State one symptom of a sportsperson’s somatic anxiety. 

Discuss how emotions experienced during sports competition can influence performance.

increased muscle tension ✔

having “butterflies” ✔

having a headache ✔

having a racing heart ✔

dry mouth and sweating ✔

positive emotions such as excitement/ relief/ pride can affect attentional focus and improve performance as they motivate the performer to keep working hard ✔

For example:
an athlete at the Olympics watching a fellow athlete perform well may provide a sense of pride which encourages the performer to try and emulate this ✔

negative emotions such as anger/guilt/shame/anxiety/boredom can result in de-motivation and reduce performance/ can result in a positive change in performance due to motivating the performer to change ✔

For example:
a performer who gets angry during an event may find that their focus is distracted and misses what the opposition is doing to win ✔

A well understood area.

Many answered this well but some were unable to specify specific emotions and wrote in very general terms. Candidates need to recognise when the question uses a high-level command term and requires a more in-depth response.