LO1 : Know the

effect of personality
and motivation on
sports performance.
 Personality.

‘Your personality can affect the type of sports you

like and excel in’ (www.teachpe.com)
This can be shown through the different types of
personality groups/traits, and how their contents
and factors can benefit or work against you when
in a sporting environment. Different Athletes
display their own unique patterns of behaviour in
the course of sports performance, personality can
be sectioned into many different parts…confidence
is one example of a behaviour pattern within
personality this ultimately determines whether an
individual has a strong commitment to participate
and achieve. The study of personality in sport also
includes perceptual and cognitive characteristics
such as ones ability to concentrate and direct the
focus of attention in a competitive situation when
there is a pressure to succeed.
Below will be a list of the key personality theory’s
and an explanation/ understanding on how each
one works when in a sporting environment.

Theories of Personality.

There are a number of different theories which

relate to sport and how it can affect us, they each
take different approaches due to the complexity
and many varied explanations/thoughts on
personality.

• Trait Theory

A trait is a general, underlying enduring way in

which to behave each time a given situation
occurs. Trait theories assume that out personality
is made up of many different characteristics, our
traits can be thought of as a relatively stable
characteristic that causes individuals to behave in
certain ways.

Two theorists in particular Eysenck and Cattell

suggested that these characteristics are organised
in a hierarchical way, their research led to a model
of personality which is used to label and
summarise a group of behaviors. Trait theory was
very important in the early years of sport
personality research, largely because it provided a
straightforward way of assessing personality which
sport psychologists and coaches could use with
their athletes. Although the test shows good
reliability and validity they sometimes do not
appear to predict behaviour consistently. For
example the captain of a netball team might be
flamboyant, confident and controlling in a netball
game but when asked to stand up and make an
audience speak come across as shy or lacking in
confidence. Meaning her core personality could be
somewhat in-between the two characteristics
depending on how she views herself. Another
concern with this theory is how it tends to suggest
personality is innate. (Davis, bull, Roscoe, D
roscoe)
Identified sixteen groups of traits, which he
claimed were present within all people at varying
degrees of intensity. Traits are arranged in a
hierarchical form with the primary or strongest
overriding weaker or secondary traits.

A strength of this theory is that is allows easy and

objective measurement to be put in a place
through questionnaires.
A drawback on the other hand is how it isn’t a true
predictor of behaviour and it appears no significant
difference exists between sports performers and
people with differing trait strengths, it also does
not take into account the influence of
environmental factors, and so conflicts directly the
social learning theory.
Cattells work was supported by Eysenck (1968)
who believed that the traits should be displayed in
a different manor as personality types; he
recognised four of these personality types;

-Neurotic and extroverted

-Stable and extroverted
-Stable and introverted
-Neurotic and introverted

Many studies have been undertaken in an attempt

to prove the existence of the ideal sports
personality and for many years it was believed that
most sports performers shared the same
personality profile which fell into the extroverted
and stable area. A sport psychologist named
Ogilvie (1966) believed that one was born with a
personality type to make powess in sport easy, He
recognised the traits thought to be to elite
performers such as endurance, aggression,
ambition and dominance. Studies in the 1960’s
included that games players of a high standard
were indeed extroverted and stable. Gondola
(1968) found that although some marathon
runners tended to be introverted and stable, many
top performers had different personality profiles.
However Mischel (1973) strongly opposed the
theory that an ideal athletic personality existed
and claimed that no personality profile has been
found to discriminate between athletes and non
athletes, Finally, Gould state that personality type
does not predict excellence or participation in
sport.

Below are some of the traits found within the trait

theory which determines an individual’s
personality.

-Type A vs. type B.

-Extraversion vs. introversion

-Neuroticism

The Type A and Type B personality theory.

When considering this theory in sport, we spilt the

two different personality traits into two separate
sections and label them type A and type B. The
theory is a personality type theory that describes a
pattern of behaviors after different situations and
is determined by the way in which an individual
responses.

-Type A individuals can be described as impatient,

time-conscious, controlling, concerned about their
status, highly competitive, ambitious, aggressive,
have difficulty relaxing and are sometimes disliked
by individuals with Type B personalities for the way
that they're always rushing. They are often high-
achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive
themselves with deadlines, and are unhappy about
delays.

Because of these characteristics, Type A

individuals are often the ones who tend to be in
control and lead in their chosen fields, for example
in sport this type tend to be the ones who
consecutively try their best, love to win and play at
a highly competitive set, becoming easily annoyed
if their performance wasn’t to a high enough
standard and trying/training harder in order to
strive and achieve a higher level of play… in his
book (1969 Type A Behavior: Its Diagnosis and
Treatment, Meyer Friedman) suggests that the
Type A personality group ‘’Tend to be Competitive,
this made them oriented towards achievement
which caused them to become stressed due to
wanting to be the best at whatever it may be i.e.
sports ’’Holding these traits within their personality
tends to make them out of the two the type which
is thought to fit in better in the sporting
environment.

-Type B individuals, in contrast, are described as

patient, relaxed, and easy-going, generally lacking
an overriding sense of urgency. This type in a
highly competitive or serious sporting environment
may struggle as certain traits such as the above
wouldn’t provide them with the energy and
enthusiasm to win and to the best possible and
instead they have that ‘play for enjoyment’
attitude, this however is a good outlook to have for
a non competitive, non serious level of sport

Extroversion vs. introversion.

There are a further two groups in which personality

can be explained, this is whether an individual is
an Extrovert or an Introvert. Whether you are more
of an introvert or extrovert can affect the type of
sport you like to play.

• Introverts

Tend to like sports which require:

 • Concentration
• Precision
• Self-motivation
• Intricate skills
• Low arousal levels
• Individual performances

-Introverted people tend to be quiet and

thoughtful, people who keep themselves to
themselves and tend to participate in individual
sports, this is perhaps because the sports
require less communication with others and
need high levels of self motivation and
concentration to succeed at. For example,
archery, golf and snooker, all sports which
introverted people seem to excel in because of
their personality traits and structures allowing
them to cope with the demands of the sport.

• Extroverts

The typical extrovert tends to be more Outgoing,

natural leaders, decision-makers, and socialites.
These traits allow them to interact and perform
better in a sporting activity with others, Extroverts
are usually the team captains, loud mouthed team
players who love competition and thrive of victory.

Preferring sports which are:

• Exciting
• Team sports
• Fast paced
• High arousal levels
• Large, simple motor skills
 • Low concentration

For example, rugby and boxing, an extrovert loves

to be in high contact sporting events and have high
levels of Aggression, as explained below by
(www.teachpe.com)

Aggression in sport.

‘’Aggression is any form of behaviour toward the

goal of harming or injuring another living being
who is motivated to avoid such treatment’’
(r.a.barron, 1977)

In considering modern sport certain types of

behaviour within sport are seen as acceptable
where as others are seen as unacceptable.
Aggressive or ‘’unacceptable behaviour’’ is
witnessed on a regular basis within many sporting
situations. It has been argued that the increase in
aggressive and unacceptable behaviour on the
pitch/court etc… is merely a reflection of general
behaviour within society as a whole.
The context in which the term aggression is used
sometimes causes confusion. It can be applied in
several different ways. Very often coaches demand
more aggression from players and these
aggressive actions are often praised e.g harder
tackling in rugby. These examples are of when the
word aggression is used as an adjective to infer
that a performer is being energetic or persistent in
their actions.
At the same time there are many actions which fall
into the unacceptable form of aggression e.g a
rugby player stamping on a player in a ruck or
verbal abused to officials.
Extroverted people are often involved and
therefore associated in sports which require a
degree of aggression. There are two types of
aggression:
• Indirect aggression
This means taking the aggression out on an object
For example the ball in golf, tennis or football

• Direct aggression
The aggression is in the direction of another player
Involves physical contact such as a rugby tackle or
in wrestling or boxing

Aggression can sometimes be the same as being

assertive and determined, in non-contact sports
especially, this is usually a good thing.

Assertive Behaviour.

Assertive behaviour is seen as the acceptable but

forceful behaviour. It is also;

• Goal directed behaviour

• The use of legitimate verbal or physical force
(involving energy and effort which, outside,
could be interpreted as aggression)
• Behaviour which has no intention to harm or
injure
• Behaviour which does not violate the agreed
rules of the sport e.g. strong tackling in rugby
etc…

Neuroticism.
For neuroticism, athletes scored significantly lower
than non-athletes, confirming previous research
that athletes are more stable (less neurotic) than
non-athletes (Kirkcaldy, 1982). ‘’People who are
high in neuroticism avoid sports participation.’’
(www.athleticinsight.com)

The Above statement taken from an experiment

conducted by the above people explains how
people who have higher traits of Neuroticism are
less likely to be of a sporting background,
Neuroticism is a personality trait which is an
enduring tendency to experience negative
emotional states. Individuals who score high on
neuroticism are more likely than the average to
experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt,
and depressed mood. They are often self-conscious
and shy. When in sport having a high level of
Neuroticism could hold an athlete back from
reaching their potential. For example in boxing, if
the athlete feels guilty and sorry for his opponent
after every punch, he/she will perform less
aggressively and throw less punches as to not hurt
the opponent leading to the opening of possibilities
for the opponent to step in and take control.
Another example would be for kick-boxing or cage
fighting, is one competitor comes into the
ring/arena with his head down, self conscious,
audience shy and timid the opponent will
automatically think they have the upper hand and
re-assure themselves, gain more confidence for a
win. From this the conclusion is that high levels of
Neuroticism when in sport are a trait which isn’t
desired or helpful for an athlete.

• Marten Schematic view.

Within this view, there is seen to be three different
levels which all relate and conjoin together.

-Psychological core.
-Typical responses.
-Role-related behaviour.

Psychological core is explained as the central,

internal, and consistent part of an individual's
personality. It includes an individual's self concept,
basic values, attitudes, and motives; a person's
true self.

Typical responses displays how you react and

respond under different circumstances and
situations for example when your treated unfairly
in a sport say illegally tackled or exposed to foul
play in a rugby game you may get easily
aggravated and annoyed, but when faced with a
group communication situation you could tend to
be quiet and reserved because you don’t feel as
comfortable in that environment.

Role-related behaviour is an individual's behaviour

that is determined by the role of the person and
the person's perception of how he or she should
behave... in different circumstances you find
yourself taking on different roles someday being
the leader and giving out instructions and orders ,
sometimes taking the orders and being instructed.

• The Psychodynamic Theory.

Psychodynamics is the theory of the

psychological forces that underlie human behavior,
emphasizing the interplay between unconscious
and conscious motivation. It’s the theory of inner
conflicts which surface in behavior or emotions.
Generally, one conflict is subconscious; it’s spilt
into three groups

Id, ego, super-ego

They are the three theoretical constructs in terms

of whose activity and interaction mental life is
described.

Id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends;

The id is the unorganized part of the personality
structure that contains the basic drives and is
amoral and selfish, It acts according to the
"pleasure principle", seeking to avoid pain or
unpleasant events has been described as the dark,
inaccessible part of our personality, of a negative
character which can be described only as a
contrast to the ego. And can sometimes cause
mistakes when taking part in sport, for example
freezing at the start of a big race event because of
fear and threaten of expectations.

Ego is the organized, realistic part, seeking to

please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will
benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.

Super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role.

Aiming for perfection, criticizing and prohibiting
ones drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions. ‘’The
Super-ego can be thought of as a type of
conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings
of guilt’’ Arthur S. Reber, the Penguin Dictionary of
Psychology (1985)

Both the ego and super ego play more or less the
same part when in physical activity, for example
suggesting someone else on the team to take the
penalty in football, because of the ‘fear of failure’
and negative recognition from watchers/other
athletes etc…

The ego will release

the desire of the id.
Often this will result in
an undesired response
if the super ego fails as
a defence mechanism
of control, as in this
picture.

For example in a netball game, if foul play has

been conducted towards you the desire to respond
in a similar manner would be your id, the though
process of what is right and wrong moral wise (it’s
ok because I was harmed first it’s wrong to
responds with violence) is your super ego and the
decision making role falls on the shoulders of your
ego…what would be the after realistic physical
effects of my actions? Could I get sent off and
jeopardise my team.

Integrationist theory

Behaviour=Function of personality x Environment.

This approach considers both the inherited
characteristics (genes) and the environmental
influences in the development of personality. This
theory combines trait and social learning theories
and is generally accepted to be a more realistic
explanation of personality.
A psychologist named Bowers (1978) went so far
as to claim that ‘interaction between the person
and the situation explains twice as much as traits
and situations alone’
The sport psychologist aims to produce a
personality profile. These are produced through
testing using methods such as observational
assessing and self questioning.
However there are problems associated with this
theory, although there is evidence gained from the
self reports/questioning and observational studies
it is not completely reliable due to the subjective
nature of the conclusion. The evidence can also be
in danger of becoming too generalised.

From the different traits and types of personalities

researched in this essay, it’s clear to see that
every sport requires a different type of personality,
and so some people can excel in one sport whilst
being average or below in another, this is because
of the traits they hold and how they work with or
against them. There is no right personality or
approach to have overall as different environments
need different personalities for different sports.
 Bibliography.

• Arthur S. Reber, the Penguin Dictionary of

Psychology (1985)

• (www.athleticinsight.com)
• (www.teachpe.com
• (r.a.barron, 1977)

• Psychology Notes

• Classroom Notes

• Advanced PE for OCR a2 Daniel Bonney, John

Ireland, Claire Miller, Ken mackreth, Ian
Thomas, Sarah Van Wely (2004)

Olivia McCarthy 12PDL.