Multidimensional state anxiety prior to different levels of sport competition : Some problems with simulation tasks

This study focused on the relationship between competition-related state anxiety and the result of cognitive and physical criterion tasks, simulated the partial performances in hockey under different racing conditions. Earlier studies, which began the CSAI-2 before competitions have suggested no effect of cognitive anxiety on performance in a cognitive working memory task. In the present study, however, the verbal test Keep working memory has been replaced by a visual-spatial version, which is believed to possess bigger ecological validity in the context of a Team ball game. The results showed, in contrast to former findings that increased cognitive anxiety was associated with low self-confidence and stabilized somatic anxiety, with the decrease in working memory before a competition. Conversely numbers increased somatic anxiety associated with decreasing confidence and cognitive anxiety, in relation to improved visuomotor performance. These results are discussed in relation to recent work by the preconditions of power.