Transcript Personality

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Do you need to be a particular personality type in
order to be successful in sport?
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If so, can we test young sports performer’s
personalities and use those test to predict if they
are going to be successful?
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Do you need to be a particular personality type to
play a particular sport or a certain position in a
sport?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHF
0VXPanU8
Personality is:
 Stable and enduring(doesn’t
change/lasts a long time)
 Set of traits (characteristics e.g.??)
 Unique (everyone has own
personality)
 But permits a comparison (we
share some similar traits)
 Influences behaviour
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‘Those relatively stable and enduring
aspects of individuals which distinguish
them from other people making them
unique but at the same time permit a
comparison between individuals.
Born with them
 The situation determines them
 Bit of both of the above
 We learn them – through watching others and
having our behaviour reinforced or punished
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Trait theory
 Social Learning theory
 Interactionist theories
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In groups discuss your theory.
(Advantages, disadvantages,
justification of whether your theory is the
best one)
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Preparation: Watch videos on
mypeexam.org (registration is free) on
personality 1 and personality 2
Click on ‘courses’, AQA A2 sports
psychology, personality
 Make notes on video
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Cannot watch through ‘internet explorer,
use google chrome’
B= f (P)
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Nature side of the argument
Suggests that we inherit our genes (Innate)
They are stable and enduring
E.g. Aggression shown in all situations
Behaviour is predictable
Therefore useful to predict success in
sport/suitability to a specific sport
Eysenck and Cattell were two trait theorists
Extrovert
Sociable, outgoing, talkative, active and
optimistic
Introvert
Quiet, passive, unsociable, reserved and
careful
Stable
Calm, even tempered, reliable, controlled
and logical
Neurotic
Moody, anxious, touchy, restless and
aggressive
Neurotic
Test: Eysenck's
personality inventory
Introvert
Extrovert
Successful
character?
The two
dimensions are
independent of
each other
Stable
16 categories which give a more
accurate picture of people’s
characteristics and behaviour patterns
 Used 16PF questionnaire to measure
 Accepted responses may be different
each time
 Still no clear evidence to suggest
particular personalities were more likely
to be successful performers
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Too simplistic
 Not good predictors of
behaviour/success/sport
Doesn’t account for;
 Changes to personality over time
 Situational influences
 Individuals who actively alter their
personality
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Personality is a mixture of:
 Inherited traits and the current
situation/social learning
 B=f(PE)
 Dominance of either personality or
situational factors will depend on their
strengths at the time. Can you give
examples?
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‘The real you!’ Beliefs, values and attitudes
Usual response to a situation – influenced by psychological core
Change according to the perception of the situation
Crowd/significant other
 Derby match
 Final outcome is important
 Provoked by opposition
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Identify why and when players become
over aroused/aggressive
 Identify situations which have a negative
impact on performance
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‘How can knowledge of the interactionist
theory of personality help a coach to
improve the performance of an
individual player?’ (4 marks)
Lots of subjects can be tested at a time
 Therefore a quicker, more efficient
system to use
 They are cheap/cost effective;
 Results gathered are
numerical/objective measures achieved
 Large amounts of data collected in a
short space of time
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Results vary when test is repeated
Participants affected by mood, situation,
attitudes
Respondents may lie
Or give socially acceptable answers
Misunderstand the question
Closed questions limit answer options
Most of these apply to interviews as well
Time consuming
 Participant may lie/socially acceptable
answers
 Status of interviewer may affect answers
given
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Time consuming
 Subjective
 If the person is aware that they are being
watched they may not act normally and
may change their behaviour
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The ethics of all tests have been
questioned
Personality tests are unreliable,
 Personality is complex (lots to it) so therefore hard to measure,
 Personality tests measure traits – but these do not take into
account the situation,
 People like to create a positive perception of themselves (won’t
say that they have negative traits e.g. aggressiveness)
 Only SCAT (test of anxiety) considered to be reasonable valid
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Complete EPI on page 114 in textbook,
bring results to next lesson.
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Watch ‘POMs’ video on mypeexam.org
Morgan (1979) suggests that mood
states are more useful in the
identification of successful athletes
 Mood states are temporary and change
with the situation – better prediction?
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Tension
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VIGOUR
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Depression
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Fatigue
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Anger
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confusion
Suggested that score for successful
athletes: Vigour should be high – causing
the ‘Iceberg’ profile
 The more pronounced the profile, the
more successful the athlete
 Research supports this theory – although
not always needed to be a successful
athlete!
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Successful athletes were above the
waterline (population norm) on vigour
but below the surface on the more
negative moods, thus creating the
profile of an iceberg
Theories presented contradict each
other
 Sceptical Approach – questions the link
 Credulous Approach – supports the link
 Generally accepted that there is no link
between personality and success/
personality and sport choice
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4 marks for 4 of:
Explanation of theory
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A. (Explanation of Interactionist Theory) – mixture of personality traits and
the situation/trait theory and social learning theory
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B. Behaviour can alter in different situations
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C. (Lewin) – Behaviour = function(Personality x Environment) B=f(PE)
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D. Psychological core/inner core is fairly permanent beliefs and values
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E. Typical response/middle layer is usual behaviour in a given situation
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F. Role-related behaviour/specific behaviour in a certain situation
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Application of theory
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G. Theories suggest performers can be taught to alter their behaviour and
improve performance/teach performer to act in certain ways in specific
circumstances/learn how to respond to a specific situation
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H. Coach identifies aspects of personality or behaviour to be changed
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I. Creates situations or experiences to cause a change of behaviour/ eg
teach aggressive player to be assertive/introvert performer not to become
over-aroused in front of a crowd
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J. Coach identifies a suitable situation to avoid specific aspects of
personality being displayed, eg move position to avoid aggressive
behaviour
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Sub max of 3 marks
D, E, F. No
explanationRequired
D, E, F. Accept annotated
diagrams for Hollander’s
model
No mark for just naming
Hollander
A. Named personality test – EPI, (Cattell) 16PF, SCAT,
STA1, POMS, Achievement Motivation (Nach & Naf
questionnaires)
Sub-max of 2 marks
Agree
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B. Credulous approach
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C. Personality traits linked to specific types of
sports/characteristics of
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elite performance, eg calm under pressure/not
aggressive/equiv
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D. Used as part of talent identification programmes
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E. Iceberg profile (Profile of mood states)
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F. Linked into high levels of vigour
Sub-max of 2 marks
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Disagree
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G. Sceptical approach
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H. No clear link between success/choice of sport
and personality type
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I. Research often contradicts each other
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J. Personality can change due to situation
Conclusion
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K. Neither approach has proved conclusive/no clear
evidence to make accurate predictions.
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A. NOT CSAI 2
The focus of the question is 'can
personality predict success' rather
than evaluating the method of
using self-report questionnaires