Chapter 2 – Personality & Sport
What is personality? The characteristics that make a person unique.
1)
Psychological core – the “real you” i.e., values, motives, beliefs, attitudes.
2)
Typical responses – how we usually respond to the world around us.
3)
Role-related behavior – your behavior changes as your perceptions of the environment
change. Most changeable
Approaches to personality:
1Psychodynamic approach (Freud, Jung, Erickson)
- emphasis on unconscious, instinctual behaviors – id and how they conflict with more
conscious aspects – superego and the ego (conscious personality).
- Focuses on understanding the person as a whole
- views personality as a dynamic set of processes that are constantly changing and
often in conflict with one another
- little impact on sport psychology
- gives little attention to social environment
2 – The Trait Approach –assumes that the fundamental units of personality (its traits) are
relatively stable
 cause of behavior is with the person
 all traits are relative
 can’t predict behavior from traits
3 – The Situation Approach – behavior is determined largely by the situation.
 Based on social learning theory (Albert Bandura). We learn through observation (modeling)
and social reinforcement (feedback)
 Note – you can change the reinforcements.
 Like the trait approach, you cannot truly predict behavior with this approach.
4 – The Interactional Approach – considers the situation and person as co-determinants of
behavior. It’s not only combination, but interaction of the two. Favored by most sport
psychologists. (see case study, p. 32)
Measuring Personality
Trait – an individual’s typical style of behaving
State – the situation’s effect on behavior
Measures:
1)
Trait and state
2)
Situation-specific (better predictors of behavior)
3)
Sport-specific - much better than regular psychology tests
Using Psychological Measures
 Tests alone cannot predict success
 You MUST be an informed consumer
1)
Principles of Testing & Measurement Error:
Validity – a test measures what it is supposed to measure. Does it “fit” your population?
Reliability – a consistency over time
2)
Know your limitations – you must be trained to use the instrument
3)
Do NOT use psychological tests for team selection
4)
Include explanation & feedback – they should know purpose of test, what it measures,
and how the tests will be used – informed consent
5)
Assure confidentiality
6)
Take an intra-individual approach – how do you feel in relation to how you usually feel
7)
Understand and assess specific personality components (usually the core)
Dos and Don’ts in Personality Testing (Text p. 39)
Do’s
 Inform participants about the purposes of the test and exactly HOW it will be used
 Allow only qualified individuals who have an understanding of testing principles and
measurement error to give personality tests
 Integrate personality test results with other information obtained about the participants
 Use sport- and exercise- specific tests whenever possible, giving these tests in
consultation with a sport psychologist
 Use both state and trait measures of personality
 Provide participants with specific feedback concerning the results of the tests.
 Compare individuals against their own baseline levels rather than against normative
information
Don’ts:
 Do not use clinical personality tests that focus on abnormality to study an average
population of sport and exercise participants
 Do not use personality tests to decide who makes a team or program and who doesn’t
 Do not give or interpret personality tests unless you are qualified to do so by the
American Psychological Association or other certifying organization
 Do not use personality tests to predict behavior in sport and exercise settings without
considering other sources of information, such as observational data and performance
assessments.
Personality research in sport & exercise
Personality alone does NOT account for behavior in sport or exercise. They are a useful tool to
help us better understand, monitor and work with athletes and exercises
Research does report:
 athletes who played team sports exhibited less abstract reasoning, more extroversion, more
dependency and less ego strength than non-athletes
 athletes who played individual sports displayed higher levels of objectivity, more
dependency, less anxiety, and less abstract thinking than non-athletes
 compared with female non-athletes, women athletes were more achievement-oriented,
independent, aggressive, emotionally stable, and assertive. 7
Exercise & personality
Type A personality – strong sense of urgency, an excess of competitive drive, and an easily
aroused hostility. Have more heart problems. Exercise does help. The opposite = Type B
Self-concept - improves with exercise as they perceive improvements, don’t have to have real
results.
Mental Strategies Used by Successful Athletes (Text p. 45)
 To enhance confidence, successful athletes practice specific plans o deal with adversity
during competition
 They practice routines to deal with unusual circumstances and distractions before and
during competition
 They concentrate wholly on the upcoming performance, blocking out irrelevant events
and thoughts
 They use several mental rehearsals prior to competition
 They develop detailed competition plans
 They learn to regular arousal and anxiety
Cognitive Strategies & Success
1) Findings of research:
 gymnasts who made the national team coped better with anxiety, used more
internal imagery, and had more positive self-talk than those who didn’t make the
team
 overachieving athletes had significantly higher scores on coach-ability,
concentration, and coping with adversity than did underachievers.
 elite athletes used more mental preparation, can handle adversity better, and use
goal setting better than non-elite athletes
2) In-Depth Interview Techniques
3) Mental plans
Application:
 consider both personality traits and situations
 be an informed consumer
 be a good communicator – it’s more than tests
 be a good observer
 be knowledgeable about mental strategies