A2 Physical Education
Sport Psychology
PERSONALITY
AND AROUSAL
Revision week 1
Overview
Week 1
Aspects of personality
Arousal
Week 2
Controlling anxiety
Attitudes
Week 3
Aggression
Confidence
Week 4
Attribution theory
Group success
Week 5
Leadership and any questions
Aspects of personality – traffic light
sheet
What do I know?
What do I need to
know?
Anything new that
I’ve learnt
Personality TIPS!
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Make sure you learn the specific definition of
personality!
Have awareness of the links between
personality and sports performance.
It is important to understand the NATURE
(trait) V NURTURE (social learning) and
interactionist perspectives of behaviour.
Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each
perspective.
Be aware of the problems associated with the
use of personality profiling in sport.
Personality
“The sum total of an individuals
characteristics which make him
unique” (Hollander).
“Personality is the more or less stable and
enduring organisation of a persons character,
temperament, intellect and physique which
determines the unique adjustment to the
environment” (Eysenck).
Personality Types
TRAITS
INTROVERT
Shy, timid,
reserved, aloof,
self sufficient
EXTROVERT
Adventurous,
confident,
Sociable,
Group dependent,
enthusiastic
NARROW BAND APPROACH,
GIRDANO, 1990
TYPE ‘A’
Highly competitive,
Strong desire to succeed,
Works fast, likes to control,
Prone to suffer stress
TYPE ‘B’
Non-competitive,
Unambitious,
Works more slowly,
Does not enjoy control
Less prone to stress
Personality Theories
- PMI
Trait Theory (nature)
“People are born with
established personality
characteristics”
Inherited at birth.

Stable

Enduring
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consistent in all situations.
BEHAVIOUR = FUNCTION OF
PERSONALITY
+ve = Can be easily measured
through questionnaires
-ve = Does not take into account
environmental influences. It is
not a true indicator of behaviour.
CATTELL (1965) identified 16
personality traits
INTROVERT & EXTROVERT

NATURE
vs
NURTURE
Social Learning Theory
(Bandura)
“All behaviour is learned through
interaction with the environment”
BEHAVIOUR = FUNCTION OF
ENVIRONMENT
-ve = Does not consider inherited
behaviour (traits)
Interactionist Theory
“Behaviour occurs from the
interaction between inherited traits
and learned experiences”
BEHAVIOUR = FUNCTION OF
PERSONALITY × ENVIRNOMENT
Personality Theories
Concentric Ring Theory (Hollander 1967)
Role Related Behaviour – Surface of personality
Typical Response – Your usual response in
most situations
The Psychological Core – The ‘real you’
The boundary line of each layer gets wider as you get
closer to the centre of the model which shows that each
layer is harder to enter. As you move closer to the centre,
your ‘real’ personality begins to surface
Personality Theories
Eysenck’s Personality Types
Personality traits run
across 2 continuums:
INTROVERT:
unsociable, shy &
nervous
NEUROTIC
(UNSTABLE)
EXTROVERT:
sociable, outgoing &
lively
INTROVERT
EXTROVERT
STABLE
STABLE: calm, eventempered, controlled
7 logical
UNSTABLE: anxious,
moody, unpredictable
& illogical
What is the role of
RAS?
Personality Testing Pg114
Methods of Testing
1) Observation
2) Psychometric methods: self report questionnaires (16
personality factor questionnaire designed by CATTELL) EPI,
SCAT, CSAI-2
Problems
1) Questionnaires, observations and self-reports are not
reliable as people can fix answers.
2) Evidence is too general – personality alone can not predict
behaviour.
3) Although there is a link between personality research and
performance in sport, there is lack of evidence to support
this.
POMS – Can you think of an
acronym?

Iceberg profile
Exam questions on motivation
Achievement Motivation TIPS!
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You need to understand the meaning of the
term ‘achievement motivation’.
Make sure you know the characteristics of
the different personality types
You need to be aware of the links between
personality and the motive to achieve.
Achievement Motivation
Achievement Motivation is a concept developed by
sports psychologists to link PERSONALITY and
COMPETITIVENESS.
The major issue centres on the extent to which
an INDIVIDUAL IS MOTIVATED TO ATTAIN
SUCCESS.
Success in sport is measured against some type
of COMPETITIVE GOAL.
Atkinson & McClelland (1976) –
Interactionist View
In any challenging situation, everyone will
have both a ‘need to achieve’ and a ‘need to
avoid failure’. Whichever feeling is stronger
will determine whether the task is accepted
or declined.
Competitive orientation is generated
through personality and situational factors
Personality Factors
A = TAS
someone with a high need to achieve
will probably have a low need to
avoid failure and will choose
difficult or demanding tasks which
are more risky, e.g.
the hard route up a rock face
B = TAF
someone with a high need to avoid
failure will probably have a low
need to achieve and will choose
tasks which are less risky and
more easily achieved, e.g. the easy
route up the rock face
TAS = Tendency to APPROACH
success
TAF = Tendency to AVOID failure
Situational Factors
A =
If the probability of success low
(competing against the world
champion) you will strive very hard to
win (incentive high). You will be highly
chuffed if you win.
B =
If the probability of success high
(competing in local club match) you
don’t need to try as hard to win
(incentive low and expect to win
easily). It is not so pleasing if you win.
What can the coach do?
IMPROVE NEED AND MOTIVE TO ACHIEVE (Nach)
• Increase positive reinforcement hence increasing pride and
satisfaction
• Ensure that goals are achievable
• Ensure that at least some situations guarantee success
and subsequently gradually increase task difficulty in line
with progress
• Ensure that tasks are challenging
• Ensure that the probability of success is good
• Ensure that the incentive value of the success is high (is the
race worth winning?)
What can the coach do?
REDUCE TENDENCY AND MOTIVE TO AVOID
FAILURE (NaF)
• Reduce punishment hence lowering the chance of
performer worrying about failure
• Focus negative feedback on effort rather than
ability. This avoids the performer tending to believe
that causes of failure are internal (due to lack of
ability for example) and reduces the risk of learned
helplessness.
• Avoid situations where defeat / failure is inevitable
(such as performing against a much superior opponent)
if this is not possible alter the criteria for success
(you will have succeeded if you only lose by 2 goals).
Types of Goals
According to BIDDLE, there are several types of goal against
which success can be judged:
• MASTERY or TASK GOALS: Associated with selfimprovement, e.g. trying to achieve a PB in athletics (the same
as PROCESS GOALS).
• EGO or ABILITY GOALS: Involve a comparison against ones
rivals, e.g. beating everyone else to win the club tennis
tournament (the same as OUTCOME GOALS)
• SOCIALLY APPROVED GOALS: Involves seeking social
reinforcement as a measure of success, e.g. winning to earn
approval from parents or coaches.
THINK BACK TO GOALS FROM AS SKILL!
Review the syllabus

Devise two
personality
questions (3 and
4 marks)

Devise a
personality
essay question
(14 marks)
Aspects of personality – traffic light
sheet
Anything new that
I’ve learnt
A2 Physical Education
Sport Psychology
Arousal
Revision
Name and describe the three
theories of……..?
Key terms

Arousal

Somatic

Reticular activating system (RAS)

P = f (H X D)
Individual Zone of Optimal
Functioning (Hanin)
Athlete A
(low ZOF)
Athlete B
(moderate ZOF)
Athlete C
(high ZOF)
In zone
Out of zone
(best performance)
Out of zone
In zone
(best performance)
Out of zone
Out of zone
In zone
(best performance)
Increasing Arousal
An athlete will enter the zone when arousal is at an optimum level and the
situation matches the athlete’s strongest attentional style.
Individual Zone of Optimal
Functioning (Hanin)
Different people perform better under different (arousal) conditions:
Personality
Low Zone of INTROVERT
Functioning
(low
arousal)
High Zone
of
Functioning
(high
arousal)
EXTROVERT
Task Type
Stage of
Learning
Experience
SIMPLE/
GROSS
SKILLS, E.G.
SHOT PUT
COGNITIVE/
ASSOCIATIVE
PHASE
NOVICE
PERFORMERS
COMPLEX/
FINE
SKILLS, E.G.
SPIN
BOWLING
AUTONOMOUS
EXPERIENCED
PERFORMER
Individual Zone of Optimal
Functioning (Hanin)………
Teachers and coaches should guide the performer towards their personal
‘optimal threshold’ or ‘individual zone of optimal functioning’.
THE
ATHLETE
FEELS IN
FULL
CONTROL
EXECUTION OF
THE SKILL BRINGS
ENJOYMENT AND
SATISFACTION
EFFORTLESS
PERFORMANCE
IN THE
ZONE!
ATTENTION AND
CONCENTRATION
OF THE
PERFORMER IS
FOCUSED
Attentional narrowing
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Cue utilisation theory
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Attentional narrowing
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Attentional wastage
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Stress management techniques
PEAK FLOW – Pg 137
PEAK FLOW: Optimal experience that facilitates best performance and is
intrinsically valuable. (Csikzentmimalyi)
 Peak flow occurs when somatic
High somatic arousal
Low
cognitive
Arousal
anxiety
Excitement,
happiness
Anxiety,
anger
anxiety has reached an appropriate
threshold and cognitive anxiety is low.
High
cognitive
Arousal
Relaxation,
Drowsiness
Boredom
fatigue
anxiety
Low somatic arousal
During these rare moments in sport, the athlete
assumes control over all internal and environmental
variables and a time of greatest happiness and selffulfilment is experienced.
 flow state is attained when the
performer has a balanced perception
of the demands of the situation and
his/her ability to cope.
 a high incentive value is to be gained
from a challenge that is both realistic
and attainable.
The focus of attention and
concentration is maximised.
 there is a self-confident belief that
nothing could go wrong.
 the situation suits the athlete’s
strongest attentional style.
Review the syllabus – traffic light
sheet

Devise two
arousal
questions (3 and
4 marks)

Devise an
arousal essay
question (14
marks)
Examination questions
Next week and homework pg 127
and 139
Week 1
Aspects of personality
Arousal
Week 2
Controlling anxiety
Attitudes
Week 3
Aggression
Confidence
Week 4
Attribution theory
Group success
Week 5
Leadership