anxiety is predominantly a psychological process characterised by fear or apprehension in anticipation of confronting a situation perceived to be potentially threatening.

arousal is a specific level of anxiety and can be experienced prior to and during a performance.

concentration the ability to link movement and awareness to the extent that the individual can focus on doing, rather than on thinking about doing.

extrinsic or external motivation occurs when the individual’s internal state is modified by sources originating from outside the person.

goals are targets that we direct our efforts towards. They can relate to either performance or behaviour.

intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within the individual.

inverted U hypothesis a theory that suggests that performance improves with increasing arousal to a point beyond which performance will deteriorate.

mental rehearsal is the technique of picturing the performance or skill before executing it.

motivation is an internal state that activates, directs and sustains behaviour towards achieving a particular goal.

negative motivation is characterised by an improvement in performance out of fear of the consequences of not performing to expectations.

positive motivation occurs when an individual’s performance is driven by previous reinforcing behaviours.

relaxation techniques are a series of techniques that seek to control the body’s response to stress.

216stress is a physiological or psychological influence that produces a state of tension in a person.