Personality

• What is the definition?

• …the sum of the characteristics that make a person unique (Weinberg and Gould, 2011)

Martens 1975

Role-related behaviours

Typical responses

Psychological Core

Thinking of your own personality, identify characteristics that correspond to each of the following:

• Role-related behaviours (how you act in different social situations)

• Typical responses (the way you typically respond in different situations)

• Psychological core (your most basic and deepest attitudes, values, interests and motives)

Identify several reasons for why an understanding of participant/player personality would be useful to each

of the following

• Athletics coach• Fitness instructor• Coach• PE teacher• Sports administrator

Martens schematic considers a person’s response

• Why do we decide to respond that way?

Psychodynamic approach: Freud

• Id (instinctive drive)• Superego (moral conscience)• Ego (conscious personality)

IdSuperego Ego

Psychodynamic approach: Freud

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• Id (instinctive drive)• Superego (moral conscience)• Ego (conscious personality)

Can we use the psychodynamic approach to help assess athletes?

• This is more a model to help understand the psychological processes, but does not identify strengths and weaknesses

Trait Approach (Eysenck, 1968)

• The fundamental units of personality are traits.

• The theory assumes traits predispose a person to act in a certain way

Big 5 model (Gill and Williams, 2008; Vealey, 2002)

• Neuroticism vs emotional stability• Extraversion vs introversion• Openness to experience• Agreeableness• Conscientiousness

• These can be measured• …but does not tell how a person will react in a given

situations

Consider the Trait approachWhat makes the perfect captain?

Neuroticism Emotional Stability

Extraversion Introversion

Openness to experience

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Consider the Trait approachWhat makes the perfect striker?

Neuroticism Emotional Stability

Extraversion Introversion

Openness to experience

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Situational approach (Bandura, 1977)

• Trait is about characteristics• This one considers the environment– Considered more important than traits– Linked with social learning theory

Social Learnin

g Theory

(Modelling) Behaviour• Skills• Practice• Self efficiency

Innate person• Knowledge• Expectations• Attitude

Environment• Social norms• Access in

community• Influence on

others

Interactional approach

• Consider both the situation and the traits• Your traits drive personality and behaviour is

dependent on the environment• E.g. swearing in front on friends/family

Typical interactional questions

• Will extroverts perform better in a team situation and introverts in an individual (i.e., non-team) situation?

• Will highly motivated people adhere to a formal exercise program longer than exercisers with low motivation?

• Will self-confident children prefer competitive sport and youngsters with low self-confidence prefer non-competitive sport situations?