Week 2 Flashcards
Give a brief overview of the history of personality in sport
Significant area of research between 1930-80
Numerous problems - lack of theory, methodological flaws, errors
Research developed outside of sport in the 1990s but only became more fashionable in sport psych research recently
How does Cervone & pervin 2013 define personality?
Psychological qualities that contribute to an individual’s enduring and distinctive patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving.
What are the key principles of personality according to Cervone & pervin 2013?
Enduring: consistent across times / situations
Distinction: differentiate between individuals
Contribution: to behaviour allows for collection of empirical data as well as theory building
Feeling, thinking and behaving: takes into account all aspects of a person, not just one particular domain of life
What are the layers of personality according to McAdams 2013?
Dispositional traits
Characteristic adaptations
Self normative identities
What is Lewins equation?
B = f(P, E)
B - behaviour
P - personality
E - environment
There are two important considerations - what is meant by a performance focused theoretic basis?
Why and how might personality affect performance
There are two important considerations - what is meant by main versus interactive effects?
The interactive effect of a person and their environment on behaviour is complex, hence so to is the relationship between personality and sport performance.
What are ‘the big five’ (mcCrea and John 1992)
Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness
The big five - elite vs recreational athletes
Elite athletes are more extroverted and emotionally stable
International athletes have higher levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness and lower levels of neuroticism than club level athletes.
The big five - what did conscientiousness relate positively to?
Quality of preparation
The big five - what did emotional stability positively relate to?
Effective coping during competition
The big five - what did extroverts benefit from?
Goal setting
The big five - what did neurotics benefit from?
Emotional control training
The big five - Athletes with low levels of agreeableness, extroversion, and emotional stability are more prone to what?
Aggressive behaviours
The big five - athletes with low levels of openness and emotional stability are more prone to what?
Using avoidance coping strategies
The big five - Athletes with high levels of conscientiousness, extroversion and emotional stability are more prone to what?
Using problem focused coping strategies
The big five - which athletes have more positive performance statistics?
Adult athletes with high levels of conscientiousness or low levels of neuroticism
How does Hewitt & Flett 1991 define perfectionism?
A multidimensional construct characterised by the setting of very high personal standards alongside harsh criticism of ones own behaviour
What are the dimensions of perfectionism?
Perfectionistic striving - having high personal standards and striving for perfection
Perfectionistic concerns - highly critical self evaluation
What is perfectionistic striving associated with?
Greater performance Olympic success Confidence Effective coping Self determined motivation
What is perfectionistic striving combined with perfectionistic concerns associated with?
Burnout
The yips
High anxiety
Depression
What is dispositional optimism and hope? (Scheier & Carver, 1985)
A generalised positive expectancy about life
Optimism and sport according to Nicholls 2010
Optimism is positively related to problem focused coping and negatively related to avoidant coping strategies such as resignation.
Define mental toughness
A stable disposition that is associated with an ability to deal with a wide variety of stressors and obstacles, and yet still perform at a high level under pressure.
What does mental toughness predict?
High level performance and is associated with Olympic success
Mentally tough performers are high in punishment sensitivity and low in reward sensitivity
Clinical definition of narcissism according to the American psychiatric association
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration and a lack of empathy
Sub clinical definition of narcissism (brown et al 2009)
Associated with a grandiose, yet fragile, self view and feelings of entitlement
Characteristics of a narcissist
Self centred Self aggrandising Entitled Dominant Manipulative Excel when opportunity for glory
When do narcissist perform well?
In competitive pressurised situations
Possibly due to increased effort
What does being a narcissist appear to impact, according Roberts et al 2013?
The effectiveness of psychological skills
What do narcissists prefer?
Coach behaviours that focus on treating athletes as individuals
Mastery or performance motivational climates
What is alexithymia?
A trait deficit in emotion regulation
What is alexithymia characterised by?
The absence of words to express one’s emotions
Typically viewed as a difficulty in acknowledging emotions and feelings plus an inability to express them to others
What is alexithymia a key antecedent of?
Engagement in risk taking activities
What do risk taking activities provide?
An emotion regulation benefit because they allow the individual to experience, and subsequently control anxiety
What other personal traits must be considered in relation to personality?
Goal orientations Trait anxiety Hardiness Competitiveness Proactivity
The role of what factors should also be considered in relation to personality?
Genetics
Adversity
Relationships
What did Goertzel 1962 say about the darker side to personality and sporting success?
“The ‘normal man’ is not a likely candidate for the hall of fame”
The world’s best atheists may have some socially undesirable personality traits, give some examples
Obsessional Single minded Narcissistic Self serving Indifferent Malevolent Ruthless / selfish Driven
Winning in sport at the highest level isn’t normal. According to hardy et al 2011, what do the world’s best athletes have?
Idiosyncrasies that make them exceptional, but potentially difficult to relate to and communicate with
What are the practical applications and implications of personality research?
Personality profiling to predict athlete behaviours
Support intra and interpersonally
Promote awareness of self and others
Treat athletes and coaches as individuals
Tailor interventions for athletes specific need
How might conflict arise?
Between a sports psychologists desire to enhance sport performance and their ethical obligation to optimise mental health
The big five - athletes have more favourable relationships with their team mates / coach?
Those with high levels of agreeableness or conscientiousness
Layers of personality - what are dispositional traits?
Broad and comparative tendencies or a behavioural signature
Layers of personality - what are characteristic adaptations?
Ones conscious goals and purposes
Layers of personality - what are self normative identities?
Unfolding identities and self stories
