Personality and Exercise Flashcards
Def: Personality
Underlying, relatively stable, psychological structures and processes that organize human experience and shape a person’s actions and reactions to the environment
3 main facets of personality
- Personality Core: Developed from early environmental interactions and resistance to change
- Typical responses to situations: Predictable behaviour and reactions
- Role-related behaviours: daily behaviours influenced by the environment, most easily changed
structure of personality pyramid
Base: Personality Core
Middle: Typical Response
Top: Role-related behaviours
As you go up the pyramid behavior becomes more externally regulated and more dynamic
Learning/situational approaches of the study of personality
- More emphasis on environment
- Includes: Conditioning/ Behaviorist or social learning theories
- Endorse an interactionist perspective
Dispositional/Trait Theories to the study of personality
- Emphasis on the individual
- Includes: Biological and trait theories
- Endorse an interactionist perspective
Ancient Greek Theory of Humors
Balance of bodily fluids = personality
Blood = cheerful, optimistic
Yellow Bile = Irritable
Black Bile = sad, depressed
Phlegm = apathetic, indifferent
Constitutional Theory
- Individuals possess certain somatotypes (body types) determine personality
- Ectomorph (tall and lean) = Cerebrotonia (tense, introverted)
- Endomorph (Plump and round) = Visceratonia (Sociable and relaxed)
- Mesomorph (Athletic) = Somatotonia (adventurous and aggressive)
Traits
Relatively enduring dispositions that exert a consistent influence on behaviour in a variety of situations
States
The psychological reaction to the situation in which the individual finds him/herself
Trait Theories
- Emanate form inside the person
- Personality consists of specific traits and more general traits
- Examples of theories include Eysenck’s personality theory and five factor model
Dimensions of Eysenck’s Theory
Extraversion- Introversion (E)
Neuroticism - Stability (N)
Psychoticism - superego (P)
Extraversion - Introversion
- Outgoing, sociable, optimistic
- Driven by level of cortical arousal in cortex of brain
- Reticular formation mediates cortical arousal
- Introverts: Higher base level activation, avoid further stimulation, low pain tolerance
- Extroverts (Opposite)
Neuroticism - Stability
- Tense, anxious, moody
- Driven by limbic system and autonomic nervous system
- ANS drives fight or flight response
- High N - more labile, longer-lasting ANS reactions, continues to process stressors even when it is no longer present
Psychoticism- Superego
- Impulsive, aggressive, hostile
- Driven by hormonal function
- Increased androgen and relative absence of serotonin
- Lead to heightened aggressiveness, impersonal attitudes, and antisocial behaviour
- Very little attention in exercise domain; can be advantageous in certain sport situations
Factors of the five factor model
- Openness to experience/ intellect (O) : Ability to accept or adjust to new ideas
- Conscientiousness (C): Goal-oriented, self-discipline, determined and strong-willed
- Extraversion (E): Tendency to be outgoing
- Agreeableness (A): Compatible with others
- Neuroticism (N): Tense, moody, excitable
Gender-role Orientations personality factors and relevance for exercise
- Instrumental (M): Risk-taking, independence, competitiveness
- Expressive (F): Affection, compassion, understanding, sympathy
Relevance for exercise: Feminine individuals avoid masculine activities when given a choice, like exercise
Type A behaviour pattern (TAPB)
Hostility/anger, competitiveness, achievement striving, impatient, aggressive
- type A more competitive, Type B more relaxed
Hardiness
Proposed to be stress-buffering/ protects against deleterious effects of stress comprised of;
- a sense of control over events
- Commitment, dedication or involvement in everyday life
- a tendency to perceive life events as challenges and opportunities rather than as stressors
How is hardiness relevant for exercise
Hardiness is related to a tendency to engage in more healthful behaviours, but research is correlation
Personality and exercise
Personality has a small but significant effect on health and longevity
- Impacts health behaviors
- Reactivity to stressors
- Psychological responses to illness
What is the goal of research in exercise psychology
Seeks to determine psychological antecedents of physical activity and psychological consequences of physical activity
Antecedents of physical activity
- Exercise types
- Preferred intensity
- Setting of exercise
- Ability to stick to a plan/ schedule
- Willingness to try new activities
- Risk taking
Consequences of exercise
- Increase enjoyment and intrinsic motivation
- Increased confidence and self-efficacy to perform a task
- willingness to new activity
- Willing to take greater risks
- Confidence and ability to overcome barriers
- Increased resiliency
- Decreased cardiovascular disease risk
Exercise preferences associated with extroversion and why
- Exercise increases stimulation
- Higher pain tolerance
- preference for high intensity activity
- report lower RPE
Activity Trait
- Sub-trait of extroversion
- Tendency to be busy and energetic and to prefer fast-paced living
Neuroticism and Exercise
- Increased sedentary behavior and decreased physical activity
- Exercise training may lead to less neurotic personality trait and reduce trait anxiety
Study on stress recovery and neuroticism
Is neuroticism related to recovery from stress
- Researchers compared stress recovery between 2 groups of women - 43 women w/ high N and 44 w/ low N
- Performed social stress task w/ hostile, neutral and friendly conditions
- Measured anxiety and BP 10 min after completing each condition
- High neuroticism had slower stress recovery through both anxiety and BP
Effects of psilocybin therapy on personality
Can altering serotonin levels impact personality traits
- Psilocybin = psychoactive compound that is a serotonin mimetic
- Participants with moderate-to-severe treatment resistant depression
- ingest 2 doses of psilocybin in a supervised setting
- 10mg and 25mg
- measured personality structure 3-months later
- 2 doses of psilocybin lowers depression severity
- Decreases neuroticism and increases openness, extraversion
Openness and exercise
increase outdoor exercise
Conscientiousness
Increases;
- self-reported exercise
- exercise intentions
- overcoming barriers
- scheduled exercise
Extraversion and exercsie
Increases:
- moderate and strenuous exercise
- self-reported exercise
- exercise intentions
- overcoming barriers
- prefer exercising with others
- enjoyment
Neuroticism
Decreased
- self-reported exercise
- exercise adherence
- exercise intentions
- enjoyment
Increased
- Barriers
- enhanced appearance
How does personality relate to exercise motivation
- Increased levels of external motivation for people with high neuroticism and low openness
- Increased levels of internal motivation for people with high extraversion and conscientiousness
Why might someone with high extraversion and conscientiousness have greater intrinsic motivation for exercise
Satisfying 3 basic psychological needs
AUTONOMY AND COMPETENCY
- Conscientious people are better at planning, scheduling and following through with goals
- Extraverts have higher adherence to PA
RELATEDNESS
- Extroverts seek out social situations
Intensity preference
A predisposition to select a particular level of physical effort when given the opportunity to choose the level
Intensity Tolerance
A trait that influences one’s ability to continue exercising at an imposed level of physical effort even when the activity becomes uncomfortable or unpleasant
