factors of cohesion Steiner's model and the Ringelmann effect Social loafing and building team cohesion

Goal Setting

Topic overview SMARTER targets Outcome, performance and process goals Goal timescales and the benefits of goal setting

Attribution Theory

Topic overview Weiner's attributions for success and failure The three dimensions of attribution Attribution retraining

Confidence and Self-Efficacy

Topic overview Self-confidence and its effect on performance Vealey's model of sport confidence Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Learned helplessness

Leadership

Topic overview Qualities and impact of an effective leader Autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire styles Fiedler's and Chelladurai's leadership models Trait, social learning and interactionist theories of leadership

The Emergence of Modern Sport

Topic overview Popular recreation in pre-industrial Britain The Industrial Revolution and recreation Rational recreation, Arnold and athleticism Factory teams, the sporting press and the first governing bodies

Equality, Diversity and Migration in Sport

Topic overview Corporate and geographically based teams Disability sport and opportunities for women Migration of sporting labour

The Globalisation of Sport

Topic overview What globalisation means for sport Colonial diffusion of sport across the British Empire National and international governing bodies Bidding for and staging world events

The Commercialisation of Sport

Topic overview Commercialisation and sport as a commodity Broken time, spectatorism and the media The Olympic Games and the 1984 commercial blueprint Franchises, Americanisation and global stars

Ethics and Deviance in Sport

Topic overview Ethics, sportsmanship and gamesmanship Performance-enhancing drugs from early use to today Simulation, bribery, bungs and match fixing Responses to deviance and the role of WADA

Sport and the Media

Topic overview The two-way relationship between sport and the media Live and social media coverage Viewing technology, sports packages and pay-per-view

Talent Identification and Elite Development

Topic overview Talent identification programmes in the UK The pathway from novice to elite performer East German and Australian influences on UK sport

Participation and the Health of the Nation

Topic overview Barriers to participation and the benefits of mass participation Mass participation initiatives in the UK Participation trends in the 21st century

Arousal and Anxiety

4 subtopics
12 things to know
Component 2

What Arousal and Anxiety covers

Arousal and Anxiety is examined in Component 2, Psychological and social principles of physical education. It covers arousal and the optimal level for performance, drive, inverted-U and catastrophe theories, anxiety, stress and stressors and cognitive and somatic stress management strategies.

Where it is assessed

Component 2

Psychological and social principles of physical education, a 2 hour paper worth 30% of the qualification.

Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Why does the best level of arousal depend on whether a skill is gross or fine, and simple or complex?

Key term

What is the dominant response, and why does high arousal help an expert according to drive theory?

Key term

What are behavioural anxiety and trait anxiety?

Key term

What is the difference between a cognitive and a somatic strategy?

Key term

What is arousal?

Key term

State Hull's drive theory.

Key term

What is anxiety?

Key term

What is mental rehearsal, also called mental practice?

Key term

What are the positive effects of arousal?

Key term

How did Hull express drive theory as a formula?

Key term

What is cognitive anxiety?

Key term

How does mental rehearsal reduce anxiety?

Take Arousal and Anxiety further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Cognitive anxiety vs Somatic anxiety
Cognitive anxiety: worry and negative thoughts in the mind. Somatic anxiety: physical symptoms such as raised heart rate and muscle tension.
State anxiety vs Trait anxiety
State anxiety: temporary nervousness felt in one particular situation. Trait anxiety: a stable personality tendency to feel nervous in many situations.
Drive theory vs Inverted-U hypothesis
Drive theory: the claim that performance rises in straight-line proportion to arousal. Inverted-U hypothesis: the claim that performance peaks at moderate arousal and then declines.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is arousal?
Model answer
Arousal is a state of physiological and psychological activation that readies a performer to act. Arousal ranges on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement.
2
What are the positive effects of arousal?
Model answer
Moderate arousal raises alertness, motivation and readiness. Heart rate and blood flow rise, preparing the body for effort.
3
How does under-arousal affect performance?
Model answer
An under-aroused performer lacks motivation and concentration. Attention is too broad, so irrelevant cues are processed and key ones missed.
4
How does over-arousal affect performance?
Model answer
An over-aroused performer suffers muscle tension and poor coordination. Attention narrows too far, so relevant cues are missed.
5
What is the optimal level of arousal?
Model answer
The optimal level is the arousal at which a performer performs best. The level differs for each performer, task and situation.
6
Why do gross skills need higher arousal than fine skills?
Model answer
Gross skills use large muscle groups and need power, which high arousal supports. Fine skills need precise control, which muscle tension from high arousal disrupts.

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The Musculo-Skeletal System

Levers, Newton's Laws and Stability

The Respiratory System

The Cardiovascular System

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AThe training zone is 136 to 158 bpm.

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Arousal and Anxiety revision questions

What does Arousal and Anxiety cover in Edexcel A-Level Physical Education?: 4 subtopics: arousal and the optimal level for performance, drive, inverted-u and catastrophe theories, anxiety, stress and stressors and cognitive and somatic stress management strategies. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Arousal and Anxiety organised?: By the Edexcel 9PE0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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