Personality

• Personality is the individual characteristics that make a person unique.
• Trait theory of personality:

  Born with personality/innate

  Inhertied, affected by parental genes

  Stable and enduring

  Predictable, generalised behaviour

  Environment has no impact

  Sports performance can be helped or hindered depending on personality.
• Eyesneck personality inventory (trait):

  Personality is tested along 2 dimensions, stable/unstable and introvert/extrovert.

  Stable - emotionally calm, predictable behaviour and recover from stressful situations quickly.

  Unstable - worry, anxious, emotional and unpredictable.

  Introvert - unsociable, likes peace and quiet and good at concentrating.

  Extrovert - sociable/outgoing, seeks excitement and may lack concentration.
• Type A

  • Highly competitive
  • Strong desire to succeed
  • Completes tasks quickly
  • Likes to be in control
  • Intolerant and prone to suffer stress
• Type B

  • Non-competitive
  • Lacks desire to succeed
  • Works more slowly
  • Doesn't enjoy control
  • Less prone to stress and tolerant
• Social learning theory of personality

  Personality is learned by watching and copying role models, modelling is more likely if these people are significant/successful/similar (age, ability, sport), behaviour is reinforced by watching others receiving praise, socialisation and upbringing has an influence on personality, inborn traits have no impact, explains how children adopt norms and social values of a culture
• Bandura's model of social and observational learning

  1. Attention

  2. Retention

  3. Motor reproduction

  4. Motivation
• Interactionist theory of personality

  Personality and behaviour is influenced by innate personality factors and the environment, the response from one person in a certain situation may differ in another situation, behaviour changes on the demands of the situation, performance can be helped or hindered depending on how the performer sees the demand
• Interactionist theory of personality

  • Considers effects of both traits/genetics and the environment
  • More realistic explanation of how personality occurs
  • Accounts for changes in personality in different situations
  • Explains why behaviour is unpredictable
  • Doesn't explain why we act differently when the same pressures/demands are put on us
• Aggression is any behaviour intended to harm a living being or object through verbal/physical means.
• Anger is when a person thinks about, or intends to, but doesn‘t carry out aggressive behaviour.
• Violence is a severe form of aggression.
• Accident is to harm without intention.
• Assertion is the strive for competitive success without intent to harm and within the rules.
• Instrumental/channelled aggression is to gain an advantage over an opponent, sometimes within the rules, with no anger but the intention to harm.
• Hostile/reactive aggression is to cause harm, with intention, with anger and breaking the rules.
• Instinct theory of aggression:

  Aggression is innate, aggressive tendencies are stable/predictable, natural human instinct to defend, can be hard to control, aggression in sport can be healthy as it is released as catharsis and environment has no effect on aggression.
• Instinct theory of aggression:

  Aggressive acts can be hard to control, aggression seen in parents and their children shows it is innate, you do feel a release of aggression during sport as catharsis, aggression can be predictable, too simple, aggression is rarely spontaneous and usually provoked, not everyone shows aggression and ignores the impact of environment.
• Social learning theory of aggression:

  If performers watch someone else be aggressive they may copy, aggression can occur if performers watch their role model being aggressive (significant/similar), an aggressive upbringing and socialisation makes a person more likely to be aggressive, vicarious/direct reinforcement can increase aggressive acts and inborn traits have no impact.
• Social learning theory of aggression:

  Aggressive role models can have a big impact on admirers, considers environmental factors, explains differences why some people are aggressive and others aren’t, people can learn to be aggressive by watching and copying others, some realise aggression with intent to harm is wrong and won’t copy, doesn't consider genetics, doesn't explain impulse of aggression and not everyone with an aggressive role model will be aggressive.
• Frustration aggression hypothesis:

  Frustration develops when goal directed behaviour is blocked, frustration always leads to aggression, successful aggressive acts result in the aggressor feeling good and frustration being released as catharsis, unsuccessful aggressive acts result in the aggressor being punished which could lead to more frustration and aggression.
• Frustration aggression hypothesis:

  More realistic than instinct theory, frustration can lead to aggression, people do get frustrated when their goals are blocked, catharsis can be achieved, frustration doesn’t always lead to aggression, aggression isn’t satisfying to most and often creates regret, aggression can occur without frustration and it doesn’t consider circumstances.
• Aggressive cue hypothesis:

  Frustration develops when goal directed behaviour is blocked, frustration only leads to an increase in arousal, frustration can lead to a readiness to be aggressive, aggressive behaviour must be triggered, if aggressive cues are present frustration is more likely to lead to aggression and vice versa, interactionist view is frustration generated by the environment triggers an aggressive gene.
• Aggressive cues increase the likelihood of aggression, e.g:

  People - rival/biased referee

  Places - venue you have been hurt at

  Sports - ice hockey vs ballet

  Objects - hockey stick/bat
• Aggressive cue hypothesis:

  People do get frustrated when their goals are blocked, aggression must be triggered, aggressive cues do make frustration more likely to lead to aggression, most realistic theory, same cue can cause a different response, same ability to recognise aggression and avoid it.
• Leadership is a behavioural process of influencing others towards set goals.

  Good leader - confident, charismatic, good communication, motivator, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and adaptable.
• Emergent leaders naturally arise from within the group and the group can select a member of the group as a leader.

  Prescribed leaders are appointed by a higher authority and can be selected from outside the group.
• Trait theory of leadership:

  Leaders are usually male (great man theory), leaders are born with certain traits and physical attributes that can make them a natural leader, enduring and stable, environment has no impact, leadership traits like confidence and charisma are pre determined, can be influenced positively or negatively by innate personality characteristics, e.g introvert/extrovert.
• Trait theory of leadership:

  Can be born with certain leadership traits, leadership traits can be stable, leadership can be helped/hindered by personality, some leaders do always lead in the same way, doesn't consider good female leaders, situational factors/interactions can affect leadership, leaders don’t always display leadership traitors and you can learn leadership traits off others.
• Social learning theory of leadership:

  Leaders learn to be leaders through watching and copying others, leaders behaviour is copied from significant others/role models, leadership qualities aren’t inborn, watching leaders recieve reinforcement makes behaviour more likely to be copied (vicarious reinforcement) and doesn't consider effects of trait.
• Social learning theory of leadership:

  Leaders can learn by watching and copying others, leadership behaviour is copied from role models, watching other recieve reinforcement makes us more likely to copy, not all people exposed to the same role model lead in the same way and ignores importance of traits.
• Interactionist theory of leadership:

  Traits and environment interact to influence leadership, leadership style changes in different situations, inborn leadership traits are shown if the situation demands it, most plausible theory as an effective leader has leadership qualities from birth/develops them/learns through experience.
• Interactionist theory of leadership:

  Both traits and environment can influence leadership, an effective leader has qualities from birth/develops them/learns through experience, ignores the effect of traits alone.
• Autocratic leadership:

  Task orientated, task completion is top priority, leader makes all decisions/inflexible authoritarian, command style based on strong rules and rarely gets involved on a personal level.

  Good for - males, children, beginners, larger groups, dangerous tasks, limited time, when performers want autocratic leadership and hostile group.
• Democratic leadership:

  Person orientated, shows concern for others, shares decision making, informal/relaxed/active and shows interest in others.

  Good for - females, adults, experts, individual performers, small groups, safe tasks, lots of time available, when performers want autocratic and friendly group.
• Laissez faire leadership:

  Makes no decisions, takes a back seat, group makes all decisions and is passive.

  Good for - developing creativity, elite performers , assessing performers and leader fully trusts group.
• Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model of sport leadership

  • Situational characteristics - can differ, e.g group size and time available
  • Required behaviour - the leadership style that needs to be used given the situation
  • Member characteristics - qualities of the group, e.g skill level and age
  • Preferred behaviour - the way the group want to be led
  • Leader characteristics - the qualities the leader possesses/natural leadership style
  • Actual behaviour - how the leader chooses to lead
• If all behaviours are congruent


  The group will be satisfied which encourages participation, performance should be high which increases satisfaction
• If behaviours are incongruent


  There would be a drop in performance
• If the leadership style doesn't suit the group

  Satisfaction will drop