Unit 6 – Sports Psychology Luka Chukwu Assignment 1
Unit 6: Psychological factors and its impact on group dynamics in team sports
performance
Sports psychology is the study of the mind and how it can affect performances as a player.
There are many different areas that make up sports psychology such as personality and
motivation and each of these areas have different theories about how they work.
Sports psychology is becoming increasingly more popular, but it originally began in the late 19th
century by Norman Triplett. He realised that cyclists that rode with other people performed
better than by themselves due to the social and competitive aspects of being in a group. In the
1900s, German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt founded the world's first psychology lab and
Coleman Griffith popularised this theory in America where he would perform experiments to test
American football players’ reaction time. It is also one of the 4 pillars of sports which include
sports science, psychology, nutrition and performance. The growing popularity of sports
psychology means that clubs around the world all have a psychologist to improve the players’
performance as they remove mental blocks and prepares the mind for enduring challenges and
commitment of playing sports.
There are 5 factors that contribute to sports psychology, and they are:
Personality
Motivation
Anxiety
Arousal
Stress
The first factor, personality, is the sum of characteristics that make a person unique. Weinburg
and Gould 2011. It is all your traits and beliefs that make someone who they are and different
from another person. Personality benefits all sports as it can create team cohesion within a
group and different personalities are able to work together. There are many theories about
personality as some believe some parts of our personality are more important and predominant
than others. However, in all these theories, they include:
Psychological core – your beliefs, values, attitudes and interests (unless there is an
external force.
,Unit 6 – Sports Psychology Luka Chukwu Assignment 1
Typical responses – the usual way you would respond to situations.
Role related behaviour – your behaviour determined by the circumstances you find
yourself in
Trait – a relatively stable and enduring characteristic that makes up your personality
<--- Marten’s schematic view
One of these theories is Marten’s schematic view. It is a triangle diagram that describes what
your personality is formed of. At the base, there is a psychological core which is internal and
constant that determines “the real you” from your attitudes, values and beliefs. Next is typical
responses which are controlled by your social environment, so it can change. These responses
are good indicators of your psychological core. An example of a typical response is in football
when you get fouled. You can either react aggressively to your opponent or stay composed and
do nothing about it afterwards. The top of the triangle is role related behaviour which is external
and dynamic. This is what you show to others and changes depending on the circumstances
you find yourself in. Personally, I don't believe this diagram is correct in sports performance
because when you are performing, your beliefs and values are the least important as your
external actions determine whether you play well or not and win. However, in some cases
where the 2 sides are almost equal in ability, it could come down to who has the most
motivation and who wants it more. My view can also be contradicted as performance is not only
dependant on physical ability, but it can also be affected by morale, team cohesion and mental
factors. The typical responses should be at the base because it is how you respond to situations
and can decide how you play. However, from a psychological point of view, this theory would be
accurate because the psychological core makes you who you are so should be the biggest part.
Role related behaviour would be at the top as the circumstances you find yourself in doesn't
change from your everyday life rarely. The motivation that you have from outside and inside the
game can influence your role related behaviour as you may feel more confident with extra
motivation and perform better. If a footballer was told by their manager before a match to play
their style of play and do what they do best, they will be more confident and try risky plays that
may work out in the end because of their ability.
, Unit 6 – Sports Psychology Luka Chukwu Assignment 1
Another theory is the psychodynamic theory which states that your personality is a set of
processes that is constantly changing. This theory is made of 2 themes:
Unconscious – your natural instinct, super ego.
Conscious – when you think about a situation
The unconscious side of your personality are the actions you do without thinking and processing
what you do. This could be when a player steps up for a penalty in football and they become
overwhelmed and filled with anxiety so much that they freeze up. The conscious side of your
personality shows when you take time to think about your environment and the situation you are
in. It could show when a player refuses to take a penalty because they know the outcome if they
miss and letting the fans and team down. From both a sports performance and psychological
point of view, I believe this is a valid theory because different situations and environments will
lead you to act differently depending on many factors such as familiarity and pressure of the
moment. This can be linked to Martins Schematic view as psychological core is the main part of
your personality and will determine how you act unconsciously.
The trait centred theory says the basic fundamentals of someone's personality are stable while
in different situations. Trait, in this context, determines how you act. The way someone
responds to a situation will not change no matter what the situation is. An example of this is
when an athlete's competitiveness will show in their games and in everyday life when, for
example, applying for a job or doing coursework for school, they will always give their best
efforts. However, someone may feel more determined and competitive when doing an activity
they are interested in. In those 2 previous scenarios, the player may have a greater desire to
win and be more competitive in the match rather than doing coursework because they have a
greater passion for the sport. This theory also believes personality to have 2 main dimensions:
Introversion – dislikes loud environments and prefers tasks involving high concentration
Extroversion – actively seeks excitement, bored when given high concentration tasks
Introverted people tend to be quiet and to themselves. Usually, they prefer individual sports that
have a limited actions and can perform intricate skills well. A typical example of an introverted
sport would be tennis. Extroverted people tend to be more sociable and optimistic. Usually, they
prefer team sports that have elevated levels of arousal and get impatient with intricate skills. I do
not agree with this theory because people can act differently in different situations. For example,
Unit 6: Psychological factors and its impact on group dynamics in team sports
performance
Sports psychology is the study of the mind and how it can affect performances as a player.
There are many different areas that make up sports psychology such as personality and
motivation and each of these areas have different theories about how they work.
Sports psychology is becoming increasingly more popular, but it originally began in the late 19th
century by Norman Triplett. He realised that cyclists that rode with other people performed
better than by themselves due to the social and competitive aspects of being in a group. In the
1900s, German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt founded the world's first psychology lab and
Coleman Griffith popularised this theory in America where he would perform experiments to test
American football players’ reaction time. It is also one of the 4 pillars of sports which include
sports science, psychology, nutrition and performance. The growing popularity of sports
psychology means that clubs around the world all have a psychologist to improve the players’
performance as they remove mental blocks and prepares the mind for enduring challenges and
commitment of playing sports.
There are 5 factors that contribute to sports psychology, and they are:
Personality
Motivation
Anxiety
Arousal
Stress
The first factor, personality, is the sum of characteristics that make a person unique. Weinburg
and Gould 2011. It is all your traits and beliefs that make someone who they are and different
from another person. Personality benefits all sports as it can create team cohesion within a
group and different personalities are able to work together. There are many theories about
personality as some believe some parts of our personality are more important and predominant
than others. However, in all these theories, they include:
Psychological core – your beliefs, values, attitudes and interests (unless there is an
external force.
,Unit 6 – Sports Psychology Luka Chukwu Assignment 1
Typical responses – the usual way you would respond to situations.
Role related behaviour – your behaviour determined by the circumstances you find
yourself in
Trait – a relatively stable and enduring characteristic that makes up your personality
<--- Marten’s schematic view
One of these theories is Marten’s schematic view. It is a triangle diagram that describes what
your personality is formed of. At the base, there is a psychological core which is internal and
constant that determines “the real you” from your attitudes, values and beliefs. Next is typical
responses which are controlled by your social environment, so it can change. These responses
are good indicators of your psychological core. An example of a typical response is in football
when you get fouled. You can either react aggressively to your opponent or stay composed and
do nothing about it afterwards. The top of the triangle is role related behaviour which is external
and dynamic. This is what you show to others and changes depending on the circumstances
you find yourself in. Personally, I don't believe this diagram is correct in sports performance
because when you are performing, your beliefs and values are the least important as your
external actions determine whether you play well or not and win. However, in some cases
where the 2 sides are almost equal in ability, it could come down to who has the most
motivation and who wants it more. My view can also be contradicted as performance is not only
dependant on physical ability, but it can also be affected by morale, team cohesion and mental
factors. The typical responses should be at the base because it is how you respond to situations
and can decide how you play. However, from a psychological point of view, this theory would be
accurate because the psychological core makes you who you are so should be the biggest part.
Role related behaviour would be at the top as the circumstances you find yourself in doesn't
change from your everyday life rarely. The motivation that you have from outside and inside the
game can influence your role related behaviour as you may feel more confident with extra
motivation and perform better. If a footballer was told by their manager before a match to play
their style of play and do what they do best, they will be more confident and try risky plays that
may work out in the end because of their ability.
, Unit 6 – Sports Psychology Luka Chukwu Assignment 1
Another theory is the psychodynamic theory which states that your personality is a set of
processes that is constantly changing. This theory is made of 2 themes:
Unconscious – your natural instinct, super ego.
Conscious – when you think about a situation
The unconscious side of your personality are the actions you do without thinking and processing
what you do. This could be when a player steps up for a penalty in football and they become
overwhelmed and filled with anxiety so much that they freeze up. The conscious side of your
personality shows when you take time to think about your environment and the situation you are
in. It could show when a player refuses to take a penalty because they know the outcome if they
miss and letting the fans and team down. From both a sports performance and psychological
point of view, I believe this is a valid theory because different situations and environments will
lead you to act differently depending on many factors such as familiarity and pressure of the
moment. This can be linked to Martins Schematic view as psychological core is the main part of
your personality and will determine how you act unconsciously.
The trait centred theory says the basic fundamentals of someone's personality are stable while
in different situations. Trait, in this context, determines how you act. The way someone
responds to a situation will not change no matter what the situation is. An example of this is
when an athlete's competitiveness will show in their games and in everyday life when, for
example, applying for a job or doing coursework for school, they will always give their best
efforts. However, someone may feel more determined and competitive when doing an activity
they are interested in. In those 2 previous scenarios, the player may have a greater desire to
win and be more competitive in the match rather than doing coursework because they have a
greater passion for the sport. This theory also believes personality to have 2 main dimensions:
Introversion – dislikes loud environments and prefers tasks involving high concentration
Extroversion – actively seeks excitement, bored when given high concentration tasks
Introverted people tend to be quiet and to themselves. Usually, they prefer individual sports that
have a limited actions and can perform intricate skills well. A typical example of an introverted
sport would be tennis. Extroverted people tend to be more sociable and optimistic. Usually, they
prefer team sports that have elevated levels of arousal and get impatient with intricate skills. I do
not agree with this theory because people can act differently in different situations. For example,
