exam one 2 Flashcards
The Personality
sum or blend of characteristics that make a person unique (Martens, 1975)
Specific traits that impact behaviors and responses
Role-related Behavior
Life Roles: Student, Coach, Server, Friend
- Sport Roles: Positions – mostly defined by playing time
- Actions based on perception of role
- *Most changeable part of our personality
Typical responses
- Normal responses to stimulus in our environment
- Excitement vs. Fear – Roller-coaster
- Can adjust over time
- Experience helps gain control
Psychological Core
Foundation: attitudes, values, beliefs about self
- Core life beliefs from family, friends, religion
- REAL you - not who you want others to think you are
Personality Traits of Athletes:
– Competitive
– Independent
– Strong-willed
– Intense
– Perfectionism
– Emotional
– Impatient
– Strong Athletic Identity
Perfectionism
–Common among athletes
–Refusal to accept anything short of perfection
–Any setback viewed as complete failure
–Strive for flawlessness
–Highly organized
–Excessively high standards
–Overly critical - “Nothing ever good enough”
–Trains mind to want to avoid failure
–Associated with burnout
Adaptive
Positive: Motivational, always want to get better, work hard
Maladaptive
Negative: try too hard, give up easily, anxiety, too much pressure to live up too
Trait -
Personality traits
- Always this way -> Typical style of behavior (i.e. Tense, Happy, Competitive)
- Alpha - Type A - helpful in sport vs. risk of cardiovascular disease
State -
Personality fluctuates depending on situation
- Right now feeling changes moment-to-moment
- Examples: Anxiety in pressure situations, up & down confidence
Individual Sports
– Like to do things themselves
– Independent
– Prefer control
– Lack of trusting others?
Team Sports
– Enjoys working with others to reach goal
– Motivated by others
– Open-skilled athleticism
– Intangibles that impact team chemistry
Open-skilled
– Skill with changing variables Interactions with opponents or teammates
– Reactionary Mental Skills
– Examples:
» Teammate awareness/Passing in hockey
» Fast-break 2-on-1 in basketball
» Throwing a football to receiver
» Tackling an opponent in rugby
Closed-skilled
– Planned Behavior: performer already knows what to do
– Skill takes place in a controlled environment can be practiced
– Time to think, so mentally more difficult: needs an ‘Alpha Thought Process’
– Examples:
» Gymnast routine
» Penalty Kick in Soccer
» Free Throw
» Golf Shot
Athletic Identity:
degree with which an individual identifies with their athletic role (Brewer, 1993)
including goals, values, and importance of sport to them
Athletic Identity vs. Self-Identity
- Who you are vs. What you do
- On the field vs. Off the Field
- Must create balance between identities
- All-Star Study: Self-enhancement vs. Self-Protection (Eklund, 2004)
ID DEVELOPMENT
Phase 1: Identity Origins
– Learn to play sport as youth
– Build friendships
– Get attention from family & friends
– Learn a skill
– Extra training & coaching
– More time committed
– Becoming “the athlete”
ID DEVELOPMENT
Phase 2: Confirmation of Identity
-Higher levels confirms skill “becomes real”
– More success = more attention
– Ego built upon success as athlete
– Highs and lows in sport become personal
– Can drift from core self (morals, drugs, etc.)
– Talented players who don’t make it at risk
ID DEVELOPMENT
Phase 3: Retirement & Transition
–Pro athletes prime age 24-30 (brain development) vs. Lawyers Prime is 50-60
–Tough Time Retiring: Surgeon’s dilemma – when is the right time to retire?
–End of careers Problems:
* Lack of financial literacy
* No other job skills
* Physical fitness drops off
* Depression
–Transition Plans = set new goals (new value)
Alter Ego:
self-created persona or desired personality created to help psychologically
handle the specific demands of your sport
Alter Ego: Positives:
Negatives:
- Can overtake your core self
- Lose sight of reality
- Personal ethics shift
- Helps separate self from athletic identity
- Creates specific traits needed for success
- Helps be who you need to be in competition
Alter Ego: Negatives:
- Can overtake your core self
- Lose sight of reality
- Personal ethics shift
Measuring Personality
Situation-Specific vs. Sport-Specific
Sport-specific tests predict better than general tests
Measuring Personality
- TAIS – Test of Attentional & Interpersonality Style
- Profile of Mood States
- Sport Competition Anxiety Test (Martens)
- Competitive State Anxiety Inventory
- Trait Sport Confidence Inventory
- State Sport Confidence Inventory
