This theory had gathered some kind of validity in that we use our first impressions to make assumptions about people’s personalities. We use things such as physique, clothing, hairstyle, tattoos and other types of visual information to make an assessment upon what a person will be like and in what way they will behave. Within sport certain body types are attracted to different sports as their body type may make them successful in that particular sport. For example within sport long distance runner tend to be more of a ectomorph structure and we could see them as being shy and introverted as many of the hours training are spent alone and on an individual basis. Footballers and rugby players are predominantly mesmomorph due to amount of physical contact their sport requires. These people tend to be extroverted and group centred. Shot putters are usually of an endomorph build in order to get maximum power from their throw.
Trait theory
Trait theory is based on the idea of someone's personality being the sum of several traits that cause an individual to behave in a certain manner. These traits can be seen as being enduring and consistent behaviours across a range of situations. This means that we will always act the same in each situation due to our genetics and our inherited traits. Trait theorists such as Cattell and Eysenck believed that traits could be assessed through the use of questionnaire and these traits could then be used to predict how a person would behave in any given situation.
Traits are relatively stable aspects of personality; the early trait theorists Eysenck and Cattell argued that traits were mainly inherited. There are two main dimensions to personality:
- An introversion–extroversion dimension
- A stable–neurotic dimension.
Introverts are individuals who don’t actively seek excitement and would rather be in calm environments. They tend to prefer tasks that require concentration and dislike the unexpected.
Extroverts tend to become bored quickly, are poor at tasks that require a lot of concentration and constantly seek change and excitement. Extroverts are less responsive to pain than introverts.
Extroverts are said to be more successful in sporting situations because they can cope with competitive and distractive situations better than introverts.
Stable individuals are people who tend to be more easy-going and even tempered. Neurotic (unstable) people tend to be more restless, excitable, have a tendency to become anxious and are more highly aroused.
The conclusions are that trait views are too simplistic and that personality alone cannot predict success in a sporting environment. It can, however, be used to help explain why individuals choose certain sports.
Raymond Cattell (1905-1998)
Cattell took the thousands of traits described by Allport and condensed them down to 16 primary traits using the statistical method of factor analysis. The 16 PF (Personality Factors) test which resulted from this work is still in use today. He was an early proponent of using factor analytical methods instead of what he called "verbal theorizing" to explore the basic dimensions of personality, motivation, and cognitive abilities.
One of the most important results of Cattell's application of factor analysis was his discovery of 16 factors underlying human personality. He called these factors "source traits" because he believed they provide the underlying source for the surface behaviours we think of as personality. This theory of personality factors and the instrument used to measure them are known respectively as the 16 personality factor model and the 16PF Questionnaire.
Introverts tend to be drawn to individual sports like long-distance running; extroverts prefer team- and action-orientated sports like football. Psychologists think that extroverts are drawn to these types of sport because they offer high levels of excitement and stimulation, and the ever-changing and unexpected environments required to keep them interested in the activity. Athletes that are towards the unstable or neurotic end of the scale experience high levels of over-arousal during the early stages of performance, which can lead to lower levels of performance.
Referring to Eysenck theory there are different combinations which can lead to good performance. For example a calm and reliable person playing within an aggressive game will be able to control the game and read it whereas a tough and aggressive person may get to into the atmosphere and are liable to get sent off during play. Conscientious players are also a very liable participant they will always turn up to training, obey rules and are very loyal however where they have the talent and skilled ability to play, will determine if they are a top player.
Situational-centred views
The situational approach is different from the trait theories approach as it says that behaviour is dependent on your situation or environment. It argues that this is far more important than traits.
There is some support for the situational approach in sporting behaviour, as individuals may be introverted – displaying characteristics such as tolerance and shyness – but may participate in a sport that requires them to be more extroverted and display characteristics like aggression in a sporting situation.
A situation can influence a person’s behaviour but it cannot predict sporting behaviour. To be able to do this, you need to consider the individual’s personality traits as well.
Interactional view
To predict behaviour in a sporting situation, you need to consider how the situation and personality traits link and work together. This is known as the interactional approach to personality and sport behaviour.
The interactional approach is the view widely accepted by sport psychologists when explaining behaviour. This theory suggests that when situational factors are particularly strong, for example, during competitive sporting situations like penalty shootouts in football, they are more likely to predict behaviour than personality traits. The athlete who tends to be quiet and shy in an everyday situation is likely to run towards an ecstatic crowd screaming if he scored the winning penalty. However the situation can be a positive or negative influence for example, an athlete who exhibited high anxiety levels as a personality trait would then have an exaggerated response to a specific situation.
Social learning theory
Social learning theory suggests that personality is not a stable characteristic, but constantly changing and a result of our experiences of different social situations. It is unlikely that an individual will behave in the same way in different situations. The theory is that individuals learn in sporting situations through two processes: modelling and reinforcement. Modelling states that individuals are likely to model themselves on people they can relate to, like individuals in the same sport or of the same gender, and that as they observe their behaviour, they attempt to copy it.
Reinforcement is important because if an individual’s behaviour is reinforced or rewarded in some way it is likely that the behaviour will be repeated. Bandura, a leading psychologist, identified four main stages of observational learning that demonstrate how modelling influences personality and behaviour.
1. Attention: to learn through observation, the athlete must have a certain level of respect and admiration for the model they are observing. The amount of respect the athlete has for the model will depend on their status. If the model is successful, attractive and powerful they will hold the athlete’s attention.
2. Retention: for modelling to be effective, the athlete must be able to retain the observed skill or behaviour in their memory and recall it when needed.
3. Motor reproduction: the athlete must be able to physically perform the task he or she is observing. The athlete needs time to practise the skill in order to learn how it should be performed.
4. Motivational response: unless the athlete is motivated, he or she will not go through the first three stages of modelling. Motivation is dependent on the amount of reinforcement (e.g. praise, feedback, sense of pride or achievement), the perceived status of the model and importance of the task. For example if the players father is a top performer the player may have some one to look up to and this will model there response.
Type A versus type B
Another approach in sport psychology suggests that personality traits can be grouped under two headings: type A and type B.
In sport, type A personalities are more likely than type B personalities to continue participating in a sport when the situation becomes unfavourable or when they are not motivated to take part.
People with a type A personality tend to lack patience, have a strong urge for competition, a high desire to achieve goals, always rush to complete activities, will happily multi-task when placed under time constraints, lack tolerance towards others and experience higher levels of anxiety.
Type A performers are the kind that never turn up to training and never listen to there coaches, for example; Wayne Rooney who is a famous football player is all one sided which shows he never listened to his coach, however he has a very high ability of achievement which gives him his talents, although a type A can have two personalities with no gaols so the type A with no or little ability will never be a high achiever.
Type B personalities tend to be more tolerant towards others, more relaxed and reflective than their type A counterparts, experience lower levels of anxiety and display higher levels of imagination and creativity.
In sport these traits can either help or hinder performance, type A personalities are more likely than type B personalities to continue participating in a sport when the situation becomes favourable or when they are not motivated to take part.
Effects on sports performance
There is no direct link between personality type and successful sporting performance. Some research has suggested that certain personality types may be more attracted to certain sports, but little says that your personality will make you a better athlete.
Candidate NO.8246
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catrionaq4 (student)
