Changes of Heart Rate, Somatic Anxiety, and Performance of Japanese Archers during Practices and Matches

Abstract

Examined the changes in psychological and physiological responses and performances of competitive archers during practices and actual matches. Five undergraduate Japanese archers rated their somatic anxiety after each round of formal practice and match, during which their heart rates were recorded continuously. Hitting performance data were obtained from practices' and matches' results. Results revealed that heart rates were remarkably elevated during matches and that the Ss showed higher somatic anxiety scores during matches than practices. Heart rate and somatic anxiety were moderately related to one another. Results are discussed in the light of multidimensional anxiety and the inverted U-shaped relationship between anxiety and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)