A blog looking into arousal, catastrophising and pressure avoidance. Citing at time of incident no.1 seeded PDC Darts World Champion Gerwyn Price.
In his quarter-final of the 2023 PDC World Championship, current no.1 seeded and former World Champion Gerwyn Price crashed out of the tournament to 19th seeded and significant underdog Gabriel Clemens. However, the Welshman's crash from the tournament was not the most significant talking point from the defeat. After winning the first set in a best of 9 match, Gerwyn emerged for the fifth set wearing very visible ear defenders in protest to the fans and the interruption they were causing to his game. Price is a showman, a "pantomime villain" of sorts during his matches, however, in this match the occasion seemed to eat at him not allowing him to play to his potential. This blog will investigate this bizarre psychological scenario along with it's placing in wider sporting context and how systems such as arousal are pivotal to elite performance.
Arousal and ZOFs
In a sporting context, arousal concerns how alert, motivated and energised an athlete is. In a similar way to anxiety, arousal is a continuous feeling, though an athlete's level of arousal is a continuum that fluctuates a lot. Both high and low arousal levels are optimal in different sports, gymnasts typically target a low level of arousal to ensure high levels and concentration and control due to the complex movements to be completed. Inversely, a sport such as weightlifting is perfectly suited for high levels of arousal where excessive amounts of power are required and gross motor movement. Optimal arousal levels in team sports and similar sport fluctuate dependent on the individual's best zone of function. Being able to control this is a real skill that can be utilised to maximise performance which will be covered in this blog.
Above you can see an example of how zones of optimal function (ZOF) may work for an individual and how this is applicable in a team sport setting with athletes requiring different levels of arousal to perform at their best. However, accessing these levels is often easier said than done due to the countless external factors that may influence an athlete's arousal levels such as pressure, anxiety, motivation and more. Performing outside of the side can have a large amount of negative influence on performance. Underarousal typically leads to a performance lacking confidence and a lack of risk taking, whereas, overarousal often leads to a lack of control of emotions and physical movement. Both of these are often referred to as a "head-loss" moment - a moment where a player's emotions cannot be controlled and a sense of having no control over a performance is prominent.
Performing within an individual's zone of optimal function leads to an increase of cognitive control of movements, a sense of effortless movement, increased levels of enjoyment and satisfaction along with increased levels of attention and concentration. With the spectral nature of arousal, performing outside of the ZOF will have the inverse effect on said listed characteristics.
Relating this back to Gerwyn Price, from his personality and shown sporting characteristics, it can likely be assumed that his zone of optimal function will be on the higher end of the spectrum, requiring higher levels of arousal to perform within it. This assumption can further be hypothesised due to his previous professional rugby career, a sport in which typically a high arousal level is required due it's strength-based nature. Performance outside of an athlete's ZOF is especially detrimental in a dart setting due to the individual nature of the sport, performing alone, no support nearby, few rests during matches (if there is rests, they are often in longer matches where each set is as important as ever), just a simple skill with minimal variation further heightening frustration. During the match, Gerwyn is clearly performing outside of his ZOF during the match and is getting visibly irritated with his performance, hence the reach for a lifeline in the form of ear defenders to re-establish some control. This is an example of an arousal catastrophe in which performance levels dramatically drops after reaching a tolerance threshold as will be investigated next.
Theories of Arousal
Above is the three primary theories hypothesised around arousal:
First of all, 'drive theory', suggests that as levels of arousal increases, the level of performance from an athlete increases exponentially alongside. Whilst a possibility for some athletes, the likelihood of this theory being appropriate for all is minimal, as a large majority of athlete's showcase the likelihood to become psyched-out and over-aroused, nullifying this possibility. Therefore, the next theory, 'Inverted-U theory', may be most appropriate. This, similarly to drive theory suggests that performance level increases as arousal level increases however, it reaches an optimal zone in which the athlete will be performing at their peak. Any further increases in level of arousal will have a negative impact on performance and would lead to a psyching-out of the athlete. This is the typical response to arousal for most athletes, as previously mentioned, this is furthered by the adaptability of the 'optimal zone', this can be either at a high level of arousal or a low level furthering the suitability of this theory. The headline theory for this blog however is the 'catastrophe theory', this theory suggests that performance level increases as arousal level does until the arousal threshold is reached. Once this level is surpassed there is a dramatic decrease in performance level due to over-arousal. The theory also suggests that once this dramatic decrease has occured, it is incredibly difficult to return to optimal performance, which was the clear showing from Gerwyn Price during his championship defeat.
Gerwyn's Psych-out
Gerwyn's psych-out perfectly illustrates an arousal catastrophe, his continued attempts to alter his level of arousal show how chaotic and extreme this emotion can be. Within three sets of a best-of-nine Price goes from roaring towards the crowd (in an attempt to increase arousal), to wearing ear defenders (to lower arousal), to further celebration to the crowd whilst wearing the defenders (further fluctuating arousal), to wearing less-noticable ear-plugs (to lower arousal).
None of these seemingly worked to create an optimal performance zone for Price, so Gerwyn frantically scrambles to find assistance from an external source with constant change to his immediate performance environment. This is the opposite to what is optimal in a sporting event like darts, with the actions being performed being repeated numerous times with little differential from throw to throw, consistency, control and continuity are vital. Routine typically plays a pivotal role within arousal levels and how these are regulated throughout performance, therefore maintaining some form of normality in routine is key for sustaining performance in an optimal zone of function, avoiding psychological difficulties as previously highlighted.
The importance of controlling arousal in sport is pivotal as well as awareness of your own needs for optimal performance. To conclude this piece, the juxtaposition of the sporting requirements of arousal control and that shown by Price during this important world championship game highlights the significance of arousal and how it can affect performance. This blog aimed to demystify the phenomenon of arousal and provide a greater understanding of how this should be effectively utilised.
Any feedback or support to this piece would be more than appreciated, if you've got any sporting topics you'd like to see covered let me know and don't forget to check out my other pieces!
@MESportPsychology
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