Critical elaboration and empirical investigation of the cusp catastrophe model: A lesson for practitioners

A critical perspective on Hardy's (1996) cusp catastrophe model (CCM) is presented. Illustration of three important CCM characteristics shows that two contradict each other. This study rectified limitations in the CCM by simultaneously including somatic and cognitive anxiety as independent factors, operationalizing cognitive anxiety continuously rather than categorically, and accounting for individual performance fluctuations by examining individual cases as well as group data. Sixteen male varsity, club, and intramural athletes from a major Division I university in the southeast United States performed a dart-throwing task at multiple heart rate intervals, while physiological arousal was increased and decreased gradually. A repeated measures ANOVA, incorporating all variables simultaneously, was conducted to account for interactive effects on performance. Results of both group and case study analyses indicated that the CCM could not account for variations in performance. Practical applications are suggested for sport psychology consultants and coaches.