Sport Psych Topic 4: Personality

Question 1

Key Research - Kroll and Crenshaw

Answer 1

Background:
Kroll and Crenshaw point that previous studies into personality and sport used a range of measures that made comparisons between studies difficult. In their study, they used a common assessment scale to measure personality across 4 different sports

Aim:
To investigate what differences if any, there would be in the personality profiles of participants with a high level of skill in four different sports by using Catells 16PF

Participants:
387 male participants were studied from 4 different sports:
81 American football players, 141 gymnasts, 94 wrestlers, 71 participants in karate. The quality of all these athletes was deemed ti be of ‘excellent or superior calibre’

Procedure:
all participants completed catells 16PF. To control for falsification and ensure validity of responses. Participants completed a test that included a 15-time lie test from the MMPI (Minnesota multiphase personality inventory). Data was discarded for participants who scored 7 or higher on the scale

Results:
comparisons between all the sporting pairs showed significant differences in the personality of the sporting participants. The exceptions was football and wrestling where no differences were observed, suggesting that football and wrestling attracted and held onto men with similar personality profiles.

Conclusions:
different personality profiles are related to participation at a high level of success

Question 2

Freud

Answer 2

• freud said all behaviour driven by the unconscious processes. Personality is made up of 3 parts: id, ego and superego.
• the theory states id, ego and superego in conflict and ego finds the balance. It the Id is not satisfied, it can cause a build up of aggressive energy = leading to violence
• freud said that sports can be cathartic, allowing to release built up aggression in a socially acceptable way
• one way this happens is: displacement/sublimation aggressive energy directed from true target of aggression to alternative

Question 3

Cattell’s 16 personality factors

Answer 3

• cattle’s used factors analysis to identify 12 different personality factors based on words people used to describe themselves
• created the 16PF questionnaire to measure those factors where participants answer true/false questions about their daily behaviour

reasoning:
-low score = less intelligent, concrete thinking
- high score = more intelligent, abstract

Question 4

Eysenck’s trait theory of personality

Answer 4

• eysenck suggested that introverts have more activity in part of a brain called the reticular activating system so needs less system
• sports people more likely to be extraverts
• people who are stable are able remain calm in middle stressful situations
• neurotics experience higher levels of anxiety
• psychotism is linked with levels of aggression and testosterone.

High scores for psychotism are linked with being more competitive and association with taking part in physical sports or those that involve risk