The Effects of Elevated Arousal and Mood on Maximal Strength Performance in Athletes

Optimal arousal models contend that high arousal contributes to inhibited ath-letic performance, whereas there is reversal theory research which indicates that high positive arousal may enhance performance. To test these claims, 22 male and 6 female elite athletes were induced into high arousal telic (goal-directed) and high arousal paratelic (non goal-directed, process focussed) motivational states and tested on a standard hand strength task. Personalized guided imagery tech-niques and paced breathing were used to change psychological and physiological arousal. Significant increases in strength performance occurred when arousal was high and experienced as pleasant excitement in the paratelic condition (i.e., high positive arousal). Heart rate and other indicators of parasympathetic and sympa-thetic nervous system activity were not found to mediate between psychological arousal and performance. Where athletic performance requires maximal motor strength over a short period, performance benefits of high arousal may be maxi-mized by restructuring motivational state. The effective use of psychological strategies and interventions is now seen as