chapter 6 sports psych

• personality = unique psychological makeup, each person in sport has their own personality profile and it can have implications on how coaches and players should approach training and competition
• nature approach to personality suggests that characteristics are innate
• nurture approach of personality suggests that characteristics are learned
• trait theory = individual is born with innate traits that are stable, enduring and stay the same in different situations
• behaviour is said to be consistent so that the performer will behave the same in most situations
• trait theory attempts to predict behaviour because if traits are stable, there is a good chance we can expect and predict the same behaviour most of the time
• problem with trait theory is that it does not always take into account personality change and role of the environment and past experiences
• social learning theory = suggests that behaviour is learned from significant others by socialisation
• social learning indicates that we learn traits through other people that we hold in high esteem, such as parents, role models, teachers and freinds
• socialisation = when personality traits can be developed by associating with other people and picking up their behaviour
• we are more likely to learn reinforced behaviour that is consistently shown to us
• social learning approach:

  
• interactionist perspective of personality = combines trait and social learning theory to predict behaviour in a specific situation
• interactionist implies how both genetic and environmental influences can impact behaviour, suggests that the traits we are born with are adapted and used according to the situation
• interactionist approach therefore accounts for behaviour change and suggests that behaviour is adapted to suit the situation
• Lewin (1935) suggested that the interactionist approach is explained by Lewin's formula, where behaviour is a function of personality and the environment, so if consistent traits can be adapted to a situation, there will be a typical response
• Lewin's formula:

  B f (PxE)
• Hollander approach to interactionist theory = suggests that personality is made up of 3 key features:

  1. core of the performer
  2. typical responses
  3. role-related behaviour
• Hollander suggests that the more the environment has an influence on a person's personality, the more likely behaviour is going to change
• Hollander model core

  1. core is stable and solid and not likely to change, beliefs and values are underlying
• Hollander model typical response

  1. typical responses are the usual responses the player would make in a given situation
• Hollander role-related behaviour:

  1. role-related behaviour implies that further changes to behaviour may be needed as the situation demands
• the Hollander model:

  
• the impact of the interactionist approach can be explained in team games, a player may have strong core values of work ethic, and is an attacker who makes a lot of effort, but they track back in a close game to allow defenders to protect the lead
• Hollander believed that the environment therefore does influence behaviour and he supported the idea of the interactionist theory
• a clever coach could use the interactionist idea to help improve team or individual performance by:

  1. predicting any potential aggressive behaviour and removing them
  2. identifying weaknesses and replicating them in training
  3. change player behaviour by encouraging adaptation
• credulous approach = when the link between personality and behaviour is accepted, and theories are trusted
• sceptical approach = when the link between personality and behaviour is doubted
• attitude = value aimed at an attitude object
• an attitude has been called a mental and neural state of readiness towards an attitude object and individuals involved in sport
• attitudes are formed by associating with others and picking up their values and opinions, and more likely to learn them through significant others and are reinforced many times
• familiarisation = becoming used to the attitudes of others and accepting those attitudes and beliefs as normal
• attitudes can become conditioned by behaviour that is successful and reinforced
• reinforcement = a way of promoting correct actions according to the principle of operant conditioning
• attitude is made up of the triadic model

  1. cognitive
  2. affective
  3. behavioural
• cognitive component of attitude = deep rooted part of attitude and represents your beliefs
• affective part of attitude = feelings and emotions of the player and how they are interpreted
• behavioural part of attitude = reflects what you do, shown by actions and habits of the performer
• two concepts to help attitudes change:

  1. cognitive dissonance
  2. persuasive communication
• cognitive dissonance, coach puts pressure on one or more components of attitude so the performer becomes uneasy and is motivated to change their existing attitude