Week 2 - Personality Flashcards
Define personality
Blend of characteristics that make a person unique.
Martens
1975
Divided personality into 3 levels:
- Psychological core
- Typical Responses
- Role-related behaviour
PERSONALITY - MARTENS
Psychological core
Deepest component.
Incl. attitudes, values, interests, beliefs about yourself + your self-worth.
“real you”
PERSONALITY - MARTENS
Typical Responses
Ways we each learn to adjust to the env.
Or how we usually respond to the world around us.
PERSONALITY - MARTENS
Role-related behaviour
How you act based on what you perceive your social situation to be.
Most changeable aspect of your personality as your behaviour changes as your perceptions of the env. change.
What do the 3 levels of personality, Martens, show when in the pyramid layout?
3 levels encompass a continuum from internally driven to externally driven behaviours.
Studying personality from 5 viewpoints.
What are the 5 approaches?
Psychodynamic
Trait
Situational
interactional
Phenomenological
Who popularised the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Freud
According to Coz, 1998, what 2 themes is the psychodynamic approach characterised by?
- Places emphasis on unconscious determinants of behaviour - the instinctive drives + how these conflict w/ the more conscious aspects of personality i.e superego or the ego.
- Focuses on understanding the person as a WHOLE rather than identifying isolated traits.
What is superego
One’s moral conscience
What is ego
Conscious personality
Summarise the psychodynamic approach
Complex.
Views personality as a DYNAMIC set of processes that are constantly changing + often in conflict w/ one another (Vealey, 2002).
Special emphasis is placed on how ADULT personality is shaped by the resolution of conflicts between unconscious forces + the values + conscience of the superego in childhood.
How did Gaskin, Andersen + Morris use the psychodynamic approach + for what?
2020
Used this approach to study the sport experiences of a young man w. cerebral palsy.
Found that sport helped address ind. sense of inferiority resulting from social isolation in childhood.
However, his success in sport didn’t compensate for his feelings of inferiority.
Therefore, his present functioning could be explained by conflicts + unresolved childhood issues.
Weaknesses to the psychodynamic approach
Major weakness - Difficulty in testing this approach.
Also, focuses mostly on internal determinants of behaviour + gives little attention to the social env.
Specialised training is needed to use this approach in a therapeutic manner.
What was the key contribution to the psychodynamic approach?
Not all behaviours of an athlete are under conscious control SO, at times it may be appropriate to focus on unconscious determinants on behaviour.
Summarise the Trait Approach
Assumes that personality traits are rel. STABLE, ENDURING + CONSISTENT across a variety of situations.
What are the reasons for the Trait approach
Psychologists believe the role of situational or env. factors is minimal.
Traits are considered to predispose a person to act a certain way regardless of the situation.
Most noted of the trait proponents in the 1960s + 70s
Gordon Allport
Raymond Cattell - 1965
Hans Eysenck - 1968
Raymond Cattell - 1965
Developed a personality inventory w. 16 ind. personality factors that he believed best describe a person.
Eysenck + Eysenck - 1968
Viewed traits as relative.
2 most significant traits ranging on continuums from introversion to extroversion + from stability to emotionality.
What is the most widely accepted trait proponent today?
BIG 5 MODEL OF PERSONALITY
Allen, Greenless, Jones - 2013
Gill, Williams + Reiftseck - 2017.
BIG 5 MODEL PERSONALITY
Model contends that there’s 5 major dimensions of personality:
- Neuroticism vs. Emotional stability
- Extraversion vs Introversion
- Openness to Experience
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
== Been found to be the most important general personality characteristics that exist across ind.
Been used to show why diff. Exercise interventions are appropriate for people w. diff. personalities.
Neuroticism
nervousness, anxiety
Openness to Experience
Originality
Need for variety
Agreeableness
Amiability
Altruism
Modesty
Conscientiousness
Constraint
Achievement striving
Situation Approach
= Behaviour is determined largely by the situation or env.
Draws from the SLT (Bandura 1977) explaining behaviour in terms of observational learning + social reinforcement.
Define perfectionism
Personality style characterised by setting extremely high standards of perfection, striving for flawlessness + a tendency to be overly critical in evaluating one’s performance.
– Flett + Hewitt, 2005.
Define self-oriented perfectionism
Degree to which an ind. sets extremely high personal standards + stringently self-evaluates relative to those standards.
Define socially prescribed perfectionism
Degree to which one perceives that significant others hold them to extreme high standards + base their approval on meeting those standards.
Define other-oriented perfectionism
Degree to which one holds others to extremely high standards.
– Appleton, Hall, Hill 2010
– Dunn, Dunn + Mcdonald 2012
A sport specific measure of perfectionism has been developed to asses 4 dimensions,
what are these dimensions?
Dunn, Craft + Dunn - 2011
- Personal Standards
- Concern over mistakes
- Perceived Parental pressure
- Perceived Coach pressure
Define Maladaptive/unhealthy perfectionism
A focus on high standards accompanied by a concern over mistakes + evaluation by others.
– Has been associated w. excessive exercise, poor performance + athlete burnout.
Define adaptive / healthy perfectionism
Focus on high standards but not excessively worrying about making mistakes or about how others evaluate ones performance.
– Been associated w. better learning + perf + more adaptive goal patterns.
Interactional Approach
== Considers the situation + person as co-determinants of behaviour.
Requires investigating how people react ind. in particular sport + physical activity settings.
Phenomenological approach
(Most popular orientation taken today, Vealey 2002).
= Behaviour is best determined by accounting for situations + personal characteristics.
By examining the persons understanding + interpretation of themselves + their env.
Differences among the 5 approaches to personality
- They vary along a continuum of behavioural determination
2. They vary in terms of assumptions about the origins of human behaviour
What are the ways to measure personality?
Trait + State Measures
Situation-Specific Measures
Sport-Specific Measures
Psychological Measures
MEASURING PERSONALITY
List the trait & State Measures
Trait Sport Confidence Inventory
State Sport Confidence Inventory
MEASURING PERSONALITY
Trait & State Measures
Trait Sport Confidence Inventory
Asks to indicate how you “generally” feel.
i.e
scale 1-9
Compare your confidence in your ability to execute the skills necessary to be successful with that of the most confident athlete you know.
MEASURING PERSONALITY
Trait & State Measures
State Sport Confidence Inventory
Asks to indicate how you feel “right now”.
i.e
Scale 1-9
Compare the confidence you feel right now in your ability to execute the skills necessary to be successful with that of the most confident athlete you know.
MEASURING PERSONALITY
Situation-Specific Measures
Predict behaviour more reliably for a given situation as they consider BOTH personality + specific situations.
i.e Sarason 1975
MEASURING PERSONALITY
Situation-Specific Measures
What did Sarason observe in 1975
That some students did poorly on the test when they become overly anxious.
BUT, weren’t particularly anxious in other situations - exams made them freeze up.
== She devised situationally specific scale for measuring how anxious a person usually feels before taking exams hoping this could then predict anxiety right before (state) better than a general test of trait anxiety.
MEASURING PERSONALITY
Sport Specific measures
A sport-specific test of anxiety assesses pre-competitive anxiety better than a general anxiety test.
What psychological inventories have been developed specifically for use in sport?
Sport Competition Anxiety test
Competitive State anxiety inventory - 2
Trait-state confidence inventory
PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORIES DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR USE IN SPORT
Sport Competition Anxiety test
Measures competitive trait anxiety
Martens
1977
PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORIES DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR USE IN SPORT
Competitive state anxiety inventory - 2
Measures pre-competitive state anxiety
Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump + Smith
1982
PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORIES DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR USE IN SPORT
Trait-state confidence inventory
Measures sport confidence
Vealey 1986
PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORIES DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR USE IN SPORT
Fluctuations before + during comp
States are usually assessed w/in 30 mins of onset comp.
BUT - feelings could change during comp.
What qs are important to consider when making an informed decision on how or whether to use a personality test?
Should they be used to help select athletes for a team?
What qualifies someone to administer psychological tests?
Should coaches give them to their athletes?
What types should be used with athletes?
How should they be administered to athletes?
Dos for personality testing (7)
Inform PURPOSE of test + HOW it will be used.
Allow ONLY QUALIFIED ind. to give tests.
Integrate test results w/ OTHER INFO obtained about participant.
Use SPORT + EXERCISE SPECIFIC tests whenever possible
Use BOTH STATE + TRAIT measures of personality.
Provide participants w. specific FB about test results.
Compare ind. vs OWN baseline levels rather than vs normative info.
DONTS for personality testing (4)
Don’t use CLINICAL personality tests that focus on abnormality to study an avg. pop. of participants.
Team selection.
Don’t give/interpret personality tests unless qualified to do so by American Psychological Association or another certifying organisation.
Don’t use tests to predict behaviour in sport settings w/out considering other sources of info, i.e observational data + perf. assessments.
According to Singer, 1988.
What 3 cond. should always be kept in mind during psychological testing
Test must be valid + reliable measure.
User must know what personality characteristics are key for success in the sport of interest + the ideal levels of those characteristics needed.
User should know how much athletes can compensate in some characteristics for the lack of others.
Taking an intraindividual approach
Its often. mistake to compare an athlete’s psychological test results w. the norms.
Important to know how they are feeling rel. to how they usually feel.
What test can you use to measure more subconscious + deeper aspects of personality?
Projective test.
Explain projective tests
Usually include pictures or written situations while test takers are asked to project their feelings + thoughts about these materials.
Give an example of a projective test
Someone might be shown a photo of an exhausted runner crossing a finish line at the end of a highly contested cross country race + then be asked to write about what is happening.
A high-achieving, confident person might emphasise how the runner made an all-out effort to achieve their goal.
BUT
A lower-achiever might project feelings of sorrow for losing the race in a close finish.
Negative to projective tests
Can be difficult to score + interpret
PERSONALITY RESEARCH
Morgan (1980) divided researchers into 2 camps, what were these?
- Taking a credulous view point
2. Taking a skeptical view point
PERSONALITY RESEARCH
Morgan (1980) divided researchers into 2 camps.
Explain 1. Taking a credulous view point
Believed personality is closely related to athletic success.
PERSONALITY RESEARCH
Morgan (1980) divided researchers into 2 camps.
Explain 2. Taking a skeptical view point
Argued that personality isn’t related to athletic success.
PERSONALITY RESEARCH
Athletes + non-athletes
Consistent personality differences distinguish athletes from non-athletes.
However, these differences tend to be VERY small.
PERSONALITY RESEARCH
Female athletes
In 1980, Williams found that successful female athletes differed from the normative female in terms of personality profile.
Female athletes = more achievement orientated, independent, aggressive, emotionally stable & assertive than normative females. - Most of which are desirable for sport.
Positive mental health + ICEBERG profile
After comparing personality traits of more successful athletes w/ those of less success using the Profile of Mood of States (POMS).
Morgan developed a MENTAL HEALTH model that he reported to be effective in predicting athletic success.
What did Morgans MENTAL HEALTH model suggest?
That +ive mental health assessed by a certain pattern of POMS scores is DIRECTLY related to athletic SUCCESS + high levels of perf.
What did Morgans METNAL HEALTH model predict?
That an athlete who scores ABOVE the norm on POMS subscales of:
- Neuroticism
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Anger
BUT, below on vigor = will tend to pale in comparison w. an athlete who scores below the norm on all traits except vigor, of which they score ABOVE.
What does the iceberg profile of a successful athlete show?
Vigor ABOVE the mean.
Rest of subscales below the norm.
Performance predictions using POMS
Morgan psychologically evaluated 16 candidates for the 1974 U.S heavyweight rowing team using POMS, correctly predicting 10 of the 16 finalists.
Criticisms to the Iceberg profile, people
Renger - 1993
Rowley - 1995
Terry - 1995
CRITICISMS TO THE ICEBERG PROFILE
Renger - 1933
Believed Morgans results had been misinterpreted.
Apparently, evidence was insufficient to conclude that the profile differentiates athletes of varying levels of ability, instead it distinguished only ATHLETES FROM NON-ATHLETES.
CRITICISMS TO THE ICEBERG PROFILE
Rowley - 1995
Conducted a statistical review of all the iceberg profile research + found that the profile DIFFERENTIATED successfully from LESS SUCCESSFUL ATHLETES but accounted for a very small % of their per. variation.
CRITICISMS TO THE ICEBERG PROFILE
Terry -1995
Warned that the POMS isn’t a test for “identifying champions”.
He recommended that the POMS test be used in the following ways:
- To monitor athlete’s mindset
- Identify problems early
- Improve ones mood over time
- Identify over trained athletes
- Ind. mental training
- Monitor emotional responses to injury
Recently, the psychodynamic approach has been applied to sport by Swedish sport psychologist Erwin Apitzsch. This new approach came from his work with athletes focusing on….
defense mechanisms
What is test anxiety an example of
Situation-specific trait measure
What did a meta-analysis of 33 studies on the BIG 5 personality reveal?
That extraversion + conscientiousness are +ively related to PA involvement.
+
Neuroticism = -ively related.
What is meant by grit?
“trait-level perseverance + passion for LT goals”. (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009)
What do gritty ind. exhibit when working toward achievements + maintain their effort over years?
Stamina
A measure of grit has been developed, what are the 2 sub scales assessed?
- Consistency of ones interest
2. Perseverance of effort
Define type A behaviour
Ind. have a strong sense of urgency, an excess comp. drive + are easily aroused.
Have causes of type A behaviour been determined?
No but evidence points to the sociocultural env.
i.e parental expectations of high standards in perf.
Describe results from the efforts to modify type A behaviour through exercise interventions
One +ive study showed that a 12 weeks aerobics program was not only associated with red. in type A behaviour but also helped participants sig. red. CV reactivity to mental stress.
What did Sonstroem (1984) suggest in relation to self-concept?
Suggested that changes in self-concept might be associated w. the perception of improved fitness rather than w. actual changes in physical fitness.
Athletic Coping Skills Inventory - 28 (ACSI)
Developed by Smith, Schutz, Smoll + Ptacek (1995)
Yields an overall score of an athletes psychological skills as well as scores on:
Coping w. Adversity Peaking under pressure Goal setting + mental prep Concentration Freedom from worry Confidence + achievement motivation Coachability
Smith + colleagues (1995) examine the relationship between the overall scale + subscale scores + athletic perf. in 2 studies, what was the first?
762 high school F + M athletes representing a variety of sports completed the ACSI.
Then classified as UNDERachievers, NORMAL achievers + OVERachievers.
Study showed that overachieving athletes had sig. higher scores on coach ability, conc., coping w. adversity as well as higher total scores.
== Shows that psychological skills can assist athletes in getting the most out of their physical talent.
Smith + colleagues (1995) examine the relationship between the overall scale + subscale scores + athletic perf. in 2 studies, what was the second?
104 minor league prof. baseball players.
ACSI were related to batting averages for hitters + earned run averages for pitchers.
From 1st study, expert ratings of physical skills DIDN’T relate to ACSI scores.
Psych. skills contributed even more than physical ability. Finally, higher psych. skill scores were associated w. player survival or continued inv. in prof. baseball 2 + 3 yrs later.
= Perf. In elite sport appeared to be clearly related to mental skills.
Smith + colleagues (1995) examine the relationship between the overall scale + subscale scores + athletic perf. in 2 studies, there was then a 3rd…
using the ACSI was conducted with Greek athletes at both elite + non-elite levels which rereleased a no. of diff. most notably that the elite athletes all showed superior ability, compared w/ the non-elite controls, to cope w/ adversity.
The elite athletes were also better at goal setting + mental prep.
However, Smith & colleagues did warn that it shouldn’t be used for team selection due to them being likely to knowingly give answers that will make themselves look good to coaches.
In depth-interview techniques
Interview approach provides coaches, athletes + sport psychologists w. more in-depth personality profiles of an athlete than paper-pencil tests.
Mental plans
Olympic athletes learn a systematic series of mental strategies to use before + during comp. incl. refocusing plans. = They come mentally prepared not only to perform but also to handle distractions + unforeseen events before + during comps.
Who do the mental plans help especially?
Athletes whose sense of control (a personality trait) is low.
It allows them to feel more in control regardless of situational influences.
Give an example for a mental plan strategy for poor performance in event
Allow 5 mins to be mad, think about what happened + what needs to change, touch wall + visualise transferring bad race + associated thoughts onto wall
Give an example for a mental plan strategy for if theres a delay in the start of an event
Stay warm do some light stretching when waiting
Relax + think of things that make you happy or keep u +ive
Give an example for a mental plan strategy for poor start of race
Visualise flushing mistake out as you exhale, focus on your stroke rhythm, say “relax + go”
