Comparing and Contrasting two theoretical views on arousal/performance relationship in the sports context.

The two theoretical views on the relationship between arousal and performance in the sports context are the Drive theory and the Inverted-U theory but first, we define arousal and performance in sports context. The relationship between physiological arousal and motor performance has been of interest to psychologist since the early 1900's. Research led to the development of the two theories stated above. Arousal is a requisite for optimal sport performance. It has more often been …

…inverted-U theory, it would be premature to dismiss the drive approach outright and incorrect to state that the drive theory has not impact on sport psychology research. This theory added to our understanding of the relationship between learning, that is, habit strength, and arousal. The inverted-U, on the other hand, is simply concerned with arousal and performance. Second, drive theory was influential in our understanding of the relationship between the audience-induced arousal and athletic performance.