Support for P6

BTEC National - Sport

Unit 17: Psychology for Sports Performance

Activity 30 – Are you psychologically perfect?

One method of assessment is to use a form of self evaluation. A good example of this is a questionnaire called the CSAI 2 which looks at anxiety in competition.

Why look at performance anxiety in competition? Do you think it’s that important?

Try it in action…

Imagine you are going to compete in 20 minutes – can you explain how you feel? Do you know how to explain how you feel?

See if you can suggest some positive and/or negative pre-competition thoughts and feelings…

Negative / Positive

Now let’s look at some questions from the CSAI 2.

Read each statement and then circle the appropriate number next to each statement i.e. 1= Not at all 4= Very much so

Not at all / Very much so
1 / I am concerned about this competition / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
2 / I feel nervous / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
3 / I have at ease / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
4 / I have self doubt / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
5 / I feel jittery / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
6 / I feel comfortable / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
7 / I am concerned I may not do as well as I should / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
8 / My body feels tense / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
9 / I feel self confident / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
10 / I am concerned about losing / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
11 / I feel tense in my stomach / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
12 / I feel secure / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
13 / I become agitated in a competitive environment / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
14 / My body feels relaxed / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
15 / I am confident I can meet the challenge / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
16 / I am concerned about performing poorly / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
17 / My heart is racing / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
18 / I am confident about performing well / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
19 / I am worried about reaching my goals / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
20 / I feel my stomach sinking / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
21 / I feel mentally relaxed / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
22 / I am concerned that others will be disappointed with my performance / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
23 / My hands are clammy / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
24 / I am confident because I mentally picture myself reaching my goal / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
25 / I am concerned I won’t be able to concentrate / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
26 / My body feels tight / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
27 / I am confident of coming through under pressure / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Before we look at how you score lets do a bit of revision – think back to your earlier studies in this unit, can you define:

Cognitive State Anxiety

Somatic State Anxiety

Self Confidence

Great! Because now we are going to score your questionnaire and give you a rating in each area.

Add up all the numbers you circled for the scores outlined below to get a score for each scale (but statement 14 is reversed)

Cognitive State Anxiety Score / Somatic State Anxiety Score / Self Confidence Score
Question No. / Score / Question No. / Score / Question No. / Score
1 / 2 / 3
4 / 5 / 6
7 / 8 / 9
10 / 11 / 12
13 / 14(reverse score) / 15
16 / 17 / 18
19 / 20 / 21
22 / 23 / 24
25 / 26 / 27
Total / Total / Total

How did you do?

Were you surprised by the results?

It would be very useful for you to try out this questionnaire just before a competition; you may get a different result – which one would be more reliable?