AROUSAL AND INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN SPORT

This paper reviews a programme of research, carried out by the authors, into psychological factors in competitive squash. The research was based on the orthogonal model of stress and arousal; Mackay, Cox, Burrows and Lazzerini (1978) and Apter's (1982) reversal theory. These two approaches, which both consider arousal in relation to other psychological states, are presented here as alternatives to optimal arousal theory. Research participants completed a number of questionnaires, including personality and attentional style inventories, and their psychological responses to task performance and competetive play were monitored using state measures. The results suggested that all the players studied, irrespective of their level of skill and later success, entered games with high levels of arousal, but did not necessarily experience these high levels as 'stressful' or show obvious signs of anxiety. 'Winners' showed slightly higher and more stable levels of arousal across games than 'losers' who showed significant decrease in arousal as their lack of success became more apparent, and this was associated with increased feelings of stress. The results also indicated significant differences in extraversion and neuroticism between playing ability and success levels. Skilled and novice players were found to have similar attentional strategies, which were different from their moderately skilled colleagues. The results are discussed in terms of their importance in the understanding of the psychological processes involved in successful squash. © 1991.