Personality Flashcards
Personality definition
“The sum total of an individual’s characteristics which make him/her unique” (Hollander, 1971)
Trait approach
- stable
- traits are considered to predispose a person to act a certain way regardless of situation/circumstances
Situation approach
- argues that behaviour is largely determined by the situation/environment
- if the influence of the environment is strong enough, the influence of personality traits are minimal
Interactional approach
- combination of state and trait personality determines behaviour
Big 5 Model of Personality
Openness Conscientiousness Extroversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Openess
- originality
- need for variety
- curiosity
Conscientiousness
- achievement striving
- self-discipline
Extroversion
- enthusiasm
- sociability
- assertiveness
Agreeableness
- amiability
- altruism
- modesty
Neuroticism
Anxiety, depression & anger vs. emotional stability
Structure of personality
- Role-related behaviour
- Typical responses
- Psychological core
Role-related behaviour
- how you act in relation to your perceived role in a specific social situation
- most changeable aspect of personality
Typical responses
- usual manner in which we respond to different environmental situations
- good indicator of the psychological core
Psychological core
- represents the ‘real you’
- deepest component of personality and therefore the most stable
- includes:
- attitudes
- values
- interests
- motives
- beliefs about yourself
- self-worth
- internal, constant, stable
Measuring personality
- Questionnaires
- Interviews
- Obeservations
Benefits of questionnaires
- measures state and trait personality
- captures a person’s tendency to feel anxious vs. how anxious they feel generally
Shortfalls of questionnaires
- self-report
- potential for bias (may not understand the question or believe that it is being used for team selection and therefore not be truthful in their answers)
Benefits of interviews
Open-ended and flexible
Shortfalls of interviews
- difficult to quantify
- may be influenced by the interviewer
Shortfalls of observations
- difficult to quantify
- may be influenced by obeserver
“Seeking sensation” Theory
- Identifies the amount of stimulation a person will seek as an aspect of personality
- made up of numerous qualities
Qualities that make up the “sensation seeking” theory
- seeking of thrills & adventure
- tendency to act on impulse
- seeking of new experiences
- vulnerability to boredom
Positive Mental Health (POMs) and the ‘Iceberg’ Profile
- Morgan reported that the model was effective in predicting athletic performance
- suggests mental health is directly linked to athletic success
- 5 negative subscales
- 1 positive subscale
- successful athletes would score lower on the negative subscales and higher on the positive subscale
Positive subscale of the ‘Iceberg’ profile
Vigour
Negative subscales of the ‘Iceberg’ profile
- Neuroticism
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Confusion
- Anger
Credulous vs. Sceptical Debate
Credulous = belief that personality is closely related to athletic performance Sceptical = argue that personality is not related to athletic success
Athletes vs. Non-athletes study that benefited the ‘sceptical’ debate
- there is no specific personality profile that continually distinguishes between athletes and non-athletes
- outstanding athletes have similar personality characteristics regardless of gender
Schurr’s study
- 2000 male college students
- could not distinguish between athletes and non-athletes
- differences emerged when categorised into sports
Evidence that supports the ‘credulous’ debate
Female athletes are more oriented, independent, aggressive, emotionally stable and assertive than female non-athletes
