Personality and sport (chapter 2)

Question 1

Define personality

Answer 1

The characteristics or blend of characteristics that make a person unique

Question 2

What is the structure of personality?

Answer 2

• Psychological core
• Typical response
• Role-related behavior

Question 3

What is your psychological core?

Answer 3

The most basic level of your personality.

Includes your attitudes and values, interests and motives and beliefs about yourself and your self worth.

Question 4

What is your typical-response?

Answer 4

Typical response is the way we learn to adjust to the environment or how we usually respond to the world around us. (can be affected by the environment)

Question 5

What is your role-related behavior?

Answer 5

How you act based on what you perceive your social situation to be. (most changeable)

Question 6

What are the approaches to understanding personality?

Answer 6

• Psychodynamic approach
• Trait approach
• Situational approach
• Interactional approach
• Phenomenological approach

Question 7

What is the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 7

• Behavior is determined by several unconscious,
constantly changing factors. (Instinctive drives (ID), superego and ego)
• Emphasis is placed on understanding the person as a whole rather than identifying isolated traits.

Question 8

What are some of the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 8

Difficult to test it.

Focuses almost entirely on internal determinants of behavior and gives little attention to the social enviroment

Question 9

What is a key contribution of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 9

Is the recognition that not all behaviors of an exerciser or athlete are under conscious control

Question 10

What is the trait approach?

Answer 10

• Behavior is determined by relative stable traits that are fundamental unit of personality.
• These trait predispose one to act in a certain way, regardless of the situation.

Question 11

According to the trait theory will a competitive athlete be competitive at everything?

Answer 11

No, they are predisposed to be competitive therefore they are likely to but not certain.

Question 12

What is the big 5 model?

Answer 12

The most important psychological traits

Question 13

What are the traits on the big 5?

Answer 13

Neuroticism vs stability
Extroversion vs introvesion
Openness to experience
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness

Question 14

What are some of the finding from the big 5 model?

Answer 14

Athletes have score higher on extroversion than non athletes.
Athletes who play high risk or team sports have higher extroversion and lower conscientiousness than athletes who play individual sport and low risk sports

Question 15

What is the situational approach?

Answer 15

• Behavior is determined largely bu the situation or environment.
• The situation is more important determinant of behavior than particular personality traits.

Question 16

How does the situational approach explain behavior?

Answer 16

Through observational learning (modeling) and social reinforcement (feedback).

Question 17

What is the interactional approach?

Answer 17

Behavior is determined by both the person and the situational factors as well as by their interaction (trait and situational)
- Personal traits and situational factors can independently determine behavior, at times the mix with each other in a unique way to determine behavior.

Question 18

What personality approach do the vast majority of contemporary sport psychologists favor?

Answer 18

Interactional approach

Question 19

What is the phenomenological approach?

Answer 19

• Behavior is best determined by looking at a the situation and a persons characteristics.
• They believe that the primary determinant for behavior is by accounting for situations and personal characteristics
• study of subjective experiences
• A persons understanding and interpretation of one’s self and environment are critical.

Question 20

From internally determined to enviromentally determined, order the personality approach’s

Answer 20

Psychodynamic
Trait
Interactional
Phenomenological
Situation

Question 21

What is the current impact of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 21

Has little influence and hasn’t been adopted by most contemporary
sport psychologists.

Question 22

What is the weakness of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 22

Focuses almost entirely on
internal determinants of behavior, giving
little attention to the social environment.

Question 23

What is the contribution of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 23

: Has increased awareness that unconscious determinants of behavior exist.

Question 24

What is the current impact of the trait approach?

Answer 24

Has very little influence

Question 25

What is the weakness of the trait approach?

Answer 25

Knowing traits will not always help predict behavior in particular situations.

Question 26

What is the contribution of the trait approach?

Answer 26

Emphasizes the importance of traits and the measurement of such dispositions.

Question 27

What is the current impact of the situational approach?

Answer 27

Has little influence.

Question 28

What is the weakness of the situational approach?

Answer 28

Situation will not always | influence individual behavior.

Question 29

What is the contribution of the situational approach?

Answer 29

Emphasizes the importance of | the situation.

Question 30

What is the current impact of the Interactional approach?

Answer 30

Has considerable influence and has been adopted by most contemporary sport psychologists

Question 31

What is the weakness of the Interactional approach?

Answer 31

None.

Question 32

What is the contribution of the Interactional approach?

Answer 32

Emphasizes the consideration of both trait and situational variables and their interaction.

Question 33

What is the current impact of the Phenomenological approach?

Answer 33

Has considerable influence and has been adopted by many contemporary sport psychologists.

Question 34

What is the weakness of the Phenomenological approach?

Answer 34

None.

Question 35

What is the contribution of the Phenomenological approach?

Answer 35

``` Emphasizes the contribution of a person’s interpretation of one’s self and environment while considering both trait and situational variables and their interaction. ```

Question 36

Findings in personality research

Answer 36

-Some relationship exists between personality traits and states and sport performance, but it is far from perfect or precise. -No single definitive personality profile has been found that consistently distinguishes athletes from non athletes. -Few personality differences are evident between male and female athletes, particularly at the elite level. -Morgan’s (1980) mental health model shows that successful athletes exhibit greater positive mental health than do less successful athletes. However, precise predictions have not been achieved and should not be used for team selection -Type A behavior patterns (particularly the anger–hostility component) are associated with cardiovascular disease and appear to be altered via exercise. - Exercise and increased fitness appear to be associated with increases in self-esteem especially in individuals with low self esteem.

Question 37

Measuring personality: traits and states

Answer 37

Measure both traits and states -A trait is a typical style of behavior. -state is the situation effect on behavior- a 'right now' feeling that can change form moment to moment. -

Question 38

What is meant by adaptive perfectionism?

Answer 38

A focus on high standards but not excessively worrying about making mistakes or about how others evaluate one's performance

Question 39

What us meant by 'situation-specific measures'?

Answer 39

They predict behavior more reliably for given situations because they consider both personality of the participant and the specific situation (interactional approach)

Question 40

What is meant by 'intraindividual approach'?

Answer 40

Looking at how the athlete is feeling relative to how they usually feel.

Question 41

What is meant by 'projective tests'?

Answer 41

A method to measure an athletes more subconscious and deeper aspects of their personality. They usually include pictures or written situations and the test takers are asked to project their feeling and thoughts about these materials.

Question 42

What is meant by the 'mental health model'?

Answer 42

The model was reported to be effective in predicting athletic success. The model suggests that positive mental health as assessed by a certain pattern of POMS (profile of mood states) score is directly related to athletic success and high levels of performance.

Question 43

What is meant by the iceberg profile?

Answer 43

The profile shows that vigor above the mean population but tension, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion below the mean population.