personality Flashcards
what is personality?
personality is the sum of characteristics that make a person unique
what are the 3 levels of personality and what is the order of them?
psychological core, at the base
typical respnses in the middle
role-related behaviour at the top
what does the psychological core include?
the deepest compnent and centrepiece of personality
attitudes and values, interests and beliefs about yourself and self-worth
“real you” not influenced by others
what are typical responses?
ways we learn to adjust to the environment around us or how we usually respond to the world around us
intercation of your psychological core with role-related behaviours
good indicator of your psychological core e.g always responding in a shy manner indicates being an introvert
what is role-related behaviour?
how you act based on what you perceive the social situation to be
most changeable aspect of personality
e.g taking on leadership responsibilities when being a coach but not so much as a student
roles can conflict
dynamic so allows for learning
which is the most stable and internal level of personality?
psychological core
which is the most exeternal and changeable level of personality?
role-related behaviour
why is studying personality structure important in sport?
getting to understand the psychological core of someone through their typical responses is especially good in the long run to know the most effective way to help them and coach them
what are the 5 approaches to understanding personality?
psychodynamic trait situation interactional phenomenological
what is the psychodynamic approach?
behaviour shaped by unconscious constantly changing factors (id, ego and superego)
special emphasis placed on these conflict resolutions in childhood shaping adult personality
person as a whole focused and not trait isolating
little emphasis on environment as all internal
impact of psychodynamic approach on sport psychology?and why?
little impact
focuses predominantly on internal determinants on behaviour and not soical environment
but sometimes appropriate to focus on unconscious determinants of behaviour
what is the trait approach?
personality traits are consistent across different situations so behaviour determined from inside the person and not due to environmental factors
behaviour therefore consistet in different situations
issues with the trait approach
knowing personality traits won’t always predict their behaviour in a situation
e.g angry in sport but not in other situations
what is the situational approach?
behaviour largely determined by situation or environment
observational learning and social reinforcement
minimal effect of personailty traits in a strong environment e.g a mugging
what is the interactional approach?
behaviour determined by both situation and traits as well as by their interaction (both a trait and situational approach)
variables can be independent of each other or interact
most popular approach used by sport psychologists?
interactional approach
Bowers found interaction between person and situation explained twice as many behaviours as traits or situations alone
in terms of measuring behaviour, what does ‘traits’ mean?
an individual’s typical style of behaving
in terms of measuring behaviour, what does ‘states’ mean?
the situation’s effects on behaviour
why should both traits and states be considered to understand and predict behaviour?
even though a trait predisposes someone to act in a certain way, the behaviour doesn’t necessarily occur in all situations
how to measure how someone will behave
trait and state measures
situation-specific measures which combines trait and state into one and more accurately predicts behaviour
what is a measure called when it is directly related to a sporting situation?
sport-specific measure
e.g testing how anxious before a competition instead of before a speech etc
what should be considered when measuring personality and reactions to competitive settings?
fluctuations before and during competitionn
e.g anxiety being higher before a game than during when a team are winning
what does taking an intraindividual approach mean?
determine how someone is feeling compared to how they normally feel and not compared to the norms
e.g someone might normally be really anxious so their anxiety score is low for them but high compared to the norm
what are projective tests?
using pictures or written situations and asking people to project their feelings and thoughts about the materials
BUT often too difficult to score and interpret so better to use a sport-specific test
traits of female athletes compared to non atheletes
independent, assertive, emotionally stable and aggressive
does gender determine personality characteristics of athletes
no
what did Schurr et al. find about the personality traits of athletes vs. non athletes,
athletes in team sports and
athletes in individual sports?
(all male)
no difference between athletes and nonathletes
those in team sports more extroversion, more dependent and less ego strength than nonathletes
those in individual sports more dependent, less anxious and less abstract thinking than nonathletes
team sport less imaginative than individuals
what does Morgan’s mental health model predict?
positive mental health as assessed by POMS scores is directly related to athletic success and high levels of performance
POMS = profile of mood states
what did Morgan mean by the iceberg profile?
iceberg profile of a successful athlete is formed by vigor being above mean and depression, tension, anger, fatigue and confusion are below the mean
(profile looks like an iceberg as all negative traits below surface (population norms) and positive trait above the surface))
what is Type A behaviour characterised by?
strong sense of urgency
excess of competitive drive
easily aroused hostility
which part of type A behaviour has been linked to disease?
easily aroused hostility
