ABSTRACT
The ability to focus attention and block out distractions during stressful competition separates world-class athletes from the rest. This chapter explains how athletes respond to stress, and how these responses impact attention and performance during visually guided sports skills. First, the chapter describes athletes’ psychophysiological responses to stress using the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat as a theoretical framework. Second, it discusses how negative responses to stress, and specifically elevations in state anxiety, disrupt attentional processes via the predictions of Attentional Control Theory. Third, the chapter outlines the assumptions of the Integrative Framework of Stress, Attention, and Visuomotor Performance, and reviews supporting evidence. Fourth, it explains how practitioners can help athletes optimize their attention and performance during stressful competition. Finally, the chapter concludes by outlining potential avenues for future research.
