Personality & sports psychology Flashcards
What was the largest area of research into personality in 1960s and 1970s?
Trait theory
Why did trait theory lose favour in sports psychology?
It was not something that could be controlled therefore deemed not relevant.
What is personality?
Psychological qualities that contribute to an individuals enduring and distinctive patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving.
What do twin studies teach us about personality?
Genetics plays a strong role as identical twins reared apart show stronger correlation in personality traits than fraternal twins reared together.
Do adopted children share more personality traits with their adoptive or biological parents?
Biological
How do you convert a correlation coefficient into a percentage?
Multiply by itself
What is the difference between type and trait in relation to personality?
Type categorises people as having different personalities whereas trait looks at people possessing different traits on a continuum.
Who was the founding father of modern personality theory?
Allport, 1927, 1937
What was Allport’s original system for personality theory?
Hierarchial system where personalities fall into categories.
How many trait names did Allport & Odbert find in the dictionary?
4500
Who used the research of Allport & Odbert?
Cattell’s 16PF
Costa & McCrae’s OCEAN
What model was Eysenck, 1947?
PEN, two trait model
Extraversion and Neuroticism
What trait was added to the two trait model to form the 3 trait model?
Psychoticism - meaning impulsivity and sensation seeking
What was Cattel’s 1943 model?
Determined 16 personality trait dimension based on all the traits identified previously
Allen 2021 findings on athletes and personality
Athletes show higher levels of extraversion than non-athletes. Some also show lower levels of neuroticism.
Rhodes & Smith 2006, Wilson & Dishman 2015 meta-analyses.
- What were these about?
- Main findings
- difference in personality in organised sport versus regular exercise.
- Extraversion and Conscientiousness are higher, neuroticism is lower
Differences in personality traits of team sport athletes and individual athletes?
Team sports were lower on conscientiousness and higher on extraversion.
Difference in athletes in high risk versus low risk sports?
High risk sports were lower on conscientiousness and higher on extraversion.
Does sport chosen make a difference to personality traits?
No. The type of sport makes a difference, not the sport itself
Does position played make a difference in relation to personality?
Mixed findings
Schmitt 2008 - Personality differences between men and women?
Women have higher levels of
- extraversion
- Conscientiousness
- agreeableness
- Neuroticism
Do athletic women mirror the same traits as women in general?
Yes
What two hypotheses explain the correlation between sport and personality traits?
Gravitation - People who play sport choose to take part in activities that suit their personality.
Change - Taking part in certain activities helps to develop certain traits
Does personality change over lifespan?
Yes, in predictable patterns.
Allen 2017
Personality is important for changes in physical activity but physical activity is relatively unimportant for change in personality
Can personality predict success in a single game?
No
Can personality predict success over the long term?
Yes. High conscientiousness and low neuroticism predicted
Aidman 2007 - Can personality measures in youth predict progression to professional sport? What %?
Yes 84%
Is personality a better predictor of short term behaviours or short term success?
Short term behaviours
What team personality traits are linked to success?
High conscientiousness and high agreeableness
Is team personality similarity linked to success?
Only when low on extraversion, high conscientiousness and high agreeableness
Is agreeableness important for personal success?
No, but it is important for team success
Graydon & Murphy 1995 - Are there performance difference between introvert and extroverts?
Only with an audience is there a difference. Extraverts perform better with an audience
Lichtensten 2014 are any personality traits linked to unhealthy exercise behaviours?
Low agreeableness was a predictor of exercise addiction
