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Physical Education · GCSE · The School
Arousal
Performance and AROUSAL follow an inverted U: too little and an athlete is flat and unfocused; too much and they are tense, rushed and error-prone. The best level differs by task — a weightlifter benefits from high arousal, a snooker player from low. Managing it is a skill, through breathing, routines and self-talk.
Motivation
INTRINSIC motivation comes from inside — enjoyment, mastery, the satisfaction of doing it well. EXTRINSIC comes from outside — medals, money, praise. Both work, but intrinsic motivation lasts longer and survives a bad season. Heavy reliance on external reward can actually reduce enjoyment of an activity someone once did for its own sake.
Goals that work
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. "Get better at football" fails every test; "complete 8 of 10 passes in the next four matches" passes them all. Process goals — about what you do — are more useful than outcome goals about winning, because you control the process and not the opponent.
A weightlifter before a maximal attempt is too calm: nothing gets going, and the lift fails. The fix is to RAISE arousal — music, self-talk, a slap on the back. A snooker player before a final black is over-aroused: hands shaking, breathing shallow. The fix is to LOWER it — slow breathing, a fixed routine. Same principle, opposite interventions, because the optimum depends on how fine the motor control has to be.