Recall agreement between actual and retrospective reports of competitive anxiety: a comparison of intensity and frequency dimensions

Using a mixed-method design, we compared athletes' abilities to recall intensity and frequency of competitive anxiety. In Phase 1, performers (n = 35) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) at four pre-competition and four post-competition intervals to compare actual and recalled responses. In Phase 2, follow up interviews (n = 6) explored the perceived mechanisms underpinning the quantitative results. Limits of agreement (Bland & Altman, 1999) analysis on the quantitative data indicated that, compared with intensity, memory for frequency was generally more reliable, and recall ability of this dimension was less biased for symptoms that occurred earlier in the week. Inductive analysis of the qualitative interviews suggested athletes were more attuned to the frequency rather than the intensity of their competitive anxiety symptoms. These findings provide support for the notion that the frequency of symptoms may act as a precursor for increasing anxiety levels and this dimension may be a more accurate reflection of experienced symptoms when recalling emotional accounts. The implications are that researchers and practitioners need to consider frequency in addition to intensity when seeking to manage anxiety responses during the time preceding competition.