Interpreting data and the scientific method (500 words/24 marks)
Below, a fictitious scenario is described in which a student researcher has gained the consent of Venus and her mother to take part in an investigation. The researcher is hoping that heart rate will be a useful marker of Venus’s levels of arousal and anxiety. In this hypothetical situation, Venus’s heart rate is monitored during two competitions under three conditions (resting, pre-beam and pre-bars) to see how it responds.
The researcher is interested in how Venus’s heart rate responds to different levels of competition and therefore decides to monitor her heart rate during a low-level competition (e.g. a club competition) and during a high-level competition (e.g. national championships).
Venus’s resting heart rate is measured with a heart rate monitor on the morning of each competition, before she gets out of bed. Her heart rate is also recorded using a heart rate monitor immediately before her performance on the beam (pre-beam) and immediately before her performance on the asymmetrical bars (pre-bars). Her warm-ups for both competitions and both events are similar.
The researcher wants to compare Venus’s heart rates on the beam and on the bars, as in the DVD clip she experiences more difficulties performing on the beam than she does on the bars.
The results gathered by the researcher are presented below.
Table 1: Venus’s heart rate (beats per minute, bpm)
Resting heart rate Pre-beam heart rate Pre-bars heart rate
Low-level competition 60 115 80
High-level competition 70 133 98
Questions
a. Interpret Venus’s heart rate data based on your knowledge of arousal and anxiety from Study Topic 2. For this part of the question, you need not take into account any concerns over the validity of the data. (250 words/12 marks)
b.Using your knowledge of the scientific method discussed in Study Topic 1, and your knowledge of anxiety and arousal gained from Study Topic 2, identify two limitations of this heart rate research and make recommendations for how each of these limitations could be addressed in order to improve the research. (250 words/12 marks)
Part 3
Analysis of your own experience (1000 words/70 marks)
Identify a situation when you experienced some degree of stress, arousal or anxiety in a sporting or other activity setting. Write an analysis of your experience using perspectives from Study Topic 2.
The account should be divided into two sections:
Section A: A description of the experience using ideas from Unit 3 (300 words/10 marks)
A description of the experience itself explaining what happened and any symptoms and sources of stress, anxiety and/or arousal (cognitive, somatic and behavioural), using ideas from Unit 3.
Section B: An analysis of the experience using ideas from Units 4 and 5 (700 words/60 marks)
An analysis of how your individual experience links to the ideas covered in Units 4 and 5, including the thoughts and feelings that you had during the experience and how you coped with the aspects of stress, anxiety and/or arousal that you identified in Section A.
NARRATOR
It’s the day of the Welsh Gymnastics Championships in Cardiff. For 11-year-old Venus, it will be a big test of her ability, competing against much more experienced girls as old as 14.
VENUS ROMAEO
When I get onto the apparatus, I feel really nervous, but then after, when I finish, I’m looking at my hand and it’s shaking like this.
NARRATOR
Leaving dad and her brothers at home, Venus’s mum Elaine and three-year-old sister Isis have come along to support.
VENUS ROMAEO
And normally, when they’re here, they quite put us off because they scream and everything, so it’s quite annoying. So we haven’t brought them today.
ELAINE ROMAEO
Sometimes I think, what am I doing to my kids? All this pressure on them. But then the rewards are fabulous. When you see them doing what they can do, and they’re doing it not just for me or for their coach, but for themselves as well now, well, you just– it’s– well, I cry.
ANNOUNCER
Venus Romaeo.
[APPLAUSE]
NARRATOR
To be considered a real Olympic competitor, Venus will have to prove herself in four disciplines. Her first event is the floor, where a good start is essential. Judges are looking for poise and elegance.
COACH
Some silly mistakes, mistakes that we didn’t expect. I don’t mind mistakes which are good mistakes, things that are new, but the mistakes that we’ve had are on moves that they know they can do, so I’m a bit disappointed in that.
NARRATOR
It’s not the start she needed. Now Venus has to make up for it in her next three events. After a clean vault, she’s onto the physically toughest event: the bars. To perform the bars requires strength far beyond that of an average 11-year-old.
COACH
Good girl.
NARRATOR
And finally, it’s the event she fears most: the beam. Venus will need to perform acrobatic moves landing safely on a beam just four inches wide. Here, the difficulty of the routine is compared against her ability to execute it. Judges penalise any mistakes, no matter how small.
COACH
The layout was on. You were dead in line and then your arms were like this. OK?
ELAINE ROMAEO
It’s all done now. You can relax now. That’s it.
VENUS ROMAEO
Yeah.
ELAINE ROMAEO
Yeah.
VENUS ROMAEO
I feel sick.
ELAINE ROMAEO
Fancy falling on your range.
VENUS ROMAEO
Yeah, I know. Tracy said it was good anyway.
ELAINE ROMAEO
I missed your bars as well.
VENUS ROMAEO
Mother!
ELAINE ROMAEO
I know. Well, Isis needed the toilet.
VENUS ROMAEO
I’m hoping that I come in the top 10 or something because I don’t want to come 22nd or something like that.
ANNOUNCER
In third place, bronze medal from Cardiff Central, Jessica Hart.
[CHEERING]
In second place, silver medal position, Venus Romaeo.
[CHEERING]
COACH
The results I’m pleased with. The actual performances I’m not as pleased with. We’ve still got to go back and do a bit more work in the gym for the next couple of weeks before the next event.
VENUS ROMAEO
Hi dad. Hello. I came second overall and third on range, which is overall on range, too.
TONY ROMAEO
There’s a lot of things we’ve sacrificed for the children.
ELAINE ROMAEO
We don’t smoke, we don’t drink.
TONY ROMAEO
We don’t go out anywhere now either, do we?
ELAINE ROMAEO
We don’t go out at all.
TONY ROMAEO
It’s a lot of things we’ve sacrificed.
NARRATOR
Venus will have a day off tomorrow, but then it’s straight back to training and increasingly tough competitions.
TEXT BOOKS: (1) Foundation of Sports and Exercise Psychology
6th Edition
Robert S. Weinberg. Daniel Gould. (2) Sport and exercise Psychology: A case study approach.
The Open university.
Study Guide.