a physical (physiological) and mental (psychological) state of alertness/readiness, varying from deep sleep to intense excitement/alertness

the arousal level required for peak performance

a theory which relates levels of arousal with performance in sport

Inverted-U theory

Physical education

This unit develops understanding of how to best prepare our mind for competition and explores strategies like mental rehearsal, visualisation and imagery to support peak performance.

Sports psychology: mental preparation for performance

This inverted-U graph highlights the area known as what?

Which of the following best describes the effect of under arousal on performance?

decreased performance due to lack of energy

decreased performance due to anxiety and stress

Match the level of arousal to the performance outcome.

Too little arousal (lack of energy or focus)

Performance begins to decline (due to excess anxiety or stress)

Put these statements in the correct order as the inverted-U moves from left to right.

Unsporting behaviour is most likely to occur in which level of arousal?

Different skills require different optimal levels of arousal. From lowest to highest, put these skills in order of optimal arousal level.

someone awake but feeling tired and lethargic

someone feeling alert and ready for any challenge

someone so intensely excited they can't control themselves

Put these statements in order, in terms of how alert the person is. Lowest level of alertness first.

getting ready to relax after a long training run

preparing to play in a cup final in front of a big crowd

Which of these is most likely to get someone very excited or anxious?

Which of these needs the most energy and effort to perform it successfully?

the are overstimulated and make unusual decisions

they make all the right decisions and perform well

Which of these describes someone who is 'in the zone'.

Match the emotion to the most likely effect on sports performance.

Which of these do you think the word inverted means?

Starter Quiz