Why does the quality and speed of decision-making decide so many performances?
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.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
The SQA wants you to explain decision-making in depth: what it is, what influences it, and how good and poor decision-making affect performance. Decision-making questions reward an understanding of why a performer chooses one option over another under time pressure, not just a definition.
The answer
What decision-making is
What influences a decision
Good decision-making and its impact
Poor decision-making and its impact
Examples in context
A volleyball setter shows decision-making under pressure. Reading the pass, the height of the ball and the position of the blockers, the setter decides whether to set the middle or the outside hitter. An experienced setter processes these cues quickly and disguises the choice, wrong-footing the block and creating an easy attack. A less experienced setter, slowed by the pace and the noise of the crowd, telegraphs the set or chooses the covered hitter, and the attack is blocked. The same situation, the same options, but the quality and speed of the decision change the outcome of the point. This is why decision-making is treated as a mental factor in its own right.
Try this
Q1. State what is meant by decision-making in a performance. [1 mark]
- Cue. Choosing the most appropriate response from the options and timing it correctly.
Q2. Explain two ways poor decision-making can have a negative impact on performance. [4 marks]
- Cue. Wrong choice gives the ball away; poor timing or hesitation lets the chance close, losing momentum.
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 good decision-making can have a positive impact on performance.Show worked answer →
A -mark explain question that rewards developed cause and effect, not a definition. Make two linked points or one fully developed point.
Good decision-making means reading the play and selecting the best option at the right time. In hockey, a player who sees space on the wing and releases an early pass keeps the attack moving and creates an overlap, so the team retains possession and builds a scoring chance.
Develop the consequence: the right decision at speed stretches the defence, gives team-mates time on the ball, and increases the chance of scoring. The marks come from the explained outcome for performance.
SQA Higher 20236 marksExplain the impact that good and poor decision-making can have on your performance.Show worked answer →
A -mark question wanting a balanced positive and negative treatment, anchored in a named activity.
Positive: in badminton, recognising the opponent is out of position and choosing a drop shot wins the rally cheaply and conserves energy for later in the match.
Negative: under fatigue and pressure late in the game, rushing the choice and smashing into the net loses the point and hands momentum to the opponent. Explaining how each decision changes the outcome of the rally and the wider game is the discriminator.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Tactics and composition as an area of the physical factor: how tactics outwit an opponent in games and how composition structures a performance activity, the strengths and weaknesses they target, and how good and poor tactics affect performance.
An SQA Higher Physical Education answer on tactics and composition as a physical factor, covering how tactics outwit an opponent in games, how composition structures a performance activity, and how good and poor tactics or composition affect performance.
- 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)