How do concentration and the level of arousal shape a performance?
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.
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What this dot point is asking
The SQA wants you to explain concentration (sustained attention and cue recognition) and level of arousal (the optimum, and the effect of too much or too little), and to link each to performance. These two features are closely related: arousal that drifts too high or too low usually disrupts concentration as well.
The answer
Concentration and cue recognition
How concentration affects performance
Level of arousal and the optimum
How arousal that is too high or too low affects performance
Examples in context
A penalty in football brings concentration and arousal together. The taker needs arousal near the optimum to strike the ball firmly, but if it spikes too high the legs tense and the strike is snatched wide. Concentration must stay on the chosen target and the ball, filtering out the goalkeeper's movement and the crowd noise; a lapse here, glancing at the keeper, leads to a poor contact. The goalkeeper faces the reverse problem: too low an arousal level and the dive is slow, too high and they commit early. The same moment tests both features at once, which is why the SQA pairs them and rewards answers that explain how readiness and focus combine to shape the outcome.
Try this
Q1. What is meant by cue recognition? [1 mark]
- Cue. Picking up the important signals in a performance and ignoring the irrelevant ones.
Q2. Explain one effect of arousal that is too low and one effect of arousal that is too high on performance. [4 marks]
- Cue. Too low: complacency and slow reactions. Too high: tension, rushed actions and panic.
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 20204 marksExplain how a lapse in concentration can have a negative impact on performance.Show worked answer →
A -mark explain question. Markers want the consequence of losing focus, developed in a named activity.
A lapse in concentration means attention drifts from the relevant cues, often late in a game when tired or after a setback. In football, switching off at a corner means losing your marker, who is then free to head the ball and score.
Develop the impact: missed cues lead to missed runs, mistimed tackles and conceded scores, and a single lapse at a key moment can decide the result. The marks come from the explained negative outcome.
SQA Higher 20226 marksExplain the idea of an optimum level of arousal and how arousal that is too high or too low can affect performance.Show worked answer →
A -mark question that wants the optimum-arousal idea plus both extremes, anchored in activity.
Optimum arousal is the level of readiness at which a performer is alert and energised without being tense; the best performance happens around this level.
Too low: a flat, complacent performer is slow to react, so a hockey defender is caught ball-watching. Too high: a tense, panicked performer rushes, so a gymnast over-grips the beam and loses fluency. The discriminator is linking each extreme to a clear drop in performance quality.
Related dot points
- The mental factors that impact on performance, including their features such as decision-making, concentration, level of arousal and mental toughness, and the positive and negative effects each can have on performance.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on the mental factors impacting on performance, covering their main features (decision-making, concentration, level of arousal and mental toughness) and the positive and negative effects each can have on a performer.
- Decision-making as a feature of the mental factor: how a performer selects the most appropriate response under time pressure, the influence of experience and information processing, and the impact of good and poor decision-making on performance.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on decision-making as a mental factor, covering how performers select and time responses, the role of experience and information processing, and how strong and weak decision-making affect performance in named activities.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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)