Describe the relationship between arousal and sporting performance for a weightlifter according to the inverted-U hypothesis.

Discuss the effect of specific positive and negative emotions on a cyclist’s performance during an endurance race.

the optimum level of arousal for the weightlifter will tend to be high
OR
initially as arousal increases performance increases «to an optimum level» ✔

above this level of arousal their performance will tend to deteriorate again ✔

there will be individual differences in optimal arousal ✔

a weightlifter feeling under aroused will tend to perform poorly ✔

Award [1 max] for labelled graph

[2 max]

Positive emotions:

excitement masks pain / fatigue / stimulates adrenalin ✔

relief could calm the nerves and increase confidence ✔

joy creates a positive mindset and makes it more likely that they will be optimally aroused ✔

pride will improve motivation and striving to achieve ✔

Negative emotions:

anger may mean that the athlete has tunnel vision and miss key cues ✔

guilt may mean an athlete does not push themselves and they withdraw in the game ✔

fear may mean they may avoid situations and try to avoid contact with others ✔

anxiety may mean they are distracted by their own thoughts and miss cues ✔

boredom may mean that cues are missed due to arousal being low ✔

Award [2 max] for positive or negative.

[3 max]

Students did well with this question. A large number of students did not directly link the question to weightlifting.

This was a difficult question for many students. Many students had difficulty linking specific emotions to the effect on performance. In most cases where links were provided, they were overly general.