Arousal and the motivation-performance relationship

Both the effort-performance and incentive components of expectancy theory have proven to be effective predictors of performance. Many psychologists, however, seem to share an implicit assumption that performance is an increasing monotonic function of each of these two factors. This assumption was challenged in this study. By proposing a link between incentive and arousal, it was suggested that an individual’s level of incentive may be increased to a point where the individual becomes overaroused and suffers a decrease in performance.

Incentive and arousal measures were administered to 111 high school age United States Swim club members during a regular season meet and during a championship meet. In addition, their performance in their best event was recorded for the regular season meet and for the championship meet. Effort-performance expectancy, trait anxiety, and biographical variables were also measured. The swimmmers were expected to be near their optimal level of arousal during the regular season, and incentive increases in the championship were expected to increase the swimmers' level of arousal to a point of overarousal during the championship.

A negative, nonlinear (in the shape of an inverted U) relationship between change in arousal and change in performance was found. In addition, change in incentive was positively related to change in arousal and negatively related to change in performance. Although change in arousal was expected to mediate the relationship between change in incentive and change in performance, change in incentive influenced change in performance independent of change in arousal. Additional findings suggested that effort-performance expectancy might be negatively related to arousal, that the dynamics of the motivation-arousal-performance relationship seem to operate across gender, age, and years of experience, and that trait anxiety may, like task complexity, moderate the arousal-performance relationship.

The findings of this study were integrated with past research to develop a model of the motivation-arousal-performance relationship. By pointing out the integral role of arousal, it is hoped that the model proposed in this study will serve to enhance existing models of the motivation-performance relationship.