Arousal and Athletic Performance

Understanding how arousal (activation, excitement) of varying intensity affects athletic performance is important for effective coping with stress-related emotional experiences in sports. What is emotional arousal? How is it manifested and measured? How is it related to the performance process and its outcomes? How can the optimal and dysfunctional effects of emotional arousal on athletic performance be explained? The sections below provide research-based answers to some of these questions.

Arousal as a Category of Bodily Experience

Traditionally, arousal describes the intensity of the physiological ...

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