Determining individual affect-related performance zones (IAPZs): A tutorial

The purpose of this article is to present the procedural steps used to derive a person’s Individual Affect-Related Performance Zones (IAPZs). An IAPZ is that range of affect (i.e., arousal and pleasure) within which an individual has a probability of performing at a particular level (e.g., optimal, moderate, or poor). This methodology has been used in a number of research studies but has yet to be operationalized in the literature. The purpose of this procedure is to facilitate training programs designed to improve human performance in any number of domains via idiosyncratic control over affect. The methodology described consists of eight steps: (a) collecting data, (b) categorizing affect and performance level, (c) converting the data, (d) performing logistical ordinal regressions, (e) creating IAPZ curves, (f) creating IAPZ profile charts, (g) plotting within competition states onto IAPZ profile charts, and (h) utilizing IAPZs to select, implement, and evaluate performance enhancement strategies.