Summary Sports psychology PE Alevel AQA

Personality
Personality: unique psychological makeup - Combination of our traits/characteristics that make us act and
behave in the way we do
 In sport, each performer has their own personality profile (e.g. coping under pressure)
 Personality differences has implications for the way coaches/players should approach training &
competition – understanding the influence of personality factors can help improve performance
 Nature Vs Nurture debate about personality characteristics

Trait theory
This theory suggests that innate characteristics produce consistent behaviour & is predictable
 Born with personality traits that are innate, fixed, stable & consistent
e.g. Extrovert = loud, bright, opinionated personality – in sport extrovert manner is seen in training,
competition & team discussions
 Attempts to predict behaviour as a can expect a performer will behave in the same way in most situations
 Doesn’t account for personality change – behaviour may change depending on situation (behaviour may
change during a game/post game)
 Doesn’t account for experience forming personality (punishment & learned behaviour)

Social learning approach (SLT)
This theory suggests behaviour is learned from significant others
 Process = socialisation: associating with others and picking up their behaviour
 Role models, friends & parents
 More likely to learn reinforced (successful) & consistently seen behaviour
 Behaviour is more likely to be copied if witnessed live (in person)
 Learn behaviour from experience
 OBSERVE  IDENTIFY  REINFORCE  COPY
 e.g. Copying goal celebrations of professional footballers

Interactionist perspective
This theory combines trait + SLT to predict behaviour in a specific situation
 Explains how personality develops
 Genetic + environmental influences on behaviour
LEWIN APPROACH TO PERSONALITY:
 Accounts for behaviour change
 Individuals adapt and use their innate traits according to the situation/environment
 Explains why people have different personalities in different situations
 Lewin’s formula – B = (P  E) – behaviour is a function of personality & environment
 Innate, consistent traits are adapted to situation  typical response can be predicted in similar situations
 Helps coaches predict how a player will react in a specific situation
HOLLANDER APPROACH TO INTERACTIONIST THEORY:
1) Core of the performer = underlying values & beliefs of an individual; stable, solid
& not likely to change
2) Typical responses = performers usual response (use of innate traits) in a specific
situation
3) Role-related behaviour = further changes to behaviour may be needed as the
situation demands (e.g. adapting to a very specific role in certain circumstances)
o Environment influences behaviour - the more environmental influence, the more behaviour is likely to
change (neurotic/changeable traits: e.g. aggression levels depends on importance of the game)
Using the interactionist approach to improve performance
 Coach can identify situations that worsen performance or cause inappropriate behaviour & create similar
situations in training so the performer can learn to cope and overcome these situations in a game
 Coach can encourage players to adapt to specific circumstances & offer guidance in training about how to
cope in game situations (high-pressure where they may feel anxious), so players learn control
 Coach can predict inappropriate behaviour (aggression) and remove the player from the situation to avoid
this

, Predicting behaviour in sport
Credulous approach: idea that personality can predict behaviour (link between personality & behaviour is
accepted)
Sceptical approach: idea that personality doesn’t accurately predict behaviour
Some sports psychologists are sceptical because there is no link between personality and performance,
behaviour can change & adapt during a game meaning research of personality can be unreliable and invalid.


Attitude
Attitude: a value aimed at an attitude object
 ‘what you think about something’ – an opinion/belief
 Mental & neural state of readiness towards an attitude object
 +ve attitude in sport = motivation & persistence
 ve attitude in sport = lack of effort & effect team cohesion

Attitude formation
 Socialisation - associating with significant others (rolemodels) and picking up their opinions and
values.
 Familiarisation - becoming familiar with frequently seen attitudes & accepting them as normal
 Operant conditioning = reinforcement of behaviour (e.g. praise for success = +ve attitude)
o Lack of +ve reinforcement to change behaviour can condition ve attitudes
o Encouraging +ve attitudes maintains motivation & effort
 Experience

Attitude components
Triadic model: 3 components of an
attitude (CAB):
 Cognitive = beliefs (what you think)
 Affective = feelings/emotional
response & interpretation of these (e.g.
enjoyment)
 Behavioural = actions, your intended
behaviour dependent on your attitude
(what you do, e.g. habits)




Attitude change
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: new information given to the performer to cause unease & motivate change
 Unbalancing one area of the triadic model by providing new information/putting pressure on an
attitude component
 Attempts to cause conflict/unease in thinking to motivate change of an existing attitude
 A coach can use this by:
o Providing new information about activities causing the performer to challenge current beliefs
o Presenting a new form of activity & pointing out the benefits (for their sport) – new experiences
o Making the activity fun & varied  more enjoyable
o Using rewards and reinforcement (praise/prizes)
o Bring in a specialist (pro/role model) to encourage participation