Test anxiety and competition arousal are two forms of evaluation arousal. Analyzing performance issues and making recommendations for improving productivity are real-world consultation requests. SHOW LESS By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria: Competency 2: Apply knowledge of theory and research in the study of human motivation and performance to inform personal behavior, professional goals, and values, and understand social policy. Demonstrate how test anxiety or competition arousal affects peak performance in an employee work situation. Recommend research-supported motivation techniques for managing test anxiety or competition arousal and for improving task performance in an employee work situation. Explain the important theories, paradigms, research findings and conclusions in human motivation and performance. Describe the biological, learned, and cognitive components of evaluation arousal in an employee work situation. Competency Map CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Use this online tool to track your performance and progress through your course. Toggle Drawer Context What is stress, and how does it produce its effects on our physical and psychological well-being? Evidence suggests that whether individuals experience positive feelings (eustress) or negative feelings (distress) as they interact with the environment can largely depend upon their cognitive appraisal of the environment and their reaction to it (Franken, 2007). SHOW MORE Toggle Drawer Questions to Consider As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(3), 1144–1158. Cheng, B. H., & McCarthy, J. M. (2018). Understanding the dark and bright sides of anxiety: A theory of workplace anxiety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(5), 537–560. Torres, L., Mata-Greve, F., & Harkins, A. (2018). A preliminary investigation of acculturative stress and diurnal cortisol among Latina women. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 6(2), 149–158. Motivation Techniques Deckers, L. (2018). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Chapter 6, “Behavior, arousal, and affective valence,” pages 171–189. This chapter discusses connections between arousal and performance. These articles provide information about techniques that can be used to manage anxiety and improve performance. Search the Capella Library for additional peer-reviewed articles about techniques related to the topic your chose. Hayward, D. A., Pereira, E. J., Otto, A. R., & Ristic, J. (2018). Smile! Social reward drives attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception And Performance, 44(2), 206–214. Kuntz, J. C., Malinen, S., & Näswall, K. (2017). Employee resilience: Directions for resilience development. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice And Research, 69(3), 223–242. Lloyd, J., Bond, F. W., & Flaxman, P. E. (2017). Work-related self-efficacy as a moderator of the impact of a worksite stress management training intervention: Intrinsic work motivation as a higher order condition of effect. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(1), 115–127. Assessment Instructions Test anxiety and competition arousal are two forms of evaluation arousal. Create a PowerPoint presentation in which you analyze issues associated with peak performance in the workplace and recommend techniques for improving employee work performance. Preparation For this assessment, assume that your work organization has asked for your help in improving employee work performance. Surveys have determined that some employees struggle with test anxiety while others struggle with competition arousal, both of which prevent peak performance. Conduct research to identify: Biological, learned, and cognitive factors that might be affecting the employees’ reactions to stress in the environment. Motivation techniques, such as rewards or praise, that can be used to manage the stress and improve peak performance. Instructions Create a PowerPoint presentation on the topic of 1) peak performance and test anxiety or 2) peak performance and competition arousal. Include a script in the notes section of each slide detailing what you would say to an audience about that slide. In the presentation, complete the following: Describe the topic you are addressing and its impact on employee performance. That is, demonstrate how test anxiety or competition arousal affects peak performance in the employee work situation. Describe the biological, learned, and cognitive components of evaluation arousal in the employee work situation. Recommend motivation techniques—supported by the literature—for managing test anxiety or competition arousal to improve peak performance. In the final slide or slides, compile and present a list of five resources that would help the organization understand the connection between stress, health, motivation, and performance. These resources must be scholarly resources from the Capella library or from reputable professional organizations (for example, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association) found on the Internet. Additional Requirements Your presentation should meet the following requirements: Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message. APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA guidelines for style and formatting. Number of resources: At least 3 scholarly academic resources supporting the presentation content, and five scholarly or professionally reputable resources listed as potential resources for the organization to use, are included in the presentation. Number of presentation slides: The presentation includes a minimum of 8 slides, excluding the title slide and bibliography slide(s) of references. Presentation notes: Each slide includes the presenter’s script (what you would say during the presentation) in the notes section of the slide. Motivating Performance Scoring Guide VIEW SCORING GUIDE Use the scoring guide to enhance your learning. How to use the scoring guide SUBMIT ASSESSMENT This button will take you to the next available assessment Biological, Learned, and Cognitive Factors These resources provide information about how stress motivates behavior. Deckers, L. (2018). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Chapter 7, “Stress, coping, and health,” pages 207–239. These sections of chapter 7 discuss the effects of stress and how stress creates motivation in individuals. They provide information to inform your description of biological, learned, and cognitive components of evaluation arousal. These articles provide information about the varying effects of stress in different settings. Search the Capella Library