Word Association
Personality
Aims and Objectives
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To understand the theories related to
personality.
To evaluate the measurement of personality
To apply personality theory to the sporting
arena, for example, is there a sporting
personality?
v
Definition
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Personality is the sum total of an individual’s
characteristics which make him unique.
(Hollander 1971)
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Those relatively stable and enduring aspects
of individuals which distinguish them from
other people, making them unique, but which
at the same time allow people to be
compared with each other. (Gross, 1996)
Trait Theory
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Trait theorists such as Eysenck and Cattell saw
personality as a collection of traits. They
suggested we have underlying characteristics
which determine our behaviour and make that
behaviour possible to predict. We can predict
behaviour in all situations.
For example, if a tennis player is identified as
assertive they are assertive regardless of the
situation.
Eysenck’s Theory of Personality (1947)
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700 neurotic battle-fatigued soldiers
Factor analysis
Moody
quiet
Two dimensions
Passive
Calm
Aggressive
Active
Sociable
carefree
Eysenck continued……………
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Eysenck later added a third dimension:
Psychotic
Non-psychotic
According to Eysenck, a person could be
located anywhere along the dimensions.
Social Learning Theory
Observation and modelling- Bandura
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(1) Attention, through observation
(2) Retention, including symbolic coding,
cognitive organisation, symbolic rehearsal,
motor rehearsal
(3) Motor Reproduction, including physical
capabilities, self-observation of reproduction,
accuracy of feedback
(4) Motivation, including external, vicarious
and self reinforcement
Hollander’s Structure of
Personality
Psychological
Core
2
Typical
Responses
Role related
behaviour
1
3
Personality as a layered
structure
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Hollander’s Structure of Personality (1971)
Personality core
 –Developed from early environmental interactions
 –Includes perceptions of external world and self, basic
attitudes, values, interests, and motives
 –Reflective of who we are; least amenable to change
Typical responses to situations
 –Fairly predictable behaviours and reactions
Personality as a layered
structure
Role-related behaviours
 –Variable, daily behaviours influenced by the
particular context we are in
 –Most easily changed
Interactionist approach
B=f (P, E)
Behaviour (B) is a function (f) of personality
traits (P) and environmental conditions (E).
Measuring personality
The ability to predict who will drop out of, or
stay in activities is particularly useful for
coaches and administrators. However, personality
tests have so far been unable to identify who will stay and
who will go.
The idea of using psychological characteristics such as
personality in talent-identification programmes is also
attractive again though we need to be careful in
understanding there are a lot more other areas to consider
other than personality when analyzing an individual’s
suitability for a role or type of sport.
Measuring personality
Rorschach Inkblot Test
Measuring personality
Interviews and observations
Measuring personality
Psychometric Testing
Questionnaires
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-measures
extroversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability and
psychoticism. Subjects scoring high on E represent
high neuroticism and low stability.
Example from extroversion/introversion category
Do you usually finish your meals before other people
even though there is no reason to hurry?
Yes □
Maybe □
No □
Measuring Personality
Catell’s 16 Personality Factor (16PF)
Questionnaire.
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Started with 18,000 adjectives
Through refinement arrived at 16 source traits
For example:
trusting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 suspicious
practical
imaginative
reserved
outgoing
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Scored on an 10 point scale
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Measuring personality
The Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory
Comprised of 567 questions, which takes up to
90 minutes to complete.
It is extremely detailed and accurate
Originally developed by Starke Hathaway and
J.C. McKilney at the University of Minnesota in
the late 1930's.
Revised in 1989 and 2001.
Measuring personality
Profile of Mood States (POMS)
‘Iceberg Profile’- Morgan (1978)
Compared with non athletes, top level x-c skiers displayed:
 lower level of tension
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lower level of depression
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about equal levels of anger
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significantly higher vigor
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less fatigue and confusion
Applying the theory
Is there a sporting personality?
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Individual Differences
Characteristics of the various sportsindividual/team
Lack of a state-trait approach
Problems with measurement
Silva (1984) the higher up the
‘athletic pyramid’ the athletes
were the more similar their
personalities were to others
at that level.