LO1 : Know the effect of personality and motivation on

sports performance.

Personality.

‘Your personality can affect the type of sports you like and excel in’ (www.teachpe.com)This can be shown through the different types of personality groups/traits, and how their contents and factors can benefit or work against you when in a sporting environment. Different Athletes display their own unique patterns of behaviour in the course of sports performance, personality can be sectioned into many different parts…confidence is one example of a behaviour pattern within personality this ultimately determines whether an individual has a strong commitment to participate and achieve. The study of personality in sport also includes perceptual and cognitive characteristics such as ones ability to concentrate and direct the focus of attention in a competitive situation when there is a pressure to succeed.Below will be a list of the key personality theory’s and an explanation/ understanding on how each one works when in a sporting environment.

Theories of Personality.

There are a number of different theories which relate to sport and how it can affect us, they each take different approaches due to the complexity and many varied explanations/thoughts on personality.

Trait Theory

A trait is a general, underlying enduring way in which to behave each time a given situation occurs. Trait theories assume that out personality is made up of many different characteristics, our

traits can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways.

Two theorists in particular Eysenck and Cattell suggested that these characteristics are organised in a hierarchical way, their research led to a model of personality which is used to label and summarise a group of behaviors. Trait theory was very important in the early years of sport personality research, largely because it provided a straightforward way of assessing personality which sport psychologists and coaches could use with their athletes. Although the test shows good reliability and validity they sometimes do not appear to predict behaviour consistently. For example the captain of a netball team might be flamboyant, confident and controlling in a netball game but when asked to stand up and make an audience speak come across as shy or lacking in confidence. Meaning her core personality could be somewhat in-between the two characteristics depending on how she views herself. Another concern with this theory is how it tends to suggest personality is innate. (Davis, bull, Roscoe, D roscoe)Identified sixteen groups of traits, which he claimed were present within all people at varying degrees of intensity. Traits are arranged in a hierarchical form with the primary or strongest overriding weaker or secondary traits.

A strength of this theory is that is allows easy and objective measurement to be put in a place through questionnaires.A drawback on the other hand is how it isn’t a true predictor of behaviour and it appears no significant

difference exists between sports performers and people with differing trait strengths, it also does not take into account the influence of environmental factors, and so conflicts directly the social learning theory.Cattells work was supported by Eysenck (1968) who believed that the traits should be displayed in a different manor as personality types; he recognised four of these personality types;

-Neurotic and extroverted-Stable and extroverted-Stable and introverted -Neurotic and introverted

Many studies have been undertaken in an attempt to prove the existence of the ideal sports personality and for many years it was believed that most sports performers shared the same personality profile which fell into the extroverted and stable area. A sport psychologist named Ogilvie (1966) believed that one was born with a personality type to make powess in sport easy, He recognised the traits thought to be to elite performers such as endurance, aggression, ambition and dominance. Studies in the 1960’s included that games players of a high standard were indeed extroverted and stable. Gondola (1968) found that although some marathon runners tended to be introverted and stable, many top performers had different personality profiles. However Mischel (1973) strongly opposed the theory that an ideal athletic personality existed and claimed that no personality profile has been found to discriminate between athletes and non athletes, Finally, Gould state that personality type

does not predict excellence or participation in sport.

Below are some of the traits found within the trait theory which determines an individual’s personality.

-Type A vs. type B.

-Extraversion vs. introversion

-Neuroticism

The Type A and Type B personality theory.

When considering this theory in sport, we spilt the two different personality traits into two separate sections and label them type A and type B. The theory is a personality type theory that describes a pattern of behaviors after different situations and is determined by the way in which an individual responses.

-Type A individuals can be described as impatient, time-conscious, controlling, concerned about their status, highly competitive, ambitious, aggressive, have difficulty relaxing and are sometimes disliked by individuals with Type B personalities for the way that they're always rushing. They are often high-achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive themselves with deadlines, and are unhappy about delays.

Because of these characteristics, Type A individuals are often the ones who tend to be in control and lead in their chosen fields, for example in sport this type tend to be the ones who consecutively try their best, love to win and play at

a highly competitive set, becoming easily annoyed if their performance wasn’t to a high enough standard and trying/training harder in order to strive and achieve a higher level of play… in his book (1969 Type A Behavior: Its Diagnosis and Treatment, Meyer Friedman) suggests that the Type A personality group ‘’Tend to be Competitive, this made them oriented towards achievement which caused them to become stressed due to wanting to be the best at whatever it may be i.e. sports ’’Holding these traits within their personality tends to make them out of the two the type which is thought to fit in better in the sporting environment.

-Type B individuals, in contrast, are described as patient, relaxed, and easy-going, generally lacking an overriding sense of urgency. This type in a highly competitive or serious sporting environment may struggle as certain traits such as the above wouldn’t provide them with the energy and enthusiasm to win and to the best possible and instead they have that ‘play for enjoyment’ attitude, this however is a good outlook to have for a non competitive, non serious level of sport

Extroversion vs. introversion.

There are a further two groups in which personality can be explained, this is whether an individual is an Extrovert or an Introvert. Whether you are more of an introvert or extrovert can affect the type of sport you like to play.

Introverts

Tend to like sports which require:

Concentration Precision

Self-motivation

Intricate skills

Low arousal levels

Individual performances

-Introverted people tend to be quiet and thoughtful, people who keep themselves to themselves and tend to participate in individual sports, this is perhaps because the sports require less communication with others and need high levels of self motivation and concentration to succeed at. For example, archery, golf and snooker, all sports which introverted people seem to excel in because of their personality traits and structures allowing them to cope with the demands of the sport.

Extroverts

The typical extrovert tends to be more Outgoing, natural leaders, decision-makers, and socialites. These traits allow them to interact and perform better in a sporting activity with others, Extroverts are usually the team captains, loud mouthed team players who love competition and thrive of victory.

Preferring sports which are:

Exciting Team sports

Fast paced

High arousal levels

Large, simple motor skills

Low concentration

For example, rugby and boxing, an extrovert loves to be in high contact sporting events and have high levels of Aggression, as explained below by ( www.teachpe.com )

Aggression in sport.

‘’Aggression is any form of behaviour toward the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment’’(r.a.barron, 1977)

In considering modern sport certain types of behaviour within sport are seen as acceptable where as others are seen as unacceptable. Aggressive or ‘’unacceptable behaviour’’ is witnessed on a regular basis within many sporting situations. It has been argued that the increase in aggressive and unacceptable behaviour on the pitch/court etc… is merely a reflection of general behaviour within society as a whole.The context in which the term aggression is used sometimes causes confusion. It can be applied in several different ways. Very often coaches demand more aggression from players and these aggressive actions are often praised e.g harder tackling in rugby. These examples are of when the word aggression is used as an adjective to infer that a performer is being energetic or persistent in their actions.

At the same time there are many actions which fall into the unacceptable form of aggression e.g a rugby player stamping on a player in a ruck or verbal abused to officials.

Extroverted people are often involved and therefore associated in sports which require a degree of aggression. There are two types of aggression:

Indirect aggressionThis means taking the aggression out on an objectFor example the ball in golf, tennis or football

Direct aggression The aggression is in the direction of another playerInvolves physical contact such as a rugby tackle or in wrestling or boxing

Aggression can sometimes be the same as being assertive and determined, in non-contact sports especially, this is usually a good thing.

Assertive Behaviour.

Assertive behaviour is seen as the acceptable but forceful behaviour. It is also;

Goal directed behaviour The use of legitimate verbal or physical force

(involving energy and effort which, outside, could be interpreted as aggression)

Behaviour which has no intention to harm or injure

Behaviour which does not violate the agreed rules of the sport e.g. strong tackling in rugby etc…

Neuroticism.

For neuroticism, athletes scored significantly lower than non-athletes, confirming previous research that athletes are more stable (less neurotic) than non-athletes (Kirkcaldy, 1982). ‘’People who are high in neuroticism avoid sports participation.’’ ( www.athleticinsight.com )

The Above statement taken from an experiment conducted by the above people explains how people who have higher traits of Neuroticism are less likely to be of a sporting background, Neuroticism is a personality trait which is an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and depressed mood. They are often self-conscious and shy. When in sport having a high level of Neuroticism could hold an athlete back from reaching their potential. For example in boxing, if the athlete feels guilty and sorry for his opponent after every punch, he/she will perform less aggressively and throw less punches as to not hurt the opponent leading to the opening of possibilities for the opponent to step in and take control. Another example would be for kick-boxing or cage fighting, is one competitor comes into the ring/arena with his head down, self conscious, audience shy and timid the opponent will automatically think they have the upper hand and re-assure themselves, gain more confidence for a win. From this the conclusion is that high levels of Neuroticism when in sport are a trait which isn’t desired or helpful for an athlete.

Marten Schematic view.

Within this view, there is seen to be three different levels which all relate and conjoin together.

-Psychological core.-Typical responses.-Role-related behaviour.

Psychological core is explained as the central, internal, and consistent part of an individual's personality. It includes an individual's self concept, basic values, attitudes, and motives; a person's true self.

Typical responses displays how you react and respond under different circumstances and situations for example when your treated unfairly in a sport say illegally tackled or exposed to foul play in a rugby game you may get easily aggravated and annoyed, but when faced with a group communication situation you could tend to be quiet and reserved because you don’t feel as comfortable in that environment.

Role-related behaviour is an individual's behaviour that is determined by the role of the person and the person's perception of how he or she should behave... in different circumstances you find yourself taking on different roles someday being the leader and giving out instructions and orders , sometimes taking the orders and being instructed.

The Psychodynamic Theory.

Psychodynamics is the theory of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior,

emphasizing the interplay between unconscious and conscious motivation. It’s the theory of inner conflicts which surface in behavior or emotions. Generally, one conflict is subconscious; it’s spilt into three groups

Id, ego, super-ego

They are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described.

Id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; The id is the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives and is amoral and selfish, It acts according to the "pleasure principle", seeking to avoid pain or unpleasant events has been described as the dark, inaccessible part of our personality, of a negative character which can be described only as a contrast to the ego. And can sometimes cause mistakes when taking part in sport, for example freezing at the start of a big race event because of fear and threaten of expectations.

Ego is the organized, realistic part, seeking to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.

Super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role. Aiming for perfection, criticizing and prohibiting ones drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions. ‘’The Super-ego can be thought of as a type of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt’’ Arthur S. Reber ,   the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (1985)

Both the ego and super ego play more or less the same part when in physical activity, for example suggesting someone else on the team to take the penalty in football, because of the ‘fear of failure’ and negative recognition from watchers/other athletes etc…

For example in a netball game, if foul play has been conducted towards you the desire to respond in a similar manner would be your id, the though process of what is right and wrong moral wise (it’s ok because I was harmed first it’s wrong to responds with violence) is your super ego and the decision making role falls on the shoulders of your ego…what would be the after realistic physical effects of my actions? Could I get sent off and jeopardise my team.

Integrationist theory

Behaviour=Function of personality x Environment.This approach considers both the inherited characteristics (genes) and the environmental influences in the development of personality. This

The ego will release the desire of the id. Often this will result in an undesired response if the super ego fails as a defence mechanism of control, as in this picture.

theory combines trait and social learning theories and is generally accepted to be a more realistic explanation of personality.A psychologist named Bowers (1978) went so far as to claim that ‘interaction between the person and the situation explains twice as much as traits and situations alone’The sport psychologist aims to produce a personality profile. These are produced through testing using methods such as observational assessing and self questioning.However there are problems associated with this theory, although there is evidence gained from the self reports/questioning and observational studies it is not completely reliable due to the subjective nature of the conclusion. The evidence can also be in danger of becoming too generalised.

From the different traits and types of personalities researched in this essay, it’s clear to see that every sport requires a different type of personality, and so some people can excel in one sport whilst being average or below in another, this is because of the traits they hold and how they work with or against them. There is no right personality or approach to have overall as different environments need different personalities for different sports.

Bibliography.

Arthur S. Reber ,   the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (1985)

( www.athleticinsight.com ) ( www.teachpe.com (r.a.barron, 1977)

Psychology Notes

Classroom Notes

Advanced PE for OCR a2 Daniel Bonney, John Ireland, Claire Miller, Ken mackreth, Ian Thomas, Sarah Van Wely (2004)

Olivia McCarthy 12PDL.