European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science ISSN: 2501 - 1235 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1235 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1134184 AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE REACTION TIMES AND THE STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY LEVELS OF THE ATHLETES Mehmet Soyal1, Nuri Muhammet Çelik2, Aydın Pekel3i 1 Istanbul Esenyurt University, School of Physical Education and Sport, Turkey 2 Batman University, School of Physical Education and Sport, Turkey 3 Istanbul Gelişim University, Vocational School, Istanbul Gelişim University, School of Physical Education and Sport, Turkey Abstract: Besides supposing that the anxiety levels of the athletes have an impact on their performance it is also important to know the level of this impact. In this study it was aimed to investigate the relationship between the anxiety level and the sporting performance especially the reaction time which is the determinant of the speed requiring sudden movements. The study included 60 university students who participated voluntarily, were actively engaged in sports and were living in Esenyurt district of Istanbul. The average age of the participants was 20,68±2,33, their average height was 179,05±6,43cm, their average body weight was 75,55±9,32 kg and their average sport age was 6,31±3,23years. The State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used in the study in order to determinate and measure the state and trait anxiety levels of participants. The State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was developed by Spielberger and his colleagues in 1970 and its reliability and validity study was carried out by Öner and La Compte by translating it into Turkish in 1983. The analyses of the obtained data were carried out with the SPSS Statistic 17.0 package program. The measurement results were given as mean (x) and as standard deviation (SD). Correlation and regression analysis were applied for the statistical evaluation of the Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 523 Mehmet Soyal, Nuri Muhammet Çelik, Aydın Pekel AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE REACTION TIMES AND THE STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY LEVELS OF THE ATHLETES data. In the conducted study the state anxiety level of the athletes was detected to be 29,62±4,46 points, their trait anxiety level was 32,12±6,39 while their double hand reaction time was found to be 0,23±0,02 sec. A positive low level relationship was detected between the trait anxiety levels and the double hand reaction times of the athletes (r=,279,p<,05) while a positive and moderate level relationship was observed between the state anxiety level and the state anxiety level (r=,311, p<,016). Due to the fact that this research is a preliminary study done in the field of sport science, this study is considered to contribute to other studies planned to be done in the future. As a result, it was detected that with the increase in the anxiety level the response time given to an effect from any external factors lengthened. The fact that there was a low level positive relationship with the trait anxiety level revealed the conclusion that with the increase in the trait anxiety level, the reaction time also increases. Keywords: sport, state anxiety, traıt anxıety, reaction time 1. Introduction Today, sport has entered the process of globalization and professionalization by going beyond the amateur spirit and the phenomenon of winning and losing as it was during the emergence process. As a result, the rules of the game, the expectations of the fans, the club organizations and the popularity of the branch and the athlete must be at the highest level. This forces the athlete to be always at the highest level in terms of performance. The excellence of physical capacity seems not to be enough alone to bring the sporting performance to the maximum level. It can be said that the psychological capacity of the athlete is as important as the physical performance. It can be explained with the reason that some of the athletes who feel emotional differences cannot reach the intended success despite the fact that their physical conditions are sufficient Tavacıoğlu, , Erkan, , Akarçeşme, 4. Since it works in this way, sport brought some burdens to the athletes psychologically and it has become a necessity to consider the athletes as psycho-social entities from a scientific point of view G(m(ş, . Sport scientists are in an intense effort to improve the sporting performance. The search for how to lead the athlete to high performance is continuing by investigating the new training principles. The psychological preparation of the athletes is an important factor for the success. The psychological state and the exhibited performance European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 524 Mehmet Soyal, Nuri Muhammet Çelik, Aydın Pekel AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE REACTION TIMES AND THE STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY LEVELS OF THE ATHLETES of the athletes are closely related to their level of anxiety (Akarçeşme C, 4, Karabulute et al. 2013). The athlete knows that when he loses a competition he will lose in terms of his economical state and reputation. As a result, the athlete is forced to exhibit his performance by experiencing anxiety and stress every time when he participates at a competition Akarçeşme C., 2004). When considering that besides the physical and physiological capacities, many of the top athletes have excellent capabilities in terms of psychological capacities such as staying motivated, managing the anxiety, coping with competition stress, concentrating and determining the goals, it is revealed that the psychological dimension should not be neglected in order to increase the sporting performance (Koç H, 2004). State anxiety affects the motivation, concentration, coordination, decision making ability, self-confidence, conditional and coordinative skills that may be determinative in terms of the athlete’s performance. Physical changes such as sweating, yellowing, flushing and shaking that emerge as a result of a physiological arousal in the autonomic nervous system are the signs of tension and anxiety of the individual. When the stress is intense there is an increase in the level of state anxiety which reduces when the stress is eliminated Başaran MH. , Öner N. 4 . Trait anxiety can be defined as perceiving the stressor as dangerous or threatening, increasing the frequency and intensity of the state emotional reactions against these threats and gaining continuity (Özgüven, 1994). State anxiety which has a neuromuscular organization such as the reaction time and the heart rate which is increasing or decreasing due to the stress and anxiety situations included during the sportive performance and due to the hormonal changes which emerge due to the loading has an important place in many sport branches Kolayiş and Mimaroğlu, . Reaction time which is one of the determinants of modern sporting performance is related to the athlete’s ability to make quick decisions under the pressure of space, time and competition (Konter, 1997). The reaction time is defined as the time between the start of the stimulus and the time at which the reaction begins (Gucstein 1972, Tamer 2000). In other words, reaction time can be explained as the time spent on the afferent nerve pathways after the stimulus, the time of perception and reaction decision and the realization of the motor reaction (Schmidt 1991, Schmidt 1998). For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejep/article/view/1331 European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 525