Factors impacting on performance: the four factors in SQA National 5 Physical Education

Factors impacting on performance is the heart of the written, examinable side of SQA National 5 Physical Education. The SQA organises everything that can affect a performance into four factors: mental, emotional, social and physical. This page maps the sub-features of each factor and shows how they connect, so you can write answers that link a factor to a real impact on performance.

The four factors

The four factors are the lens through which the SQA wants you to analyse every performance.

Mental factors

The thinking and mindset features of a performance. They split into information-processing features (concentration, decision-making, problem-solving and anticipation) and psychological traits (level of arousal, anxiety, mental toughness and motivation).

Emotional factors

The feelings a performer experiences and how well they control them. The main emotions are happiness and sadness (shaping confidence, self-belief, resilience and optimism) and anger (affecting self-control and decision-making), along with fear and trust.

Social factors

The features of working with and around other people: communication, co-operation, roles and responsibilities, etiquette and respect for the rules, relationships and team dynamics, and inclusion.

Physical factors

The largest factor, split into three parts. Fitness covers physical fitness (cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular endurance, strength, speed, flexibility and power) and skill-related fitness (agility, balance, co-ordination and reaction time). Skills and techniques covers accuracy, consistency, control and fluency, and repertoire. Tactics and composition covers width, depth, support, penetration, and recognising strengths and weaknesses.

How the factors interact

A real performance is never affected by one factor in isolation, and the SQA rewards answers that show how factors influence each other.

• Low cardio-respiratory endurance (physical) tires you late in a game, which then harms concentration and decision-making (mental), so you make poor choices when fatigued.
• High anxiety (emotional) can raise muscle tension (somatic), so a skill's control and fluency (physical) breaks down.
• Poor communication (social) leaves a defence disorganised, which can shake a player's confidence (emotional) and lead to rushed decisions (mental).

Recognising these links is the route to the higher marks: a strong answer often starts with one factor and traces its knock-on effect on another.

How to write a factors answer

Question-paper marks reward a clear chain from a factor to its impact, matched to the command word.

1. Name the factor and a real situation. Say which sub-feature and where it happened in an activity you know.
2. Match the command word. "Describe" asks what happened; "explain" asks why it had that effect; "analyse" and "evaluate" ask you to weigh up or judge the impact.
3. Give the impact on you, then on the performance. Extend the point from how it affected you to how it affected the game, a teammate or the opposition.
4. Use precise terms. Say "cardio-respiratory endurance", not just "fitness"; say "optimal arousal", not "maximum".

How to study this area

1. Learn the sub-features by factor. Be able to list and define the features under each of the four factors without notes.
2. Have one or two activities ready. Most answers ask for examples from an activity of your choice; prepare detailed examples from your own performances.
3. Practise turning describe into explain. Take a one-line point and add the cause-and-effect that earns the higher marks.
4. Drill the links between factors. The best marks come from showing how one factor affects another.

For the official course specification

The SQA publishes the full National 5 Physical Education course specification and the four factors table at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers, because question style and terminology are board-specific.