... of mainstream psychological research and so its validity with relation to sports performance has been questioned (Hardy & Fazey 1987; Neiss 1988). Not only has the validity been questioned but also the face validity of the shape of the curve has been questioned. It has been suggested that it would be unrealistic to assume that once performers become over aroused and performance declines then a reduction in arousal to a previous level will regain optimal performance (Hardy & Fazey 1987) This theory has been heavily criticised by almost all contemporary psychologists, in both sports and mainstream areas. The Inverted U Hypothesis offers little in the way of explanation as to why performance is impaired at arousal levels above and below the optimal level (Landers 1980); it's over simplification of the effect of anxiety (Hardy & Fazey 1987); and its lack of empirical support (Neiss 1980). Recent approaches to the arousal-performance relationship have ...

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