Personality 2

Section B – Psychological aspects that optimise performance

Aspects of PersonalityLesson 2

Starter:1. Define personality.2. Who are the 2 Trait theorists?3. What are the limitations of their theories?4. What are the 4 stages of Social Learning Theory?5. What is the formula of the Interactional Approach?6. What are the 4 components of Hollander’s Theory?

AnswersPersonality is the sum total of an individuals characteristics which make him or her unique. (Gill, 1997) Personality is the underlying relatively stable psychological structures and processes that organise human experiences and shape a person’s actions and reactions to the environment.(Lazarus and Mowat, 1979)

Eysenck and Cattell

• too simplistic• do not take into account the nurture or personal development of an athlete• they are an unreliable predictor of behaviour• they do not take into account the environment or situation

Attention – Retention – Motor Reproduction – Motivational ResponseObserve - Identify – Reinforce – Copy

B = F (P.E) Behaviour is the Function of Personality and Environment

• 1 : The Psychological Core• 2 : Typical Responses• 3 : Role-related behaviour• 4 : Social Environment

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the lesson you will be able to:• evaluate the use of personality testing• describe the profile of mood states (POMs)• define motivation• describe achievement motivation theory• explain motives to achieve (Nach) and avoid failure (Naf)

and the characteristics of each• give examples of incentive value and probability of success• Understand the terms ‘learned helplessness’, ‘approach

behaviour’ and ‘avoidance behaviour’.

• How did Eyesenck and Cattell test their subjects’ personalities?

• What are the benefits and limitations of using a questionnaire? (2 of each is sufficient)

Benefits Limitations

Personality TestsWhat are the advantages of using questionnaires to test for personality?• Quantitative data• Easy to administer• Take little time/set up for investigators etc

Questionnaire LimitationsReliability: How consistent is a questionnaire?Would Cattell’s 16PF questionnaire produce similar results if used again at another time?Validity: Does the study measures what it claims to measure? Especially as there is no agreed definition of personality. Questionnaires often lack validity as participants may lie; give answers that they think they should; answer differently on different days.Simplistic:Eyesenck’s EPI only asked for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answersEthics:Personality testing can be a sensitive subject. Results must be confidential and the researcher must be suitably qualified to interpret the results.

Research Task

What is the Profile of Mood States (POMS)?• Describe the test• List the 6 moods

What is the Iceberg Profile/effect?• Draw and annotate the graph• Describe what the graph shows• Explain what an inverted graph would show

Profile of Mood States (POMS) McNair, Lorr and Droppleman, 1971

A test designed to measure certain psychological traits. The Profile OfMood States (POMS) is a popular tool among sport psychologists who haveused it to compare the prevailing moods of elite athletes and non-athletes.Six mood states are used in POMS:

• tension• depression• anger• vigour• fatigue• confusion

Subjects are given a score for each trait according to their responses to certain statements which include key words such as unhappy, tense, careless, and cheerful.

For each statement, subjects state how they feel at that moment, or how they felt over the previous day, few days, or week, by choosing one of the following responses: not at all; a little; moderately; quite a lot; extremely.

The Iceberg ProfileElite athletes from different sports (including runners, rowers, and wrestlers) tend to score below average for negative states such as tension, depression, fatigue, and confusion; and score well above average on vigour.

Non athletes show similar scores for all moods and produce a fairly level line.

On a graph, the POMS profile for elite athletes forms a shape that has been called the ‘iceberg’ profile; the better the athlete, the more pronounced the profile.

POMS may be used to diagnose overtraining because the shape of the profile becomes inverted when an athlete overtrains.

MotivationWhy do elite athletes continue despite pain?Why do we strive to improve our skills?

Motivation has 2 aspects:It energises and directs our behaviour.

It can be defined as:The desire to fulfil a need.

Sporting ChallengeWhat motivates you?

Extreme Skipping by Boxer Frankie Gavin - YouTube

Achievement MotivationAtkinson (1964)He described achievement motivation as an aspect of personality, a stable disposition based on two different motives. His theory takes into account both personality and the situation.

BBC Sport - Euro 2012: England-Italy - Pirlo's audacious penalty kickChampions League Final

The 2 Motives:motivation to achieve success (Nach)motivation to avoid failure (Naf)

Achievement Motivation

Motive to Achieve Success Motive to Avoid Failure

• look for challenges• dislike situations in which there is a 50/50 chance• value feedback from others• persist for longer• prefer to play very easy or very difficult opposition (guaranteed results)• perform worse when they are being evaluated by others• are not afraid of failure• are concerned about standards of excellence• attribute performance to internal factors (effort, concentration, ability)• attribute performance to external factors (luck, referee, weather)

People tend to show the following characteristics:

Achievement MotivationMotive to Achieve Success Motive to Avoid Failure

look for challenges dislike situations in which there is a 50/50 chance

value feedback from others prefer to play very easy or very difficult opposition (guaranteed results)

persist for longer perform worse when they are being evaluated by others

are not afraid of failure attribute performance to external factors (luck, referee, weather)

are concerned about standards of excellence

attribute performance to internal factors (effort, concentration, ability)

People tend to show the following characteristics:

How could coaches change Naf athletes to Nach

athletes?

• let them experience success• raise their confidence• use positive reinforcement• set SMARTER goals• use role models• control arousal levels

Measuring Achievement Motivation

Personality Traits:Atkinson claimed that we all have these two motives to some extent but it is the difference between the two. The larger the difference – the greater the achievement motivation.

Situation:2 aspects of the task will determine behaviour:

• Task difficulty: the probability of success or failure in the task• Incentive value of success: the importance to the individual of

success or failure in the task

Key Words to Remember• Learned helplessness = a belief (state of mind)

that failure is inevitable and that we have no control over it e.g. a netball shooter repeatedly fails to score a goal in a game, they become passive, lose the motive to act and eventually give up altogether – changing position.

• Avoidance Behaviour = rejects challenges• Approach Behaviour = accepts a challenge

Home LearningComplete 2 case studies that demonstrate: • The characteristics of one Nach and one Naf

athlete/sportsman.• Include information regarding the task

difficulty and the incentive value of success for each.

• Include the use of the key words on the previous slide.

Review of Learning Outcomes:

You should be able to:• evaluate the use of personality testing• describe the profile of mood states (POMs)• define motivation• describe achievement motivation theory• explain motives to achieve (Nach) and avoid failure (Naf)

and the characteristics of each• give examples of incentive value and probability of success• understand the terms ‘learned helplessness’, ‘approach

behaviour’ and ‘avoidance behaviour’.