Environment and Personal
Performance
By
Jonathan Lienhoop
At the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, a relatively unknown speed skater named Derek Parra won the gold medal in the Men’s 1500M speed skating event and in the process set the world record. A number of elements combined to create this once-in-a-lifetime performance. Parra’s desire to perform well on his own soil and the crowd support helped to increase his arousal level to the optimum level. In addition, Parra had the finest equipment available (clap skates and body suits) as well as a scientifically constructed track designed to be the fastest in the world. It is obvious that athletes are affected by a variety of stimulants that affect the quality of their performance. It is unlikely Derek Parra would have won gold let alone set the world record if the environment had been different. For example if the stadium had been empty or if it had been a poorly constructed speed skating track Parra would not have performed as well as he did. Whether taking an SAT test, or competing on the Olympic level the environment substantially influences a person’s performance. This environment, including colors, noises, lighting, and equipment can change a person’s level of arousal.
Since the modern Olympic era began
106 years ago, human physiology has not dramatically changed. What has changed is our knowledge of
training techniques, equipment, and facilities. The training, equipment, and facilities now incorporate a
“careful analysis of body mechanics and use of the principles of physics and
aerodynamics” (Bowerman 181). Even over
the past 10 years training techniques are almost the same and athletes are
still just as motivated. This leaves
two factors as to why times are still being lowered. They are the environment and equipment used for competition. For example today’s speed skater has a
bodysuit that is designed to cut down on the amount of drag during a race. The athlete is given the sharpest clap
skates that are designed to stay in contact with the ice as long as possible to
allow for a longer push on the ice. The
venue is also as advanced as the equipment Parra skates with. At the Olympics in Salt Lake City the ice
was constructed in several layers so that the density of the ice could be
changed for sprinting or distance skating.
Speed skaters are no exception with the use of scientifically designed
venues, only the example. Many other
athletes such as swimmers, shot put and discus throwers use the same scientific
research that speed skaters use with the construction of their venues.
An athlete’s level of arousal is a key factor in how he is going to perform. The Yerkes-Dodson Law of Arousal suggested by Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson found that “arousal is a major aspect of many learning theories and is closely related to other concepts such as anxiety, attention, agitation, stress, and motivation” (Clark “Yerkes-Dodson”). In addition, “there are optimal levels of arousal for each task to be learned” (Clark “Arousal”). The law can be shown as an “inverted U-shaped function between arousal and performance” with the highest level of arousal in the middle (Clark “Yerkes-Dodson”).
The study divided tasks into two different groups. One group consisted of tasks that required difficult or intellectually challenging material and the second consisted of tasks that required endurance and persistence. The study found that a “certain amount of arousal can be a motivator toward change (with change being learning)” (Clark “Arousal”). If there was too much learning or too little learning occurring, that would work against the learner. For the learner to have the motivation to actually learn there needed to be a medium level of arousal.
Certain tasks that are difficult or intellectually challenging, e.g., a math class, are classified as cognitive tasks. These require a low level of arousal. These cognitive tasks require that the learner remain calm and concentrate on the information presented. Other tasks, e.g., an athletic performance, require more endurance or persistence and require a higher level of arousal. The tasks that require more endurance or persistence require a lot of motivators and a moderate level of stress to achieve the desired level of arousal.
The difference between the two types of tasks relates to the fact that the optimum level of arousal for cognitive learning is lower than that for an athletic endeavor. This difference is because the lower the arousal level the less physically active and interested you are, and since sporting events have a lot of stimulating activity they provide a higher level of arousal. This may explain why some students fall asleep in one type of class but never fall asleep in another class. If, for example, a history teacher lectures on facts that the student does not believe are relevant to his life, then that teacher is less likely to have a class in which everyone is engaged in a lively discussion. Some teachers have taken this information and decided to make their class very interactive and stimulating. Sometimes teachers take the arousal level theories and have their students do physically challenging exercises to help wake them up.
Motivation is a big factor in the arousal level. One way to help motivate people is by giving tests. Whatever some people may think about tests, they are “great motivators for getting students to learn...it shows they mastered the task” (Clark “Arousal”). People, in general, do not like to fail and students are no exception. If they take tests that force them to study and prepare, they will study in an effort not to fail.
One of the major drawbacks of testing is that some students develop test-taking anxiety. This anxiety is directly related to the test and can push some students over the edge. When students are pushed over the edge it is because they have developed harmful anxiety. This harmful anxiety prevents them from performing their best by making them think about the test instead of the information the test covers.
Athletes are also subject to the same type of anxiety over competition. Most of the time this anxiety is judged to be nervousness instead of worry. A little nervousness over an athletic event is a good sign and that is helpful anxiety. Helpful anxiety can also help motivate athletes to perform above and beyond what they thought they could do. But if an athlete’s nervousness is so great that it becomes harmful anxiety, that can hinder his performance by making him play cautiously when he should not.
Trying to achieve an optimum level of arousal is something that every athlete tries to do whether he knows it or not. Many students also try to prepare themselves for big tests without noticing exactly what they are doing. There are many different ways to achieve this optimum level of arousal and it is different for each person. “Often it is the coach that is the biggest factor in the arousal level of an athlete. The coach has to decide what the optimum level of arousal is for his players and then act accordingly by calming them down or getting them excited” (Gutjahr). Some people need complete silence, others need music, and still others have to joke around and get their minds off the event ahead. Although there is a limit to how much stress each person can take, it is good for each person to have some level of stress. This moderate or low level of stress can help motivate some people to excel and accomplish things that under normal conditions they would not do.
For both students and athletes, competition and preparation are also factors in achieving their optimum level of arousal. If a person is prepared, he then knows what to expect and reacts in a more positive manner than a person who is not prepared. The reaction of the prepared person would be calm and collected whereas the reaction of the person who was not prepared would be one of panic. This panic causes harmful anxiety and can cause the person to lose focus on his goal. Even if this is only a momentary lapse it could be the difference between success and failure.
Although it is desirable to have a high level of arousal for athletes, there is a limit to how high that level can go. For each person and each situation the limit is different. When an athlete or student has achieved the optimum level of arousal he is likely to become more focused on the task at hand, and will have increased motivation, attention, and positive agitation. If an athlete is pushed over the edge, then his arousal level will become counter-productive and he will develop increased harmful anxiety and will lose focus on the task.
An athlete’s arousal level can be heightened or lowered by many different outside factors. The physical environment is also one of the factors that determine performance. This holds true for athletic events as well as stressful non-athletic events. Factors such as noise levels, temperature, personal comfort level, spatial arrangement, the physical design of a room or sporting venue, light, light intensity, type of light, color, color intensity, and type of color have a huge impact on the student or athlete.
In classrooms, noise can distract a student’s attention and raise his arousal level above its optimum level. The student then becomes more concerned about the noise than the test. Temperature also may become a distraction. If it is too cold or too warm in the room, the student then thinks about the temperature and ways to make himself more comfortable instead of thinking about the test.
Personal comfort level is more apparent for a student who is giving a speech in front of his classmates. When a student is giving a speech and becomes uncomfortable because of stage fright, that is the best example of harmful anxiety. The student may become so nervous that he might begin to stutter, sweat, mispronounce words, forget what to say next, and even have to stop talking. All of these symptoms decrease the student’s comfort level, adding to the harmful anxiety about talking in front of groups.
Spatial arrangement and physical design can affect students by making them uncomfortable with their fellow students because they are too close together or are too far apart. This can either make them feel claustrophobic or make them feel isolated from the class. When students feel cramped or isolated they tend not to pay much attention and not to participate very much. Although stress is a good thing for athletic training, a classroom (not during testing) needs to completely eliminate stress. If a room is well designed it can “produce less stress” (Griffin). If stress is eliminated then students will feel more at ease to ask questions and participate in classroom discussion.
The lighting in the classroom is also critical. The type of light and light intensity in the classroom affects the performance of the people in the room. If a classroom has poor lighting, then students are more likely not to be as productive, but with “increased levels of white light activity was also increased. However there is a certain point at which further increases in light intensity were found to be both counterproductive and undesirable” (Griffin).
Colors and noises have just as much influence as light. When bright colors are used, pleasure is increased, especially with warm colors. The warm colors also increase performance because they “have a longer wavelength and are thus more stimulating” (Hoicowitz). Noise is also a distraction during a test, but music can be helpful for students and athletes. To understand this you just have to look at a basketball game with a successful pep band. The music played by the pep band has a mood associated with it. “The mood of a piece of music tends to induce the same mood in the listener” so the music that is played by the pep band can help determine the mood of the people in the gym (Weinberger).
Equipment affects performance as much as the athlete’s arousal level. An example is today’s track and field facilities and, in particular, equipment used by discus throwers. “Facilities are better, and the discuses are now delicate instruments, well balanced and physically prepared to achieve aerodynamic wonders” (Bowerman 181). With these facilities being constructed to enhance athletic performance, the standards of what is considered a good throw are constantly being raised. The concrete pads that the throwers use have been designed to minimize the amount of friction. The shoes that throwers use are designed to slide as smoothly as possible across the ring while maintaining maximum grip and minimizing friction. Both the shoes and the pads give the thrower more speed by reducing friction. This directly translates into a longer throw. The discuses are designed to fly farther by distributing the weight of the discus toward the rim. This gives the discus a greater spin rate and thus a longer flight.
Environments affect the way people perform or react on given tasks. A branch of psychology, referred to as Environmental Psychology, has produced many articles investigating just how behavior is affected by the environment. This data has been used to design and construct “specialized facilities” (Evans). These specialized facilities will help improve not only the quality of life but also the quality of activity that goes on in them. Taking into consideration all the different factors that can change the way people feel and act will greatly help improve performance on the athletic field and in the classroom.