Chapter 5:

Arousal, Attention,
and Peak
Performance

Prepared by
Yeo Yet Phing

DEFINITION OF AROUSAL
Arousal

is the activation of the brain

and the body.
When

we are aroused, body and brain are

in a state of readiness so that we are
prepared to engage in adaptive behaviors.

Two

primary arousal systems:

Cortical

arousal systeminvolves the

activation of various brain systems.
Autonomic nervous systemarouses
the body.
(For other parts, read main text pp.

AROUSAL, AFFECT, AND

PERFORMANCE (Summary)
Arousal

and affect are best described by

an inverted U-shaped function.
Affect

is negative or neutral at low levels

of arousal, highly positive at some
intermediate level of arousal, and negative
(aversive) at very high levels of arousal.
Studies of sensory deprivation suggest
that low levels of stimulation are aversive.
Research in anxiety indicates that
chronically high levels of arousal are
aversive.

AROUSAL, AFFECT, AND PERFORMANCE (Summary)

(cont2)
Apter (1982, 2001) has argued that the

level of stimulation that people prefer

depends on their goals.
Telic

goals (motivated by the need for

achievement)
Paratelic goals (motivated by a desire to
experience pleasure)

AROUSAL AND ATTENTION

Arousal and Selective Attention
low levels of arousal our attention
is broad (we attend to many things) and
inclusive (we process a great deal of
information).
At high levels of arousal (beyond the
optimal level) our attention becomes
narrow (we attend to few things) and
exclusive (we ignore everything but
survival-related stimuli) = selective
attention.
At

Arousal and the

Reorganization of Attention
increase attention become
narrower reorganization of attention.

Arousal

Our

attention is directed toward the

location and identification of things in the
environment that might threaten our
survival.

Arousal

and the narrowing of attention

are mutually reinforcing.
Arousal and reorganization of attention
are mutually reinforcing.

Two Activation Systems

Negative

activation (NA) system:

Avoidance system.
Keep

organisms out of trouble.

e.g., inhibit behaviors that might lead to pain,
punishment, or some other negative
consequence.
Positive

activation (PA) system:

Approach system.
Ensure

organisms obtain the resources

essential for survival.
e.g., direct individuals to situations and
experiences that could offer pleasure and
reward. (For Challenges for Performance Theory, read main text

TRAIT AROUSAL (ANXIETY)

The Biological Component
Twin

studies of clinically anxious people have

shown a significant genetic component.
Kagans Timidity Theory
Higher

levels of sympathetic reactivity (autonomic

arousal) inhibit children (not inclined to approach
unfamiliar people and objects).

Eysencks

Extraversion/Introversion Theory

arousal level (extraverts) need more

stimulation seek out social stimulation.
Moderate to high arousal level (introverts)
motivated to maintain or reduce arousal levels
avoid social contacts.
Low

The Biological Component (cont 2)

Grays

Behavioral Inhibition Model

People

with active behavioral inhibition

system (BIS)anxious individuals: Reflect a
combination of Eysencks introversion and
neuroticism.
People with active behavioral activation
system (BAS)impulsive individuals: Reflect a
combination of Eysencks extraversion and
stability.
Barlows

Anxiety

Anxious Apprehension Model

tends to make people more and more

dysfunctional as a result of a bidirectional
effect between arousal and attention.
Arousa
Attention

The Learned Social Component

The

affective system leads people to process the

environment in a distorted way.
We

tend to focus on things that are potentially

dangerous and process only negative information.
We inclined to develop a schema or implicit theory of
the world that involves more bad things than good
things.
Anxious

people distort information about how

effectively they deal with the world.
Parents: Keep alerting us to dangers in our
environment or telling us how bad things are
bias our information processing we tend to see
more bad than good.
Media: Publishers of papers present more bad
news due to demand of the public.

The Cognitive Component

The

experience of anxiety depends on how

the individual appraises the world.
Appraise

situation as dangerous or threatening

respond with fear or anxiety.
Appraise situation as challenging respond
with mastery or involvement.
When

people are given cognitive retraining

on how to appraise a situation, they
respond in a more adaptive manner.
The research indicates that the anxiety
reaction is likely to vary in proportion to the
degree that the situation seems predictable
and controllable.

(For High Trait Arousal and Performance read main

STATE AROUSAL:
SENSORY OVERLOAD
The Biological Component
Some

people are more resistant to

experiencing feelings of anxiety,
because of their genetic inheritance.
Their

GABA (gama-aminobutyric acid)

system is stronger or more reactive
protect them from becoming
overstimulated.

GABA is a naturally occurring inhibitory

neurotransmitter, which reduces the flow
of neural transmission.
(For Sources of Arousal, read main text pp

The Learned Component

We

learned to deal with sensory

overload.
e.g.,

restricted environmental stimulation

technique (REST) is an effective treatment
for excessive environmental stimulation.

Why

does REST work?

REST

may help people to shift their

attention away from external cues to
internal cues.
During these sessions, people learn how to
account for their arousal unexplained
arousal becomes explained and its no
longer seen as a threat.

The Cognitive Component

An

interesting side effect of our ability to

anticipate events is that we sometimes
experience high levels of anticipatory arousal.
Because

the anticipation is based on our

cognitive interpretation, it might be
inappropriate.
e.g., I anticipate that I am going to be fired
nothing happen.

Sometimes

the magnitude of the arousal we

experience is not appropriate.
e.g., I experience a very high level of arousal when
I am asked to address a large audience =
reasonable; I experience the same level of arousal
when I am asked to introduce a friend to someone
else I know = inappropriate.
(For other parts, read main text pp.

STATE AROUSAL:
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
The Biological Component
Cognitive

dissonance leads to increases

in arousal.
Galvanic

skin response (GSR) was

elevated when the participants were
asked to do something inconsistent with
their attitude.

The Learned Component

The

perceptions of an inconsistency
among an individuals cognitions
generate psychological discomfort
motivate individual to take remedial
action.
The strategies used to reduce
dissonance are reinforced.
certain strategies psychological
discomfort decreases incline to use
those strategies again.

Employ

The Cognitive Component

People

sometimes engage in behaviors

that are not consistent with their
underlying beliefs and attitudes.
When

that happens, they will sometimes

change their attitudes to match their
behavior.
If they are coerced or paid to do so, they
might rationalize that they did it for those
reasons no cognitive dissonance and no
pressure to change their attitudes.

(For Cognitive Dissonance and Performance, read mai

STATE AROUSAL:
EVALUATION AROUSAL
Test Anxiety
The

Biological Components

Test

taking tends to produce a number of

physiological changes, including increases
in autonomic arousal.

The

Learned Components

Test

anxiety is largely a problem of selfpreoccupying intrusive thinking.

i.e., self-assessment of personal deficits.

Self-preoccupying

intrusive thinking is
reduced when we focus on the task.

Test Anxiety (cont 2)

The

Cognitive Components

When

students see the exam as threat,

they use a combination of problemfocused and emotion-focused coping
strategies.
In the anticipatory stage, they tend to
prepare for the examination (problemfocused coping) hopefulness.
During the final waiting stage, their
emotions begin to turn negative.

(For Test Anxiety and Performance, read main t

Competition Arousal
The

Biological Components

Competition

creates high autonomic

arousal not only in physical sports but
also in interpersonal activities (e.g.,
discussions and debates).
Interpersonal conflict has been linked to
arousal and stress.
The

Learned Components

Competition

is largely learned.
No data to support the idea that
competitiveness is part of human nature.
(For other parts, read main text pp.

Competition Arousal (cont 2)

The

Cognitive Components

Highly

competitive people have a strong

need to win.
People with a strong need to win have
fairly negative view of themselves and a
negative view of the world.
They lack the fundamental skills necessary
to deal with the daily stresses of life.

(For other parts, read main text pp.