How can a performer manage anger, fear and anxiety so they help rather than hinder?
Managing anger, fear and anxiety as features of the emotional factor: how these emotions affect performance when uncontrolled, and the approaches used to manage them such as relaxation, breathing techniques, positive self-talk and routines.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on managing anger, fear and anxiety as emotional factors, covering how uncontrolled emotions damage performance and the approaches (relaxation, breathing, self-talk, routines) used to keep them at a helpful level.
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What this dot point is asking
The SQA wants you to explain how anger, fear and anxiety damage performance when uncontrolled, and to describe approaches used to manage them. Higher questions often ask you to describe an approach to manage an emotion and explain how it improved performance, linking the emotional factor to the development process.
The answer
How uncontrolled anger affects performance
How fear and anxiety affect performance
Approaches to managing these emotions
Why control, not removal, is the goal
Examples in context
A tennis player two points from defeat shows anger and anxiety together. Anxiety about losing tightens the arm and tempts a tentative, safe serve that the opponent attacks. Anger at an earlier line call risks a wild, over-hit return and a loss of focus on the plan. A player who has trained management approaches breathes slowly between points to lower arousal, repeats a calm cue word to block the negative thoughts, and runs a fixed routine before serving to re-focus. The serve stays committed and the returns stay controlled. The opponent without these tools lets the emotions take over and the errors mount. Describing the approach and explaining the mechanism and the outcome is what earns the Higher marks.
Try this
Q1. State one way uncontrolled anger can damage performance. [1 mark]
- Cue. Rash decisions, fouls or cards, and a loss of focus on the game plan.
Q2. Describe one approach to manage anxiety and explain how it could improve performance. [4 marks]
- Cue. Relaxation and breathing or positive self-talk or a routine; explain that it lowers arousal or blocks negative thoughts, keeping the action smooth under pressure.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher 20214 marksExplain how uncontrolled anger or anxiety can have a negative impact on performance.Show worked answer →
A -mark explain question rewarding developed cause and effect.
Uncontrolled anger: after a poor refereeing decision, a player loses focus on the game plan, lunges into a late tackle and concedes a free kick or a card, putting the team at a disadvantage.
Uncontrolled anxiety: worry about the outcome tightens the muscles and narrows attention, so a free-throw shooter rushes the routine and misses. The marks come from explaining how the emotion changes the action and the result.
SQA Higher 20236 marksDescribe one approach you used to manage anxiety and explain how it improved your performance.Show worked answer →
A -mark describe-and-explain question, half on the approach and half on the effect.
Describe a breathing and relaxation routine used before a pressure skill: take slow, deep breaths and consciously relax the shoulders and arms before a free throw.
Explain the effect: the breathing lowers arousal towards the optimum and the relaxation releases muscle tension, so the shooting action stays smooth and the success rate under pressure improves. Marks come from the clear link between the approach and improved performance.
Related dot points
- The emotional factors that impact on performance, including their features such as anger, fear and anxiety, happiness and confidence, and the positive and negative effects emotions can have on a performer.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on the emotional factors impacting on performance, covering their main features (anger and aggression, fear and anxiety, happiness and confidence) and the positive and negative effects emotions can have on a performer.
- Confidence and emotional control as features of the emotional factor: how positive emotions such as confidence and happiness affect willingness and decisiveness, the risk of over-confidence, and approaches used to build and steady confidence.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on confidence and emotional control as emotional factors, covering how positive emotions affect willingness and decisiveness, the risk of over-confidence, and the approaches used to build and regulate confidence.
- Mental toughness as a feature of the mental factor: staying focused, confident and composed under pressure, resilience and recovering from setbacks, and the approaches used to develop it such as mental rehearsal, positive self-talk and routines.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on mental toughness as a mental factor, covering composure and resilience under pressure, recovery from setbacks, and the approaches (mental rehearsal, positive self-talk, routines) used to develop it.
- Concentration and level of arousal as features of the mental factor: sustaining attention and recognising cues, the idea of an optimum level of arousal, and how lapses in concentration or arousal that is too high or too low affect performance.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on concentration and level of arousal as mental factors, covering sustained attention and cue recognition, the optimum level of arousal, and how lapses or over-arousal affect performance in named activities.
- Approaches to developing performance, including how a performer selects approaches that match the factor and the stage of learning, principles such as progression and specificity, and examples of approaches for the physical, mental, emotional and social factors.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on the approaches to developing performance, covering how to select approaches that match the factor and stage of learning, principles such as progression and specificity, and examples for each of the four factors.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher Physical Education Course Specification — SQA (2019)