Competitive state anxiety and self-confidence: Intensity and direction as relative predictors of performance on a golf putting task

This study considered relationships between the intensity and directional aspects of competitive state anxiety as measured by the modified Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory- 2(D) (Jones & Swain, 1992) in a sample of 12 experienced male golfers. Anxiety and performance scores from identical putting tasks performed under three different anxiety- manipulated competitive conditions were used to assess both the predictions of Multidimensional Anxiety Theory (MAT; Martens et al., 1990) and the relative value of intensity and direction in explaining performance variance. A withinsubjects regression analysis of the intra- individual data showed partial support for the three MAT hypotheses. Cognitive anxiety intensity demonstrated a negative linear relationship with performance, somatic anxiety intensity showed a curvilinear relationship with performance, and self- confidence intensity revealed a positive linear relation. Cognitive directional anxiety illustrated a positive linear relationship with putting performance. Multiple regression analyses indicated that direction ( 42% of variance) was a better predictor of performance than intensity ( 22%)