Module 2, Personality Flashcards
Personality research examines:
psychological characteristics that make people similar to one another
psychological characteristics that make people different to one another (individual differences - what makes us unique)
Personality (definition)
the overall organization of psychological characteristics - thinking, feeling and behaving - that differentiates us from others and leads us to act consistently across time and situations
- someone consistently shows specific personality traits
Related Terms: Disposition and Trait
disposition: a broad, pervasive, encompassing way of relating to particular types of peoples and situations
- tend to be fairly open to different situations
- use disposition and personality interchangeably
trait: a relatively stable characteristic or quality that may represent a portion of one’s personality (need to know)
- generally our personalities are made up of multiple traits (makes up who we are)
Trait versus States
trait = how you generally/typically feel, think and behave (all the time, across context and situations)
state = how you feel, think, behave at this moment (more temporary, does not last for a long period of time) (ex. having a state of aggression)
“to feel proud (state) is not the same as to be a proud person (personality/trait)”
Personality Theories (in general)
- consider motives, emotions, thinking, behaviour - all that drives us and organizes emotional and cognitive experience
- recognize continuity of personality across situations and the lifespan
- how people develop -> what makes us unique
Trait Approach to Personality
- people have certain traits that influence behaviour
- researchers look for clusters of correlated behaviours, thoughts, emotions -> specific trait
- extraversion (then becomes a trait as there a cluster of correlated behaviours)
◦ tend to seek out social stimulation
◦ engage with others
◦ high energy and positivity
◦ in group situations, extraverts are likely to talk
often and assert themselves
The ‘Big Five’ Trait Model of Personality
OCEAN (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism)
opposite - conventional, careless, impulsive introverted, aggresssive and/or disagreeable and emotional stability)
Personality and Sport & Exercise (correlation or no?)
little to no evidence:
- a distinct sport personality
- personality being related to performance
- personality being related to sport and exercise choice
* more positive findings reveal small effects or effects that are often not replicated
How does Personality Develop?: 4 Approaches
- humanistic approaches
- social learning and cognitive-behavioural approaches
- genetics/biological factors
- person-situation interaction approaches
Humanistic Approach
- focused on personality responsibility, human growth, personal striving and individual dignity
- maslow’s heirarchy of needs:
◦ once basic needs are met, individuals strive to
meet higher needs
◦ striving to be on top of the pyramid
◦ when one level of need is met, the personal will
strive for the next level
◦ ex. tiger woods has reached self-actualization
Social Learning and Cognitive - Behavioural Approaches: Behaviourism
- people learn behaviour in and for specific situations
Reinforcement: - behaviour followed by a reward increased the probability of behaviour
- behaviour associated with the removal of punishment increases probability of behaviour
Punishment:
*- behaviour that is followed by an aversive event decreases the probability of behaviour - ex. late to basketball practice, have to do 100 push-ups (Punishment), less likely to show up late because there is a punishment in place
Social Learning Theory
- bandura emphasized the importance of observational learning and modelling
- athletes can learn simply by being exposed to, or observing, the behaviour of others
- people can and do learn things from multiple mediums such as TV, magazine, DVDs and real social interactions
- more likely to adopt a behaviour if it results in valued outcomes
Genetic/Biological Factors
- approximately 50% of the variance in personality traits are attributed to heritable factors (things we are born with)
based on twin studies: - openness to experience was estimated to have a 57% genetic influence
- extraversion 54%
- conscientiousness 49%
- agreeableness 42%
Interactionist Approach to Personality
- situational interplay between person and environment determines athletes’ behaviours
- individuals bring specific experiences and dispositions to a physical activity situations
- try to understand how stable person factors affect behaviours/cognitions in specific settings
-> behaviour, personality and situations are all interconnected and go both ways
Personality Traits & Issues in Sport (4)
- risk taking and sensation seeking
- passion
- perfectionism
- mental toughness
Risk Taking
sensation (stimulus) seeking: seeking varied, novel, complex and intense sensations and experiences
- adrenaline (rush)
Passion
harmonious passion (HP)
- engage as part of identity and personal enjoyment
- maintain a healthy balance between passion and other things in life
- ex. engages in rugby as it is a part of their life, enjoy it for their own interest, however do have their own life and other things they are passionate towards
obsessive passion (OP)
- rigid and uncontrolled urges to engage and avoid guilt
- cannot miss a dat of exercise for example, they will feel guilt
- external control
- engage in this passion for this activity at the expense of other aspects of the person’s life
Passion (what emotions/things are OP and HP related to)
harmonious passion positively related to:
- positive emotions
- ability to disengage
- well-being
- effective decision making
obsessive passion positively related to:
- stress/guilt, rumination
- hostile agression
- cheating/substance use
- inability to disengage when injured
* HP and OP positively related to performance
Perfectionism
multidimensional personality trait characterized by very high performance standards combined with overly critical self-evaluations
- perfectionism can be glorified
Is perfectionism good or bad? (PSP/ECP)
personal standards perfectionism (PSP):
- high performance standards
- self-oriented achievement striving (for their own betterment and achievement, not concerned with others)
- often associated with adaptive functioning
evaluative concerns perfectionism (ECP):
- negative social evaluation
- excessive self-criticism
- concern over mistakes
- doubts about actions
- often associated with poor outcomes and maladjustment
Personal Standards Perfectionism (adaptive and helpful)
- when I am working on something, I cannot relax until it is perfect
- it is very important that I am perfect in everything I attempt
- I demand nothing less than perfection in myself
- it makes me uneasy to see an error in my work
Evaluative Concern Perfectionism (concerned with what other people think of them)
- find it difficult to meet others’ expectations of me
- anything that I do that is less than excellent will be seen as poor work by those around me
- the people around me expect me to succeed at everything I do
- my family expects me to be perfect
Mental Toughness
- personality characteristics that allow individuals to cope with stress and anxiety while remaining focused on competition demands
- coping is generally adaptive
The 4C Model - Mental Toughness
- challenge to overcome situations
- control over experiences
- confidence to overcome experiences
- commitment to achieving goals
