CHAPTER 3

PERSONALITY
AND SPORTS
P R E PA R E D B Y: J A N I N E B I S E N I O - B E T C H AY D A
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Explain personality in the field of sport;
• Identify the different personality theories and approaches in
athlete sport related behavior;
• Relate the value of psychological tests in assessing
personality in the athletic field;
• Develop an enthusiasm in conducting personality research
in sport psychology; and
• Discuss influence of athletes’ performance on personality
traits.
A TYPICAL ATHLETE DISPLAYS A BEHAVIOR
BASED ON THE ROLE AND A SITUATION.

• An athlete who is being admitted to the track and field

in a university. The university asks the coach regarding
the athlete’s personality. The coach reports that he is
introverted, silent but hardworking. Likewise, the
mother also asked the same question and she replies that
her son is actually approachable, outgoing and talkative.
SITUATION:
• Vim, a basketball player, who by nature has an aggressive
personality will react aggressively when intimidated or
frustrated. In fact, his colleagues can remember several
situations when Vim was rejected from other ball games for
aggressively and intimidating the referee. However,
because Vim’s basketball team is sponsored by the
Christian Organization which is against aggressive acts,
Vim tends to control his temper when things against him.
PERSONALITY IN SPORT
• An athlete manifest his/her personality in a specific
situation.
• The nature, kind, and degree of personality that
influence performance are dependent upon the
interaction between the person (personality) and the
situation (environment).
PERSONALITY
(Wann, 1998)
• Pattern of characteristics, thoughts, feelings, behaviors that
distinguishes one person from another and that persists over
time and situation.
• Maintains that sport psychologists viewed personality in
terms of interactional or situational approach, explaining the
relationship between personality traits and the environment.
INTERACTION MODEL OF
PERSONALITY
• Individuals display their personality themselves in a given
situation also, including unconscious motives and
underlying predispositions that interact with the
environment.
• Understanding an athlete’s personality to the fullest must
consider the core of the personality, the situation, and the
interaction between the individual and the situation.
SALIENT PERSONALITY
THEORIES IN SPORTS
•Psychodynamic Theory
•Social Learning Theory
•Trait Theory
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
• Have a strong impact on the psychological core of the
entire person with special emphasis on unconscious
motives.
• The major determinant of behavior evolves from the
individuals unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts.
• Uses psychic apparatus such as id, ego, and superego.
Theorist: Dr. Sigmund Freud
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
ID
- most primitive of the three structures
- Concerned with instant gratification of basic physical
need and urges.
- Operated entirely unconsciously.
Example: If your ID walked past a stranger eating ice
cream, it would most likely take the ice cream for itself.
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
SUPEREGO
- Concerned with social rules and morals.
- Develops as a child learns what their
culture considers right and wrong.
Example: It would not take the ice cream
because it would know that it is rude .
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
EGO
- Is the rational, pragmatic part of our personality.
- Less primitive than the ID and is partly conscious and is partly unconscious.
- Its job is to balance the demands of ID and superego in the practical context of
reality.
Example: If you walked past again a stranger eating ice cream, your ego would
mediate the conflict between you ID and superego. You decided to go buy the
ice cream for yourself.
While this may mean you have to wait kk10 more minutes, which would
frustrate your ID, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as part of the
compromise.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
• The salience of the environmental influence is strong enough to
produce a behavior due to the product of learning.
• Best explained the behavior as a function of observational learning
or vicarious learning.
• Vicarious (modeling) learning and Social Reinforcement are the two
operating constructs with which the individuals are learned.

Theorists: Albert Bandura, Clark Hull, Miller and Dollard, and

Mischel
IF I WOULD ASK TO YOU
TO DESCRIBE A
FRIEND’S PERSONALITY,
WHAT KIND OF THINGS
WOULD YOU SAY?
TRAIT THEORY
• Traits are predispositions (tendencies to act in a certain way and are
considered to be stable, enduring, and consistent in a various
situations).
• Predispositions do not mean that the individual will always respond
in this manner but a certain likelihood exists.
• Through factor analysis there are independent sources and
dependent surface traits describing a personality.
Advocates: Gordon, Allport,Raymend Cattell, and Hans Eysench
 TRAIT THEORIES
• Gordon Allport categorized traits into three levels namely:
1. CARDINAL TRAITS - traits that dominates an individual’s
whole life. E.g. Christ-like, Don Juan
2. CENTRAL TRAITS - general characteristics that form the
basic foundations of personality;. E.g. Intelligent, honest.
3. SECONDARY TRAITS - sometimes related to attitude or
preferences.
- Examples: getting anxious when speaking to a group or
impatient while waiting in line.
 TRAIT THEORIES
• Raymond Cattel’s Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire
– reduced the number of main personality from Allport’s
initial list of over 4,000 down to 171. Then, identified
closely related terms and reduced to 16 key personality
traits.
• Eysenck’s Three Dimensions of Personality – developed
three (3) universal traits namely: Introversion/Extraversion,
Neuroticism/Emotional Stability, and Psychoticism.
A P P ROAC HES TO
PERSONA L IT Y
THREE (3) MAJOR WAYS OF STUDYING SPORTS

1.Trait
2.Situational
3.Interactional
TRAIT
• A relatively stable characteristics that causes individuals to behave in certain
ways.
• Emphasizes that personality traits are enduring and consistent across a
variety of situations.
• The influence of situation or environment is considered a secondary factor.
• Traits are considered to predispose a person to act in a certain way,
regardless of the situation or circumstances.
SITUATION
• Explains that personality is understood largely by the
situation or environment
• Behavior is developed through observational learning or
modeling and social reinforcement or feedback (Bandura’s
social learning theory).
• The influence of the environment has strong impact and the
effects of traits is minimal.
INTERACTION
• Considers situation and person as co-determinants of behavior.
• Both situations and personality traits need to be considered to
understand and predict behavior.
• Bowers (cited in Weinberg and Gould, 1995) found that the
interaction between persons and situations could explain twice
as much behavior as traits or situations alone.
 ASSESSING
PERSONALITY
 THE VALUE OF A TEST IS ONE THAT
POSSESS THE THREE MAJOR
CHARACTERISTICS (APRUEBO, 2000)

Validity
Reliability
Practicability
VALIDITY
The extent to which a test measures what it purports or
is supposed to measure.
4 types of validity for personality test:
- Face Validity – where you apply a superficial and subjective
assessment of whether or not your study or test measures
what it is supposed to measure.
1. Does the test seem valid for the purpose it is given?
2. Does the test seem to measure what it is meant to measure?
 VALIDITY
- Content Validity
Do the items reflect sampling of concepts and principles from the
core of personality and typical response of the athlete and other sport
participant?
Does the test have sufficient coverage such that a score on it
would be indicative of the subject’s personality in the field of sports?
- Concurrent Validity
Does performance in the test correlate scores in a related area?
- Predictive Validity
Does performance in the test correlate scores with the future
measures in related area? Is performance at some future time a related
subject?
RELIABILITY
PRACTICABILITY
• RELIABILITY – refers to the accuracy, precision, or
consistency of a score obtained through the test.
- Testing is open for errors of measurement. Such errors should
minimized.
• PRACTICABILITY – refers to ease and feasibility of
administering the test.
- Also includes “efficiency”.
PERSONALITY LEADERSHIP
IN SPORT
 14 TRAITS AS “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” BY CAMPBELL
(CITED IN WUEST AND BUCHER, 1999)
• Personality
- effective people reflect warmth and concern in their
interactions with others.
- they have an outgoing style and enjoy meeting others.
• Persuasive
- Communication skills are critical.
- The ability to speak effectively in public, listen carefully; and
write with clarity.
14 TRAITS AS “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” BY CAMPBELL
(CITED IN WUEST AND BUCHER, 1999)
• Persistence
- Leaders who aspire to improve situation, chart a new course, or
cause change in their organization or community must be prepared to
persevere.
• Patience
- Change takes time. Changing people’s exercise habits
requires patience and on going support over a significant period of
time.
14 TRAITS AS “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” BY
CAMPBELL (CITED IN WUEST AND BUCHER, 1999)

• Perceptive
- sensitivity to the wants, needs, moods, and concerns of
individuals and the group is critical.
- effective leaders appear to have an intuitive sense of leadership
behaviors will be most effective in a given situation.
• Probity
- honesty and trustworthiness are important. Leaders must have
credibility and must represents the facts accurately.
14 TRAITS AS “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” BY
CAMPBELL (CITED IN WUEST AND BUCHER, 1999)

• Praise Giving
- sincere praise and compliments.
- Recognize the members of the group for their contributions.
-Criticism is offered in constructive manner.
• Positive Orientation
- positive in their approach, seek to resolve problems through their actions
-view the future as offering new opportunities
• People-Based
- focus their effort on helping and benefiting people with whom they interact
- not self serving in their actions, but committed to meeting the needs of others.
14 TRAITS AS “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” BY
CAMPBELL (CITED IN WUEST AND BUCHER, 1999)

• Possible
- realistic in their assessment of what possibly can be accomplished
-consider the desires of the people, the available, and resources allocated.
• Practical
- realize the pleasing all of the other people all of the time is not realistic
or practical.
- Use the courage of their convictions to stand firm on unpopular
decisions and their strength to withstand criticism of their actions
• Progressive
-create a vision and move the group forward towards its attainments.
14 TRAITS AS “TOOLS OF THE TRADE” BY
CAMPBELL (CITED IN WUEST AND BUCHER, 1999)

• Prepared
- have a clear understanding of the steps needed to achieve their goals
and resources required
- knowledgeable and organized
- prepares carefully to achieve their desired outcomes
• Power-Building
- create a shaped vision, foster commitment, integrate diverse views
and share leadership by delegating
- network effectively, facilitate involvement, and motivate the group.
P E R SONA LITY -S POR T
RESEA R C H
PERSONALITY-SPORT RESEARCH
• Many sport psychologists have conducted
personality researches in sports were attempted to
identify the relationship between personality an sport
performance.
PERSONALITY-SPORT RESEARCH
CONCLUSIONS:
1. There is a positive relationship between personality
and some aspect of athletic performance.
2. These relationships are correlational in nature that
do not show a cause and effect relationship.
(Versari (2004 and Auweele, Cuyper, Van Mele, and
Rzewnicki (1993)
PERSONALITY-SPORT RESEARCH
• The important relationship between exercise and Type A
behavior (strong sense of urgency, excess of competitive
drive, and easily aroused hostility) and Self-Concept
emphasized by Weinberg and Gould (1995).
• The study showed that a 12-week aerobics program was
not only associated with reduction in Type A behavior but
also helped participants significantly reduce cardiovascular
reactivity to mental stress.
PERSONALITY-SPORT RESEARCH
• Personality traits such as responsibility, sociability,
personal relations, emotional stability, vigor, and
cautiousness could enhance through exposure to
team sports. However, traits like ascending and
original thinking did not prove to be amenable to
change from exposure to team sports. (Figer)
PERSONALITY-SPORT RESEARCH
• In general, athletes are considered reserved, less, intelligent,
emotionally less stable, less conscientious, less experimenting, but
are more apprehensive and self-opinionated or suspicious than non
athletes.
• Athletes and non-athletes differed significantly in general
intelligence. Non-athletes tended to be more intelligent and abstract
thinkers than athletes who are assumed to be average in general
intelligence because they do not have entrance test scores because
they are not required to pass the University of the Philippines
College Admission Test (UPCAT). (Deatras)
CREDULOUS-SKEPTICAL ARGUMENT IN PERSPECTIVE
CREDULOUS SKEPTICAL
• They believe the value of • They said that the personality is
personality through the use of not related to athletic success.
personality tests that can predict
• They explained that personality
athletic success. research must conduct
• They argued that positive and appropriate research design and
accurate predictions can be made methodology in order to establish
on sport performance from the significant relationship
personality profiles based on between personality traits and
measured traits. athletic performance.
(Ogilvie and Tutko’s Group, 1966) [Morgan (1995), Rushall (1973),
Kroll (1970), and Martens (1976)]
COX COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN
PERSONALITY AND SPORT PERFORMANCE:
• Athletes and non-athletes differ with respect to
personality characteristics.
• Various researches have reported that athletes are more
independent, objective, self-confident, competitive,
outgoing, and less anxious than non-athletes.
• Differences in personality traits between athletes and
non-athletes are due to a “natural selection” process.
COX COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN
PERSONALITY AND SPORT PERFORMANCE:
• It has been shown that sport participation has a positive effect on
the personality development of young athletes during their
formative years.
• athlete is sport can be differentiated from athletes inn another sport
based on their personality characteristics.
• World class athletes can be correctly differentiated from less skilled
athlete by their psychological profile 70 percent of the time.
Personality profiles that include situational measures of
psychological states have been shown to be the most accurate in
predicting level of athletic performance.
REFERENCES:

• Apruebo’s Sports Psychology Book, pages 33-37.

• https://www.verywellmind.com/trait-theory-of-personality-
2795955
• https://statisticshowto.datasciencecentral.com/face-validity/