Personality and Sport

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PersonalityandSport
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Session Outline
What Is Personality?
What Makes Up Personality?
Approaches to Understanding Personality
Measuring Personality Cognitive Strategies and
Athletic Success
(continued)
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What IsPersonality?
The characteristics or blend of characteristics
that make a person unique.
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What Makes Up Personality?
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What Makes Up Personality? Psychological Core
The most basic and deepest attitudes, values,
interests, motives, and self-worth of a
personthe real person.
Example A persons guiding values in everyday
life
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Typical Responses
The way one typically adjusts or responds to the
environment. Traits
Example Being happy-go-lucky, shy etc.
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RoleRelated Behavior
How one acts in a particular social situation,
or when fulfilling expectations of self and
others.
Example Behavior as a student, parent, or
friend leader or captain of a team
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Approaches to Understanding Personality
Psychodynamic Approach
Behavior is determined by a number of
unconscious, constantly changing factors that
often conflict with one another. Emphasis is
placed on understanding the person as a whole,
rather than identifying isolated traits.
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Trait Approach
Behavior is determined by relatively stable
traits that are fundamental units of personality.
These traits predispose one to act in a certain
way, regardless of the situation.
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(No Transcript)
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Situational Approach
Behavior is determined largely by the situation
or environment.
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Interactional Approach
Behavior is determined by both the person and
situational factors, as well as by their
interaction.
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Research Support The Bottom Line
Psychodynamic approach
Current impact. Little influence hasnt been
adopted by most contemporary sport psychologists.
Weakness. Focuses almost entirely on internal
determinants of behavior, giving little attention
to the social environment.
Contribution. Awareness that unconscious
determinants of behavior exist.
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Research Support The Bottom Line
Current impact. Little influence, but much prior
study.
Trait approach
Weakness. Knowing traits will not always help
predict behavior in particular situations.
Contribution. Emphasizes the importance of traits
and the measurement of such dispositions.
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Research Support The Bottom Line
Situational approach
Current impact. Little influence.
Weakness. Situation will not always influence
individual behavior.
Contribution. Emphasizes the importance of the
situation.
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Research Support The Bottom Line
Interactionalapproach
Current impact. Considerable influence adopted
by most contemporary sport psychologists.
Weakness. Complexity
Contribution. Emphasizes the consideration of
both traits, transient states, and situational
variables (and interaction of all).
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Personality and Athletics
Controversy Is personality important to
performance?
Skeptics no relationship Gravitational
Model Performance Pyramid
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Measuring Personality
General Versus Situation (Sport) Specific
Measures
Situation-specific trait tests predict behavior
more accurately than do general trait measures.
It is often more effective to compare personality
test scores relative to an individuals own
previous test results than with group
norms. Measure both traits and states.
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Selected Findings in Personality Research
Some relationship exists between personality
traits and states and sport performance, but it
is far from perfect or precise.
No single definitive personality profile has
been found that consistently distinguishes
athletes from nonathletes.
Few personality differences are evident between
male and female athletes.
(continued)
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Selected Findings in Personality Research
Morgans (1980) mental health model shows that
successful athletes exhibit greater positive
mental health than do less successful athletes.
However, precise predictions have not been
achieved and should not be used for team
selection.
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The Iceberg Profile Profile of Mood States
(POMS)
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The Iceberg Profile
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Selected Findings in Personality Research
Type-A behavior patterns (particularly the
anger-hostility component) are associated with
cardiovascular disease and appear to be altered
via exercise.
Exercise and increased fitness appear to be
associated with increases in self-esteem,
especially in low self-esteem individuals.
High appraisals of self-worth / Egocentricity?
athlete stereotypes
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Selected Findings in Personality Research
Profiles of stereotypical athlete
________ General research findings -
competitive, achievement-oriented - confident -
extraverted - athletes as a group are
emotionally stable - conscientious and
self-disciplined
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Selected Findings in Personality Research
Profiles of women athletes compared to female
non-athletes - more achievement-oriented - more
confident, independent - more assertive and
aggressive - athletes more emotionally stable -
Better college grades more intelligent?
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• Summary of Personality Factors in Sport
• Personality traits are thought to influence
  actual performance in a relatively small way
• Best way to approach the study of personality
  styles in athletes is to use an interactional
  theory or approach, which few studies have done

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Summary of Personality Factors in Sport
Interactional Model Personality (traits, life
experiences, typical cognitions emotions
etc.) X Situation (current emotions, type of
sport, position, opponent, coaches, level of
competition, etc.)
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Cognitive Strategies and Athletic Success
Cognitive strategies and mental strategies are
among the skills and behaviors that athletes use
in competition. Both quantitative and
qualitative cognitive strategy measures have been
shown to differentiate between more and less
successful athletes.
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Cognitive Strategies and Athletic Success
More successful athletes are characterized by use
of a variety of cognitive strategies, including
arousal regulation techniques (can control
anxiety) show self-confidence concentration and
focus techniques feeling in control and not
forcing things low in trait anxiety
(continued)
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Cognitive Strategies and Athletic Success
Using positive imagery and thought
Exercising commitment and determination.self-disc
ipline
Setting goals
Using well-developed plans and coping strategies
Having adaptive reactions to loss Sensation
seeking and extreme sports
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Sensation seeking and extreme sports What makes
some enjoy high risk activities?
Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale
adventure seeking experience seeking
disinhibition dislike of boredom
Ex. Study of 80 hang gliders, car racers,
bowlers..
21 sky-divers vs. nondivers
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Cognitive Strategies and Athletic Success
Guidelines for Practice
To enhance confidence practice specific plans to
deal with adversity during competition.
Practice routines to deal with unusual
circumstances and distractions before and during
competition.
Concentrate wholly on the upcoming performance
and block out irrelevant events and thoughts.
(continued)
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Cognitive Strategies and Athletic Success
Guidelines for Practice
Use several mental rehearsals prior to
competition.
Dont worry about other competitors before a
competition instead, focus on what you can
control.
Develop detailed competition plans.
Learn to regulate arousal and anxiety.
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Dos and Dontsin Personality Testing
DO inform participants about the purpose of the
personality test and exactly how it will be used.
DO allow only qualified individuals who have an
understanding of testing principles and
measurement error to give personality tests.
DO integrate personality test results with other
information obtained about the participant.
DO use sport- and exercise-specific tests
whenever possible, giving them in consultation
with a sport psychologist.
(continued)
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Dos and Dontsin Personality Testing
DO use both state and trait measures of
personality.
DO provide participants with specific feedback
concerning the result of the test.
DO compare individuals against their own baseline
levels rather than against normative information.
(continued)
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Dos and Dontsin Personality Testing
DONT use clinical personality tests that focus
on abnormality to study an average population
of sport and exercise participants.
DONT use personality tests to decide who makes a
team or program and who doesnt.
DONT give or interpret personality tests unless
you are qualified to do so by the APA or another
certifying organization.
DONT use personality tests to predict behavior
in sport and exercise settings without
considering other sources of information.