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Year 11 - Physical education

Inverted-U theory

Sports psychology: mental preparation for performance

Unit Summary

This unit develops understanding of how to best prepare our mind for competition and explores strategies like mental rehearsal, visualisation and imagery to support peak performance.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain and interpret the inverted-U theory of arousal and its impact on performance, including drawing and labelling a graph.

Key Notes

  • The inverted-U theory illustrates that performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point and then declines.
  • The inverted-U graph shows performance on the y-axis, arousal on the x-axis, with a curve shaped like an upside down U.
  • Optimal performance occurs at a moderate level of arousal. Arousal levels too high or too low can impair performance.
  • Optimal arousal levels differ according to whether the skill being performed is gross or fine.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • arousal: a physical (physiological) and mental (psychological) state of alertness/readiness, varying from deep sleep to intense excitement/alertness
  • optimal arousal: the arousal level required for peak performance
  • inverted-U theory: a theory which relates levels of arousal with performance in sport

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The more arousal you have, the better you perform.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

The inverted-U theory illustrates that performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point and then declines. The inverted-U graph shows performance on the y-axis, arousal on the x-axis, with a curve shaped like an upside down U.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'arousal'

a physical (physiological) and mental (psychological) state of alertness/readiness, varying from deep sleep to intense excitement/alertness.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: The more arousal you have, the better you perform. Correction: The inverted-U theory recognises that after an optimal level of arousal, performance will deteriorate with any further heightening of arousal levels.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 11 Physical education guide library.