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Subjects · Leaving Cert Physical Education

Leaving Cert Physical Education: Psychological factors

How often Psychological factors comes up on the Physical Education papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 4 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

OL Asked on 5 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Psychological factors, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Psychological factors.

(a)Anxiety shown as worry and negative thoughts before a match is?
  1. Somatic anxiety
  2. Cognitive anxiety
  3. Trait anxiety
(b)A player feels nervous before almost every event, whatever the stakes. This shows high?
  1. Intrinsic motivation
  2. State anxiety
  3. Trait anxiety
(c)A rower trains to beat her personal best for the satisfaction it brings. Her motivation is?
  1. Intrinsic
  2. Somatic
  3. Extrinsic
Show the answers

(a) Cognitive anxiety

(b) Trait anxiety

(c) Intrinsic

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Psychological factors.

Higher Level

Asked on 4 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Q3, Q18
2023Q12, Q14
2022Q15
2021Q9

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Psychological factors questions

Psychological factors, 3 marks

A basketball point guard scans the whole court to pick a pass. Her attentional focus is?

  1. Narrow and internal
  2. Narrow and external
  3. Broad and external
Show the answer

Broad and external

She takes in lots of cues around her (broad) from the environment (external). A free-throw shooter looking only at the rim would be narrow and external.

Psychological factors, 3 marks

A diver checks her own body position and breathing just before take-off. Her attentional focus is?

  1. Broad and internal
  2. Narrow and internal
  3. Broad and external
Show the answer

Narrow and internal

She focuses on a few cues (narrow) inside herself (internal). Different moments in sport call for different styles of attention.

Psychological factors, 3 marks

Which is a sign of low confidence in a match?

  1. Avoiding the ball at key moments
  2. Asking to take the last free
  3. Setting challenging goals
Show the answer

Avoiding the ball at key moments

Players low in confidence often hide from responsibility at key moments. Confident players want the ball and set themselves challenging targets.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 5 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q15
2024Q2
2023Q9, Q16
2022Q15
2021Q17

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Psychological factors questions

Psychological factors, 2 marks

A coach asks a player questions face to face about how she felt before the final. This method is…

  1. Observation
  2. A questionnaire
  3. An interview
Show the answer

An interview

An interview lets the coach ask follow-up questions and get detailed answers.

Psychological factors, 3 marks

One advantage of a questionnaire is that it…

  1. Lets the coach ask follow-up questions
  2. Is quick to give to a whole team
  3. Always gets honest answers
Show the answer

Is quick to give to a whole team

Questionnaires are fast and easy to compare. But players may not answer honestly, and there are no follow-ups.

Psychological factors, 3 marks

Why measure a player's anxiety before choosing a strategy?

  1. So the strategy matches the problem
  2. To drop the most nervous players
  3. To help pick the team captain
Show the answer

So the strategy matches the problem

A player with racing thoughts needs a different strategy from one with tense muscles, so measure first.

Other Physical Education topics

All of Leaving Cert Physical Education