experiencing facilitative anxiety (as in the cases of Andre Agassi and Tiger Woods
above). Although this “directional perception” theory of anxiety in sport seems plausible,
it is controversial due to the terminology involved. For example, G.Jones and Hanton
(2001) acknowledged that the term “facilitative anxiety” seems like an oxymoron. To
explain, as the term “anxiety” has negative connotations, and as it is difficult to
distinguish between somatic anxiety and other emotions (Kerr, 1997), then perhaps
athletes who label “anxiety” symptoms as facilitative may not be experiencing anxiety at
all—but rather, a sense of excitement or challenge (see the preceding quote from Tiger
Woods). Despite this controversy about terminology, G.Jones and Swain (1995)
highlighted the importance of taking athletes’ interpretations of their bodily feelings into
account when they found that elite cricketers interpreted their arousal symptoms as being
more facilitative of competitive performance than did less successful counterparts. To
summarise, the way in which athletes label their arousal levels (if not their anxiety)
seems to play a significant role in whether they feel challenged or overwhelmed by
pressure situations.
Figure 3.2 Tiger Woods has learned to
perceive pressure situations as exciting
Source: courtesy of Inpho Photography
Athletes’ interpretation of anxiety symptoms: help or hindrance?
This idea that a given level of arousal is amenable to different interpretative labels has
significant theoretical and practical implications. For example, on the theoretical side, it
suggests that attempts to measure anxiety should include indices of direction or
"Psyching up" and "calming down": anxiety in sport 71