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PERSONALITY AND THE ATHLETE:Personality Defined, Psychodynamic Theory

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SportPsychology (PSY407)
LESSON 14
PERSONALITY AND THE ATHLETE
Sport psychologists have long beenintrigued with the question of whether or not successful athletic
performancecan be accurately predicted on the basis of personality or psychologicalassessment.
Effectiveness of psychological testing in predicting athletic success is quite frequent. A large percentage
of professional teams usepsychological testing to assist them in making personnel decisions.
In the 1960s and 1970s,research involving the athleteand personality assessment was very popular.
Ruffer(1975, 1976a, 1976b), forexample, cited 572 sources of original research in a compilation of
references on the relationship between personality and athletic performance. In recent years, however,
interest in this kind of research haswaned because of lack of consistent correlations between
personality factors and athletic prowess.
Theconcepts to be introduced andstudied in this lectureare:
·
Definition of personality
·
Theories of personality
·
Measurement of personality
·
Thecredulous versus skepticalargument
·
Personalityand sport performance.
Personality Defined
Personality is defined as an individual'scharacteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. In other
words personality is "all the consistent ways in which the behavior of oneperson differs from that of
others,especially in social situations." Thekey words in this definitionare basically "consistent"and
"differs". An individual's personality defines the person in unique ways thatremain stable and
consistentover time. If an athlete consistentlyexhibits the characteristics of being assertive on and off
the athletic field, we might saythat he is an assertiveperson.
Theories of Personality
Thefour major theoretical approaches to the study of personality are as follows:
1. Psychodynamic theory
2. Social learning theory
3. Humanistic theory
4. Trait theory
PsychodynamicTheory
This theory basically deals withUnconscious conflicts between internalimpulses and socialrestraints.
Perhaps the most influential proponent of psychodynamic theory wasSigmund Freud. Among the neo-
Freudiansare Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, and Eric Erickson. Freud'spsychodynamic theory andhis
method of treating personality disturbances werebased primarily uponself-analysis andextensive
clinical observation of neurotics.
Two distinguishing characteristics of the psychodynamicapproach to personality have beenits
emphasisupon in-depth examination of the wholeperson, and its emphasisupon unconsciousmotives.
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SportPsychology (PSY407)
In Freud's view, the id, ego,and superego form the tripartite structure of personality. The id represents the
unconscious instinctual core of personality; in a sense, the id is the pleasure-seeking mechanism. In contrast, the
egorepresents the conscious, logical,reality-oriented aspect of the personality. The superego represents the
conscience of the individual; it is the internalized moral standards of society impressedupon the person by
parentalcontrol and the process of socialization. Freud proposed that the ego aids in the resolution of conflicts
between the id and the superego. Essentially, Freud advocated a conflict theory of personality. In this respect,
the three parts of the psychistructure are always in conflict.
Theindividual's personality is the sum total of the dynamic conflicts between the impulse to seek releaseand
the inhibition against the impulses.The individual's unconscioussexual and aggressiveinstincts are major
determinants of behavior according to Freud.Athletic aggression represents a potential example of this
approach.Instinct theory provides one explanation for the phenomenon of violence in sport.
SocialLearning Theory
Thebasic position of the social learning theory is that humanbehavior is a function of social learning and the
strength of the situation. An individual behavesaccording to how she haslearned to behave as this is consistent
withenvironmental constraints. If the environmental situation is prominent, the effect of personality traits or
unconsciousmotives upon behavior should be minimal. According to social learning theory, a child's
performanceand behavior is a function of the child's experiences andenvironment.
Theorigin of social learning theorycan be traced to Clark Hull's1943 theory of learning and to B.F. Skinner's
(1953) behaviorism. Other researchers, such as Miller and Dollard (Miller,1941), Mischel (1986), andBandura
(1977,1986), extended the Hulliannotions of human behavior.Two of the primary mechanisms throughwhich
individualslearn are modelingandsocialreinforcement. Modeling, or imitative behavior, refers to the
phenomenon of learning through observation. AlbertBandura's social learning theory is based primarily upon
this important concept. According to Bandura, behavior is best explained as a function of observational
learning. Social reinforcement is based upon the notion that rewardedbehaviors are likely to be repeated.
Forexample, a young cricket player observes on television that professional athletesare often able to intimidate
bowlersthrough aggressive behavior. Using the professional athletes as his model, he tries the same tactics in his
game,and is reinforced by the coach with a pat on the back. This exampleillustrates how young athletes
develop questionable behaviors through modeling and social reinforcement.
HumanisticTheory
The major proponents of the humanistic theory of personality are Carl Rogersand Abraham Maslow.Rogers
andMaslow argued that humannature is inherently healthy andconstructive. At the center of the humanistic
theory of personality is the concept of self-actualization. Thehuman organism possesses an innate drive or
tendency to enhance itself, to realize capacities,and to act to become a better and more self-fulfilledperson. In
the developing personality, openness to experiencesthat then shape the individual is of c critical importance. It
is not necessarily the experiencethat shape the individual,but the individual's perception of thatexperience.
Self-actualization is an on going process of seekingcongruence between one'sexperience and one'sself
concept.
Maslow'scontribution to the humanistic theory is in the development of his hierarchicalmotive system based
on the notion of hierarchical needs.For Maslow, the end goal of all human experience is self-actualization, but
to get there the person mustfirst have lesser needsfulfilled.
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SportPsychology (PSY407)
TraitTheory
Thebasic position of trait or factor theory is that personality can be described in terms of traits possessed by
individuals. These personality traits are consideredsynonymous with dispositions to act in a certain way. Traits
areconsidered to be stable, enduring, andconsistent across a variety of differingsituations.
Among the most ardent advocates of traitpsychology are psychologistssuch as GordonAllport,
Raymond Cattell, and Hans Eysenck. Cattell (1965, 1973) identifiedthirty-five different traits that he
believed described a personality. Using a similarapproach, British psychologists(Eysenck & Eysenck,
1968)concentrated on the dimensional traits of neuroticism-stability and introversion-extraversion.
Cattell emphasized the importance of the environment. Cattell (1965) believed that typical responsesare
a function of both the situation(environment) and the personality disposition. This is evident fromhis
formula,
R = S x P in which, R= response, S= situation, and P= Personality.
Thethirty-five specific personality traits originally identified by Cattell in 1965form the basis of the fifth
edition of the 16PF, a measure of personality. In recent years, traits psychologistsclaim to haveidentified
the big five personality traits (John & Srivastava, 1999; Kalat,1999). The big five traits which are believed
to represent a consolidation of Cattell'soriginal thirty-five personality traits are the following:
1.
Neuroticism
2.
Extraversion
3.
Agreeableness
4.
Conscientiousness
5.
Openness to new ideas.
Thegreater strength of the trait theory of personality is that it allows for the easy and objective
measurement of personality through the use of inventories. If it can be demonstrated that a collection of
traits can accurately describe a person's psychological profile,then this certainly is superior to a
psychoanalyticapproach, in which personality is inferred through less objective techniques. Conversely,
the weakness of the trait approach is that it may fail to consider the whole person, sinceaccording to this
approach; personality is represented by a collection of specific traits.
References
Cox, H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology:Concepts and Applications.(Fifth Edition). NewYork:
McGraw-HillCompanies
Lavallec.D., Kremer, J., Moran,A., & Williams. M. (2004)Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes.
NewYork: Palgrave MacmillanPublishers
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Table of Contents:
  1. SPORT PSYCHOLOGY DEFINED:Issue of Certification, The Research Sport Psychologist
  2. SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SPORT PSYCHOLOGY:Successful Performance, Verbal persuasion
  3. SELECTING SELF-TALK STATEMENTS:Skill accusation, Controlling effort
  4. GOAL ORIENTATION:Goal Involvement, Motivational Climate
  5. CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION IN SPORT:Fritz Heider’s Contribution, Other Considerations
  6. CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS IN COMPETITIVE SITUATIONS:Locus of Causality
  7. MOTIVATION IN SPORT:Social Factors, Success and Failure, Coaches’ Behavior
  8. FLOW: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE, Goal Setting in Sport
  9. PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING:Clearly identify time constraints
  10. A TEAM APPROACH TO SETTING GOALS:The Planning Phase, The Meeting Phase
  11. YOUTH SPORT:Distress and anxiety, Coach-Parent Relationships
  12. ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION IN SPORT:Information Processing, Memory Systems
  13. ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION IN SPORT:Measuring Attentional Focus
  14. PERSONALITY AND THE ATHLETE:Personality Defined, Psychodynamic Theory
  15. THE MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY:Projective Procedures, Structured Questionnaire
  16. PERSONALITY AND THE ATHLETE:Athletic Motivation Inventory, Personality Sport Type
  17. SITUATIONAL FACTORS RELATED TO ANXIETY AND MOOD:Type of Sport
  18. ANXIETY, AROUSAL, AND STRESS RELATIONSHIPS:Emotion and Mood
  19. ANXIETY, AROUSAL, AND STRESS RELATIONSHIPS:The Inverted-U Theory
  20. ALTERNATIVES TO INVERTED-U THEORY:Apter’s Reversal Theory
  21. COPING STRATEGIES IN SPORT:Measurement of Coping Skill
  22. RELAXATION STRATEGIES FOR SPORT:Progressive Relaxation, Autogenic Training
  23. AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES:Team Energizing Strategies, Fan Support
  24. AROUSAL ENERGIZING STRATEGIES:Precompetition Workout, Individual Goal Setting
  25. IMAGERY:Skill Level of the Athletes, Time Factors and Mental Practice
  26. IMAGERY:Symbolic Learning Theory, Imagery Perspective. Sensory Mode
  27. IMAGERY:Paivio’s Two-Dimensional Model, Developing Imagery Skills
  28. THE ROLE OF HYPNOSIS IN SPORT:Defining Hypnosis, Social-Cognitive Theory
  29. THE ROLE OF HYPNOSIS IN SPORT:Achieving the Hypnotic Trance, Hypnotic Phase
  30. PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING:Psychological Skills Training Program
  31. PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING:Performance profiling, Performance routines
  32. ETHICS IN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY:Competence, Integrity, Social Responsibility
  33. AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE IN SPORT:Defining Aggression, Catharsis hypothesis
  34. AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE IN SPORT:The Catharsis Effect, Fan Violence
  35. AUDIENCE AND CROWD EFFECTS IN SPORTS:Social Facilitation, Crowd Hostility
  36. TEAM COHESION IN SPORT:Measurement of Team Cohesion
  37. TEAM COHESION IN SPORT:Predicting Future Participation, Team Building
  38. LEADERSHIP IN SPORT:Fiedler’s Contingency Theory, Coach-Athlete Compatibility
  39. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:Special Populations, Clinical Patients
  40. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:Social Interaction Hypothesis, Amine Hypothesis
  41. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:The Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory
  42. EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY:Exercise Addiction, Bulimia Nervosa, Muscle Dysmorphia
  43. BURNOUT IN ATHLETES:Overtraining and Overreaching, Recommended Intervention
  44. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ATHLETIC INJURIES:Personality Factors, Coping Resources
  45. DRUG ABUSE IN SPORT AND EXERCISE:Stimulants, Depressants