1.1- Personality theories
What is personality?
What are the Trait and Interactionalist theories?
What models are there for personality?
Defining Personality
We often use the term personality but what does it actually mean?
She has a
great
personality
We have a
conflict of
personality
He has his
father’s
personality
She’s a real
personality
He hasn’t
got a
personality
No Clear definition
But…
“Personality is the distinctive pattern of long-lasting psychological
and behavioural characteristics by which someone can be
compared to others.”
Why study personality?
Personality has been studied by many psychologists over the years and has
been difficult to define.
The key questions in relation to sport are:-
 Is there a relationship between personality and the sport you chose?
 Why do some people prefer team sports to individual?
 What do basketball players have in common with other basketball players?
Trait theories
Trait theory was based on 3 assumptions…
 Tendency to behave is stable and unchanging
 Tendency to behave is consistent in all different situations
 Each person has a unique combination of dispositions
Criticism
Doesn’t explain why our behaviour may change in different situations
 Social learning theory- learn by copying others (significant others, friends etc.)
Interactionalist theories
Interactionalist theorists built on the work by the Trait theorists
They suggested that our behaviour depends upon what traits we have inherited
and how these are influenced by our environment.
So we can split personality up into…
Traits (Internal)
Environment (external)
This suggests that our behaviour should be predictable in certain environments
However
Behaviour may be different as the environment changes
Hollander’s Model
Psychological Core
• Inner core of beliefs, values and attitudes
• Fairly permanent, unlikely to change
Typical responses
• Responses to a situation show our core
• Different core will lead to different responses
Role-related behaviour
• Shows our actual responses to a certain situation
• Most changeable aspect of personality
• Behaviour will vary depending on
• How we feel?
• The situation we are in?
Social
environment
Psychological
Core
Typical
responses
Role related
behaviours
Theories of Personality
Trait
Interactionalist
We inherit traits
that define our
personality, greater
emphasis is place on
the inner core.
How we behave
depends on both
our inner core and
the environment
which we are put it.
Key difference- Emphasis placed upon the effect the environment
has on your chosen behaviour
Federer?