Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

A model that skill, personality and motivation interact to determine athletic performance was tested. Each component is assumed to possess arousal properties and to contribute to total arousal. A curvilinear relationship between total arousal and performance was predicted. Women curlers representing combinations of skill and Will to Win were observed during actual curling games. Combinations of the independent variables were placed along a continuum of assumed total arousal. In Study I for 83 curlers was evidence of a curvilinear relationship but only when simple and complex shots were combined. The most skilled curlers performed better as did those high in Will to Win. Then Study II considered shot complexity in more detail and included curlers' ratings of the arousal properties of different game circumstances. 60 curlers were scored on simple and complex shots under high and low game arousal. The predicted curvilinear relationship was found for simple shots but not complex shots. Increased arousal led to improved performance on simple shots and a decrement for complex shots. The studies provided considerable support for the model, though the relationship between arousal and athletic performance is not as simple as the Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests. Further work is needed to assess the arousal value of the model's components and to define shot complexity better.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alderman

R. B.

Psychological behavior in sport. Toronto: Saunders, 1974.

Atkinson

J. W.

, & Reitman

W. R.

Performance as a function of motive strength and expectancy of goal-attainment. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1956, 53, 361–366.

Broadhurst

P. L.

Emotionality and the Yerkes-Dodson Law. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1957, 54, 345–352.

Butt

Psychology of sport. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1975.

Carron

A. V.

Motor performance under stress. Research Quarterly, 1969, 39, 463–469.

Cooper

Athletics, activity and personality; a review of the literature. Research Quarterly, 1969, 40, 17–22.

Duffy

The concept of energy mobilization. Psychological Review, 1951, 58, 30–40.

Duffy

Activation and behavior. New York: Wiley, 1962.

Farber

I. E.

, & Spence

K. W.

Complex learning and conditioning as a function of anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1953, 45, 120–125.

10.

Fisher

A. C.

Horsfall

J. S.

, & Morris

H. H.

Sport personality assessment: a methodological re-examination. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 1977, 8, 92–102.

11.

Frost

R. B.

Psychological concepts applied to physical education and coaching. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1971.

12.

Hebb

D. O.

Drives and the C.N.S.

Psychological Review, 1955, 53, 259–276.

13.

Hull

C. L.

Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton-Century, 1943.

14.

Joesting

Comparison of personalities of athletes who sail with those who run. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1981, 52, 514.

15.

Kroll

, & Crenshaw

Multivariate personality profile analysis of four athletic groups. In Kenyon

(Ed.), Contemporary psychology of sport. Chicago: Athletic Institute, 1970. Pp. 97–106.

16.

Layman

Theories and research on aggression in relation to motor learning and performance. In Smith

(Ed.), Psychology of motor learning. Chicago: Athletic Institute, 1968. Pp. 227–335.

17.

Malmo

R. B.

Activation: a neuropsychological dimension. Psychological Review, 1959, 66, 367–386.

18.

Marascuilo

L. A.

, & McSweeney

Nonparametric and distribution-free methods for the social sciences. Monterey: Brooks/Cole, 1977.

19.

Martens

Effect of an audience on learning and performance of a complex motor skill. In Kenyon

(Ed.), Contemporary psychology of sport. Chicago: Athletic Institute, 1968. Pp. 317–324.

20.

Martens

, & Landers

D. M.

Motor performance under stress: a test of the inverted -U hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 16, 29–37.

21.

McNeil

Measurement of curling ability through a knowledge and skills test. Unpublished M.A. thesis, McGill Univer., Montreal, 1974.

22.

Nunnally

J. C.

Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.

23.

Ogilvie

, & Tutko

Problem athletes and how to handle them. New York: Ronald, 1966.

24.

Oxendine

J. B.

Emotional arousal and motor performance. Quest, 1970, 13, 23–32.

25.

Pezer

Some determinants of curling performance. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Univer. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 1977.

26.

Pezer

, & Brown

Will to win and athletic performance. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 1980, 11, 121–131.

27.

Rushall

B. S.

An evaluation of the relationship between personality and physical performance categories. In Kenyon

(Ed.), Contemporary psychology of sport. Chicago: Athletic Institute, 1910. Pp. 157–166.

28.

Rushall

B. S.

Environment specific behavior inventories: developmental procedures. Paper presented at the IV Congress of the Federation Europeene de Psychologie des Sports et des Activities Corporelles, Edinburgh, Scotland, September, 1975.

29.

Spence

K. W.

Taylor

, & Ketchel

Anxiety (drive) level and degree of competition in paired-associate learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1956, 52, 306–310.

30.

Taylor

J. A.

, & Spence

K. W.

The relationship of anxiety level to performance in serial learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1952, 64, 44–61.

31.

Thayer

E. E.

Measurement of activation through self-report. In McClelland

C. D.

& Steele

R. S.

(Eds.), Human motivation: a book of readings. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press, 1973. Pp. 396–410.

32.

Valliant

P. M.

Simpson-Housley

, & McKelvie

S. J.

Personality in athletic and non-athletic college groups. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1981, 52, 963–966.

33.

Wankel

L. M.

Audience size and trait anxiety effects upon state anxiety and motor performance. Research Quarterly, 1977, 48, 181–186.

34.

Wilkie

D. R.

Effects of selected variables on the longitudinal displacement of curling stone. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Univer. of Minnesota, 1972.

35.

Winer

B. J.

Statistical principles in experimental design. (2nd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.

36.

Yerkes

R. M.

, & Dodson

J. D.

The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1908, 18, 459–482.

Some Psychological Determinants of Curling Performance

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References