Psychology for Sports Performance - task1 - How personality affects sports performance.

AS and A Level Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

Sports Psychology

Task 1

P1 - Describe personality and then how personality affects sports performance.

Personality is the sum of those characteristics that make a person unique. Personality and the potential effects it can have on sports participation and sports performance has been of interest to sport psychologists and researches as far back as the late 1800s.

Personality types

In sports psychology the narrowband approach can be personality characterised and grouped into Type A and Type B.

Type A individuals can be described as people who are impatient, lack tolerance of others and have high levels of personal anxiety. Also have a strong urge for competition, have high desire to achieve goals, always rush to complete activities, will happily multi-task when placed under heavy time constraints. Also Type B individuals can be described as people who are more relaxed; they are also tolerant towards others and have low levels of personal anxiety and display higher levels of imagination and creativity.

Effects of sports performance on Type A and Type B

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. Although the type A and Type B approach to personality does have some application to sports settings, its greater use has come in the exercise and health psychology through its uses in predicting coronary heart disease. In sport, type A individuals are more likely than type B people to continue participating in a sporting setting when the situation becomes unfavorable or when they are not particularly motivated to take part.

Personality theories

There are different types of personality theories they are: Trait, social learning, situational approach and interactional approach.

Trait theory – This personality is based on the assumption that a person’s personality can be captured in a series of different oppositions. A trait is what we also call a characteristic way in which an individual perceives feels, believes, or acts. When you casually describe someone you are likely to use trait terms e.g. a person could be, for example, somewhat of an introvert, a pretty nervous person, strongly attached to their family, frequently depressed and very intelligent. Have a good sense of humor, fond of languages, very fond of good food, not at all fond of exercise, and a little obsessive. The conclusion is that personality alone cannot predict athletic success but it can be used to help to explain some of the reasons why people choose some of the sports they do. Personality traits can predict a limited amount of behavior. Personality can be used with physiological and situational factors in order to suggest whether an athlete will be more or less successful in a sporting situation.

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Social learning theory – This personality characterized our learning and is not genetically predetermined. In it other people influence a person’s behavior. We also observe and imitate role models significant to us. When a sports performer’s behavior is reinforced through positive feedback, behavior is likely to be repeated. Situation is an important influence, perhaps illustrating why performers change their behavior instead of showing stable traits. Also in reactions to situations often based on how others have reacted in similar situation. Sports stars personalities and behaviors are often copied as they are seen us ideals. This theory suggests that individuals learn in sporting situations through two distinct processes: modeling and reinforcement. Modeling suggests that individuals are more likely to model themselves on people they feel they can relate to such, as individuals in the same sport or of the same gender, and that as they observe their behavior, they attempt to copy it. Reinforcement is important because if an individual’s behavior is reinforced or rewarded in some way, it is likely that the behavior will be repeated.

Situational Approach theory – Situational approach theory attempts to provide a perspective on organizations and management based on the integration of prior theories. Situational approach theory starts with the theme of "it depends," arguing that the solution to any one managerial problem is contingent on the factors that are impinging on the situation. This is also when the environment influences sports performers behavior. E.g. Aggression is needed on the field in many contact sports but off the field the performer could be introverted or non aggressive. E.g. Ricky Hatton is aggressive in the ring but calm, nice, friendly off it (judging by TV. Interviews). There is some support for the situational approach in sporting behavior, as individuals may be introverted displaying characteristics such as tolerance and shyness generally but may participate in a sport that requires them to be more extroverted and display characteristics such as aggression in the sporting situation.

Interactional Approach theory – This is when both the situation and the person determine their behaviour. Both the personality of the performer and the environment, in which they perform in, would play an important role in understanding their behaviour. E.g. If a person joined a sports team and didn’t know anyone else there they wouldn’t be that confident. So when it comes to doing drills the person’s nerves would take the better of him. The person would give up instead of pushing themselves in the drills and would have no motivation. Also they may see themselves as a failure or to much pressure to participate. This theory suggests that when situational factors are particularly strong, for example during competitive sporting situations such as penalty shoot-outs 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.

Effects on sports performance

Previous research suggests that there is no such thing as an athletic personality. This means that when you look at athletes versus non-athletes, there is little difference between personality types. However, if you look closer, some differences start to appear.

There are different effects on sports performance in singles tennis than in football team. E.g. a football player would be mainly extroversion as the player works as a team with his other players. E.g. the player may consist of being active, energetic, social little concern for possible consequences, lacks concentration, likes excitement and variety is the spice of life. Also the football player would mainly be in Type B category, which consists of people who are more relaxed; they are also tolerant towards others and have low levels of personal anxiety.

While a singles tennis player would be mainly introversion as they wouldn’t have a team to perform with so they would usually be working with themselves. The tennis players may consist of being inactive, lethargic, likes peace and quiet, good concentration, self-conscious, safety and security and ruled by fears. Also the tennis player would mainly be in Type A category, which consists of people who are impatient, lack tolerance of others and have high levels of personal anxiety.

Task 2

P2 – Describe motivation and how it affects sports performance.

Motivation is desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal. Students who are motivated have a desire to undertake their study and complete the requirements of their course.

Motivation types

There are different types of motivation namely: intrinsic, extrinsic and achievement.

Intrinsic motivation

This is the internal drive that encourages people to participate, perform well or succeed in sport. Also intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades. Example of a intrinsic person would be a squash player aged 45 that when they play they often feel a sense of relief from the days stresses and strains and that they enjoy the hard physical work of playing squash. So the person would have intrinsic motivation, as they want to keep fit and help release their stress by playing squash.

Extrinsic motivation

This involves external influences, which may affect the performer. This drive is caused by external or environmental motives. These motives are rewards, which may be tangible or intangible. Also the drive to perform well in sport may derive from a: Desire to please others e.g. praise from a coach. Rewards e.g. prize money, medals. Pleasure of receiving the award acts as a reinforce/boost and the performer is more likely to repeat actions that led to the award. E.g. Karate belts for levels of performance/achievement standard. Extrinsic motivation can increase levels of intrinsic motivation known as the additive principle. Some research disagrees, demonstrating that extrinsic motivation can decrease intrinsic. E.g. an athlete’s performance declined as soon as they had signed contracts paying large money.

Achievement motivation

This is your personality type, which may determine how motivated you are. Some people are motivated to succeed in sport, others avoid competition as a result of their personality characteristics, and this idea is known as achievement motivation. Sport involves trying to achieve something, often leading to high levels of competition. An example of achievement motivation is a basketball player might set a personal goal of scoring 80% baskets from the free throw line. The team may still lose, however this player is motivated through personal achievement, which may be a more powerful motivator for future performance improvements.

Theories of motivation

Attribution theory & motivation

This is the perceived cause of a particular outcome. Which is often the reason that we give for the results we achieve. E.g. a team member may cite bad weather as a reason for the team losing. Attributions are important because of the ways they affect motivation, affects future performance, future effort and continued participation or not. For example:

If a young person is told they failed, as they do not have the ability to succeed, they are unlikely to try again.
If they are given some ideas to work on they are more likely to persevere.
Sometimes people make inappropriate attributions that need to be changed into more helpful attributions. Know as ‘attribution retraining.’

Weiner (1974) identified 4 main reasons given for examination results:

Ability
Effort
Task difficulty
Luck

Motivation affects sports performance

Positive effects of motivation are straightforward. Someone who is motivated to play, perform and train at an optimal level will experience increases in performance. It is the role of athletes, coaches, managers and support staff to make sure the athlete is at optimal levels of motivation, without experiencing any negative side effects.

Negative is being too motivated so that you cannot stop training can be a big problem for athletes. Elite-level athletes are now under so much pressure to perform constantly at a high level, it is easy to see why they feel the need to train more and more. However, over-motivation and a constant grueling schedule can lead to three things: over training, staleness and burnout.

This is the tendency to strive for success, persist in the fear of failure, and experience pride in accomplishments. In the contest of an athlete it is an athletes overcoming barriers and obstacles, performing better than others and taking pride in participation. E.g. (Special Olympics) Elle Simons – Dwarfism – swimming. (Special Olympics) Oscar Pistorius – no legs – track events 100m, 200m, 400m. Also widely recognised as deriving from personality trait characteristics. Traits are innate characteristics we are born with. Athletes can be grouped into two dimensions:

Nach – those that have high need to achieve.
Naf – those who have a high need to avoid failure.

We are all likely to have both types of personality characterises. Some have more Nach that Naf traits and vice-versa. If performer and coach recognise what motivation affects the performers drive, they can then devise strategies to improve performance.

D1 – Evaluate the effects of personality and motivation on sports performance.

Personality and motivation both have different effects on sports performance. One of the similarities is they have the same crucial balance of sports performance which is control anxiety and psychologically ready for action (psyched up). Personality theories would be different to motivation theories as Trait theory is the personality is based on the assumption that a person’s personality can be captured in a series of different oppositions. Social learning theory is the personality characterised our learning and is not genetically predetermined. Situational Approach theory is the situational approach theory attempts to provide a perspective on organizations and management based on the integration of prior theories. Interactional Approach theory is when both the situation and the person determine their behaviour. Motivation theories would differ to these, which are: Intrinsic motivation is the internal drive that encourages people to participant, perform well or succeed in sport. Extrinsic motivation this involves external influences, which may affect the performer. Achievement motivation is your personality type, which may determine how motivated you are. There would also be different performance in athletes in each one e.g. in personality the athlete would be either a extroversion or a introversion depending if their in Type A or Type B category. The athletes would also

consist of being active, energetic, social little concern for possible consequences, lacks concentration, likes excitement and variety is the spice of life. Also they would be more relaxed; they are also tolerant towards others and have low levels of personal anxiety. While the effects of performance in motivation would mean the athlete would be the tendency to strive for success, persist in the fear of failure, and experience pride in accomplishments. In the contest of an athlete it is an athletes overcoming barriers and obstacles, performing better than others and taking pride in participation. Also the athletes would be in either Nach or Naf category, which is those that have high need to achieve or those who have a high need to avoid failure.