Explaining Personalty in Sport Psychology

1985 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: factors limiting sport performance

Psychology usually assumes that people are pretty much the same but this neglects to consider significant differences between people. There are two keys subject areas in the study of human individual differences: personality and mental abilities; including the concept of intelligence.
Psychometric measurement enables us to examine both the common characteristics and the differences among people. Research into sports personality has been around since 1800’s
Jenkins (2005) defines personality as “a person’s characteristic patterns of behavior that contribute to his or her uniqueness”. In other words, personality is one of the psychological factors that make each individual different.

There are three main approaches in sports psychology that are used to explain personality and how it can affect sports performance: trait approach, situational approach and interactional approach.
We will review each of there theories, in order to try to work out whether or not personality affects sports performance.

TRAIT APPROACH

Eysenck and Cattell both developed theories based on the idea of traits. Those theories suggest that anyone’s personality is made of characteristics/traits that mostly define the way the individual will behave in a situation. Traits are defined as “a person’s predisposition to behave in a predictable way” (Jenskins, 2005). Eysenck and Cattell suggest that traits are relatively stables, long lasting characteristics and therefore enable us to predict someone’s behaviour.
Eysenck (1950) suggests that personality is “the sum-total of the actual or potential behavior-patterns of the organism, as determined by heredity and environment”. Eysenck developed a Personality Inventory (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1964) (se...

... middle of paper ...

...letes, nonlean sport athletes, and nonathletes on behavioral and psychological indices of eating disorders. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 8(2), pp.218-230

- Schurr, K.T., Ashley, M.A., and Joy, K.L., 1977. A multivariate analysis of male athlete characteristics: Sport type and success. Multivariate Experimental Clinical Research, 3, pp.53-68.

- Sword, L., 2002. The Gifted Introvert.
Available at: http://talentdevelop.com/articles/GiftIntrov.html [Accessed 19 April 2014].

- Talyabee, S. R., Moghadam, R. S. and Salimi, M., 2013. The investigation of personality characteristics in athlete and non-athlete students. European Journal of Experimental Biology, [online]
Available at [Accessed 19 April 2014].

- Weinberg, R.S., and Gould,D., 1995. Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics

Show More
Related

  • Taking a Look at Personality Theories

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our book was divided into different chapters on various theorists and explained the major theories of personality that were proposed by the different psychologists. One of the theories that we learned about was the trait theories. Gordan Allport introduced the trait theory and his theory suggested that individual personalities are primarily composed of broad dispositions’. Eysenck’s three dimensions of Personality was also a part of the trait theory. Eysenck developed that model of personality upon three universal trails. And at last, the trait theory had the Big five dimensions which proposed that there are give basic dimensions of personality. One of the four conclusions in our textbook suggested that “until more unambiguous empirical research is available, the best one can do is to evaluate the various theories personally, and to accept concepts that make sense and reject those that do not”(531).

    Read More

  • The Psychology of Sports

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sports psychology can be defined as the study and application of the attitudes and behaviors of athletes (including team athletes) that impact (either positively or negatively) performance in sports or competitive settings. The goal of sports psychology is to help athletes and teams identify unhealthy attitudes and beliefs, apply mental toughness skills and peak performance strategies to perform at optimal levels (Cohn). Sports psychology is not recognized as a traditional field of practice offered by graduate programs; although, it is a recognized field of specific study under Kinesiology and Physical Education Programs. Sports psychology was first founded in 1920 by Carl Diem in Berlin, Germany. Later on, in 1925, sport psychology was brought to the U.S by Cloman Griffith. These early psychologists aimed to observe the effects of mental state on different factors of performance such as reaction time, tension, relaxation, and awareness (Haney). In the 1960’s Griffith’s research interest in sports psychology reemerged after having faded away for a while; however, the field had a...

    Read More

  • Psychological Structures that Shape a Person's Actions

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    Weinberg, R. S. & Gould, D., 2011. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Pyschology. 5th ed. s.l.:Human Kinetics.

    Read More

  • Lebron Sports Psychology

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    (Shaw, Gorely and Corban, 2005) The routines of sport psychology can start anywhere from training in warm games to minutes before stepping out into a huge stadium with blaring lights and thousands of people cheering on. Some athletes chant words under their breath to get them into the ‘zone’.(Shaw, Gorely and Corban, 2005) Others visualise what may happen out on the playing field and picture in their mind what they have practised so far. Sport psychology is important to help athletes get into the ‘competitive mindset’ whilst playing their sport. It adds to the physical training by preparing the athletes' brain to sync with their bodies and fellow players. An example of where sport psychology came into play in the real world is looking at the example of Greg Norman. The pro golfer choked in The Masters Tournament, Augusta, 1996. Norman shot a course record of 63, only 3 days later, he contrived the same course only go over with 15 strokes. (ESPN.com,

    Read More

  • Sport Psychology Personal Statement Essay

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    I am a young ambitious student who strives to excel in everything I do. I want to study Sport Psychology as I know I possess the right skills to further and develop myself in the career of sports. I have the ability to understand others in sports as I also play sports myself. I have been in high pressured sporting situations which I have used my psychological skills to help increase my performance. What interests me in Sport Psychology is that I can make a big difference to not just my life but the lives of people in sport such as rehabilitating athletes or boosting athlete performance. I am fascinated by how different athletes perform in the same environment and getting practical with the mind, body and brain. Improving performance, consistency and stability in an athlete’s

    Read More

  • The Mentality of an Athlete

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    A lot of times, sports seem like a contest of physical skill― a test to see who is the fastest or strongest, who has the best eye or the most endurance, who can jump the highest or can handle the ball the best. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is so much more to a sport than just the muscle and coordination. In order to excel in a sport, an athlete requires a lot of self-discipline, concentration, and self-confidence. It’s the mental factor that makes a difference. Former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon runner Bruce Jenner once said, “You have to train your mind like you train your body” (Gregoire 1). Success or failure depends on the mental factors just as much as the physical ones. The training of the mind of an athlete is called sports psychology. The use of sports psychology has a huge impact upon an athlete’s performance. The mental skills of a sport are just as important as the physical skills. All professional athletes use sports psychology. “If they aren’t currently using it, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve used it in the past, even if they are unaware they have” (Davis, Stephens, The Exploratorium 129). It’s hard to find an experienced athlete who hasn’t used sports psychology, because without it, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. The use of sports psychology is a crucial step to becoming a successful athlete.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Impact of Injury on Athletes

    2839 Words  | 6 Pages

    Wiese-Bjornstal, D. M., Smith, A. M., Shaffer, S. M., & Morrey, M. A. (1998). An intergrated model of resonse to athletic injury and rehabilitation. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, 10, 46-69.

    Read More

  • The Trait Theory of Personality

    2125 Words  | 5 Pages

    Matthews, G., Deary, I. J., & Whiteman, M. C. (2009). Personality traits. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Read More

  • Psychology: Personality Theories

    1730 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mccrae, R. R. and Costa Jr, P. T. 1997. Personality trait structure as a human universal. American psychologist, 52 (5), p. 509.

    Read More

  • Sports Psychology Myths

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. MYTH: Sports Psychology Seeks To Change The Athlete's Personality To Make It Match The Ideal Profile Of A Specific Sport.

    Read More

  • Personality Theories Of Albert Bandura's Trait Theory

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    This theory is about how an athlete behaves in different situations or environments and may be a more important theory than the Trait

    Read More

  • The Big Five Traits

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    A person’s personality has been the subject of psychological scrutiny for many years. Psychologists have drawn up several theories in an attempt to accurately predict and determine one’s personality. Foremost amongst these, is the “Big Five Trait Theory” which stemmed from Raymond B. Cattell’s theory.

    Read More

  • Personality Factors In Swimming

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this article the researchers measured whether personality traits are associated with swimming as well as examining the concept that scores on some personality traits can have a reciprocal intermingled influence on other personality traits. They also studied on how gender can play a role in modulating personality. Personalities factors are determinates of psychological well-being and sports can and in fact do contribute to an individual’s well being thus affecting their personality factors. Sports can affect many personality traits and although there has been very little research on personality traits in regards to swimmers the research done in this article is very relevant and precise.

    Read More

  • Sports Psychology Essay

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sports psychology draws on knowledge from the fields of Kinesiology and Psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. In addition to instruction and training of psychological skills for performance improvement, sport psychology may include work with athletes and coaches regarding injury, rehabilitation, communication, and team building (Weinberg, R.S. & Gould, D.,2010)....

    Read More

  • Eysenck Personality Theory

    1642 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Narrow band approach, there is two different types of personalities. Type A personality is where the person’s qualities are impatient, intolerance, high levels of stress, they also enjoy the achievement of goals and love achieving more difficult goals, they find it hard stop after they have achieved the goals so want to keep going, they are very competitive, they hate failure and they are generally educated and fit. However, type B’s personality is where they are more relaxed, tolerant, have lower levels of stress, they work steadily, enjoying achievements but not becoming stressed when they are not achieved, they don’t mind losing when they are faced in a competition, they are creative and they are reflective. A sporting example of this is that a footballer that likes competition will try harder than a person who is more relaxed and just enjoys playing the game. In my opinion, I don’t agree with this theory because it is too simple and athletes don’t fall into just one category because they can have characteristics in the other type as

    Read More

More about Explaining Personalty in Sport Psychology

Open Document