How do emotions such as confidence, fear and anger affect the way an athlete performs?
Emotional factors that impact on performance, including happiness and sadness (affecting confidence, self-belief, resilience and optimism), anger (affecting self-control and decision-making), fear and trust, and how managing emotions can have a positive or negative effect.
An SQA National 5 Physical Education answer on emotional factors, covering happiness and sadness and their effect on confidence, self-belief, resilience and optimism, anger and its effect on self-control and decision-making, plus fear and trust, and how managing emotions helps or hinders a performance.
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What this dot point is asking
The SQA wants you to identify emotional factors that impact on performance and explain how managing them helps or hinders you. National 5 frames emotional factors around the main emotions a performer feels: happiness and sadness (which affect confidence, self-belief, resilience and optimism), anger (which affects self-control and decision-making), and the related emotions of fear and trust. As with every factor, each can have a positive or a negative effect, and answers must link the emotion to a real impact on the performance.
Happiness and sadness: confidence, self-belief, resilience and optimism
The main positive and negative emotions shape four closely linked features.
- Confidence. A confident performer takes on challenges and backs themselves, for example a Goal Shoot attempting and converting harder shots. Low confidence makes them play safe and hide from the game.
- Self-belief. Believing in your ability lets you commit fully to a skill under pressure. Doubt makes movements tentative and skills break down.
- Resilience. Bouncing back after conceding an early goal keeps you competing; lacking resilience, you drop your head and your performance falls away.
- Optimism. Expecting to do well keeps effort and focus high; pessimism drains motivation before you have even started.
Anger: self-control and decision-making
Anger is the emotion the SQA highlights for its effect on self-control and decision-making.
- Self-control. Keeping calm after a bad refereeing decision lets you carry on and stick to your role. Losing self-control leads to a rash tackle, a card, or retaliation that costs the team.
- Decision-making (via anger). An angry performer rushes and forces the play, for example shooting from a poor position out of frustration, instead of choosing the better option.
Fear and trust
- Fear. Fear of making a mistake stops a player asking for the ball, removing an attacking option; fear of injury makes a tackle half-hearted.
- Trust. Trusting a teammate to be in position lets you play the early pass; trusting your own skill lets you commit without hesitation.
Examples in context
Example 1. Resilience in football. A team concedes in the first minute. A resilient player shakes it off, keeps their shape and encourages others, so the team recovers and equalises. Without resilience, heads drop and more goals follow.
Example 2. Confidence in gymnastics. A confident gymnast commits fully to a difficult vault, generating the power and height to complete it cleanly. A performer low on confidence hesitates on the run-up, the vault fails, and they may even get injured.
Try this
Q1. Name the four features the SQA links to happiness and sadness in National 5 PE. [1 mark]
- Cue. Confidence, self-belief, resilience and optimism.
Q2. State one way uncontrolled anger can negatively affect a performance. [1 mark]
- Cue. It can cause a loss of self-control, such as a rash tackle or foul, or lead to a rushed, poor decision.
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 N5 style4 marksExplain how emotional factors can have both a positive and a negative impact on performance.Show worked answer →
The command word is explain, so each point needs an emotion and its effect on performance, and the question asks for both a positive and a negative side.
Positive. High confidence, linked to happiness, lets a performer take on challenges and back themselves. A confident netball Goal Shoot will attempt difficult shots and convert them, lifting the whole team.
Positive. Resilience lets a performer recover quickly from a setback, such as conceding an early goal, so they keep competing instead of dropping their heads.
Negative. Uncontrolled anger after a bad decision can wreck self-control, leading to a rash tackle and a card, or to losing focus on a role.
Negative. Fear of making a mistake can make a performer hesitant, so they avoid taking responsibility and the team loses an attacking option.
Markers reward developed positive and negative points (emotion plus effect), up to four marks.
SQA N5 style3 marksDescribe how a lack of confidence might affect a performer during a game.Show worked answer →
A 3-mark describe answer needs three clear effects of low confidence on performance.
A performer low on confidence may stop believing in their own ability, so they avoid taking on harder skills and play it safe.
They may hide from the game, for example not asking for the ball, which removes a passing option for the team.
They may give up more easily after an error, so their performance level keeps dropping as the game goes on.
Markers reward each distinct, performance-linked effect of low confidence, up to three.
Related dot points
- Mental factors that impact on performance, including the information-processing features (concentration, decision-making, problem-solving and anticipation) and the psychological traits (level of arousal, anxiety, mental toughness and motivation), and how each can have a positive or negative effect.
An SQA National 5 Physical Education answer on mental factors, covering the information-processing features of concentration, decision-making, problem-solving and anticipation, the psychological traits of arousal, anxiety, mental toughness and motivation, and how each can help or hinder a performance.
- Social factors that impact on performance, including communication, co-operation, roles and responsibilities within a team, etiquette and respect for rules, relationships and team dynamics, and inclusion, and how each can have a positive or negative effect.
An SQA National 5 Physical Education answer on social factors, covering communication, co-operation, roles and responsibilities, etiquette and respect, relationships and team dynamics, and inclusion, and how each helps or hinders a performance.
- The fitness part of the physical factor, including the components of physical fitness (cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular endurance, strength, speed, flexibility and power) and skill-related fitness (agility, balance, co-ordination and reaction time), and how each can have a positive or negative effect.
An SQA National 5 Physical Education answer on the fitness part of the physical factor, covering the components of physical fitness (cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular endurance, strength, speed, flexibility and power) and skill-related fitness (agility, balance, co-ordination and reaction time), and how each helps or hinders a performance.
- Methods of collecting information on factors impacting on performance, including why data is gathered (the cycle of analysis), general and specific observation schedules, the use of recognised standardised fitness tests, and gathering both initial (baseline) and ongoing data.
An SQA National 5 Physical Education answer on methods of collecting information about the factors impacting on performance, covering why data is gathered as part of the cycle of analysis, general and specific observation schedules, recognised standardised fitness tests, and the value of baseline and ongoing data.
- Approaches to develop performance, including selecting appropriate approaches for each factor, the use of SMART targets, and the principles of effective practice such as progression from simple to complex and from practice to game-like conditions.
An SQA National 5 Physical Education answer on approaches to develop performance, covering how to select an appropriate approach for each factor, the use of SMART targets, and the principles of effective practice such as progressing from simple to complex and from practice to game-like conditions.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA National 5 Physical Education Course Specification — SQA (2024)
- The four factors for Physical Education Courses — SQA (2013)