The Importance and Role of the Individual in Sports Activities - Essay Example

?Personality in sports and performance “In the field of sports you are more or less accepted for what you do rather than what you are” Althea Gibson Introduction: Personality attributes of athletes feature quite prominently in most of the sports related topics and has been covered extensively by both the print as well as mass media. Such observations are largely based on the mounting evidence of a strong and direct relationship between the two and the hypothesis that personality plays a central role in influencing important outcomes such in everyday life of human beings including - the field of academics, choice of vocations, or behaviour of individuals in work place as well as in sports (Ferguson, Sanders, O'Hehir & James, 2000; Robertson et al., 2000; Aidman & Schofield, 2004). Various researchers, on the basis of studies in sports psychology, have predicted and established a strong relationship between personality and its impact on achievement in sports, signifying the role of personality in influencing outcomes in performance in sports (Deary & Matthews, 1993; Diamant, Byrd & Himelein, 1991; Eysenck, 1995; Liwei & Leahy, 1993). The relationship between and impact of personality on sports achievement has been studied by various researchers (Davies & Mogk, 1994; Kirkcaldy, 1982) in a wide variety of sports ranging from basketball to hockey, and American football to mountaineering, rowing as well as other similar sports (Magni et al., 1985; Egloff & Jan Gruhn, 1996; Morgan et al., 1988). This paper on “Personality and Sports Performance” attempts to study, analyze and assess the impact and influence of personality on various factors such as the coach-athlete relationship; aggression in sports; motivation and performance; etc. The relationship between personality and sports performance is studied with the help of various theories of personality and other factors such as intrinsic, extrinsic motivation and de-motivation. Theories of personality: There are various theories of personality which explain the impact and influence of the same on sports performance, such as Sheldon’s constitutional theory, the Psychodynamic theory, the Trait theory etc. Sheldon's constitutional theory states that the constitution or somatotype of an athlete influences their personality types and traits. According to him there are three somatotypes based on the body shapes of athletes which include ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph, and these personality traits determine the behaviour and performance of athletes. Source: Adams, (2007) Pp. 82 The athletes who fall under the Ectomorph category are known to have a shy and introverted personality which results in behaviour characterised by high sensitivity and self awareness. This type of behaviour is mostly observed in sports such as marathon running. The Endomorph personality is characterized by traits such as sociability, friendliness, and outgoing while the mesomorph personality is characterised by high levels of competitiveness, aggression and risk taking abilities. These traits are highly visible in team sports such as football and rugby (Adams, 2007). The Trait theory which is one of the most widely used personality theories in the field of sports suggests that individuals have certain unique traits or characteristics which determine and influence the way one behaves in a given situation. These personality traits are suitable for different types of sports. The traits identified in individuals according to this theory, include passiveness, aggressiveness, intelligence, introvert, extrovert, stable, submissive, conscientious, venturesome, tough-minded, shrewdness, etc., among many others. Hence, individuals who are identified with personality traits such as aggression are more likely to play aggressive sports such as rugby or boxing, while those identified with personality traits such as shrewdness or intelligence are more likely to play sports such as chess (Jenkins, 2005). The Psychodynamic theory of personality states that the personality of an athlete develops over time through experience. Thus unlike other theories whereby the personality of an individual is considered inherent to the individual this theory suggests that the individual's personality is subject to change and the behaviour of an athlete is likely to change over time, and so is their approach to sports, thus indirectly affecting their performance in sports. For instance, if an aggressive player is penalized and fined for the aggressive and hostile behaviour on field, the athlete is likely to change such behaviour to avoid such penalties and improve their performance on the field (Deardoff, Higgs, 2000). Coach-Athlete Relationship: "There is no doubt that performance sports coaching involves a complex set of power relationships and that this gives a potential for a re-conceptualization of coaching styles and interpersonal relationships" Lyle, (2002) Pp. 201 The relationship between coach and athletes is central to the field of sports and plays a key role in influencing the behaviour and performance of individuals as well as teams. There is an inherent element of power, authority, and inter-dependence between athletes and their coach, and it is on account of such power that the coach holds on the athletes which determine the performance outcomes of individuals. The impact of coach-athlete relationship on sports performance differs greatly with respect to the type of sport - i.e. individual or team sport. According to Taylor & Wilson (2005) the coaches and athletes of individual sports such as golf, swimming, boxing etc., have a better chance of developing a one-to-one communication and understand each other better as compared to team sports. Such an understanding leads to better performance, motivation and development of trust among the athletes. Figure: Coach-Athlete Relationship Model Source: Jowett, (2007) Pp. 10 A positive coach-athlete relationship fosters better understanding, hence resulting in better performances by the athletes. According to Gould et al., (2007) there is a direct and positive relationship between effective communication between the coaches and the athletes in enhancing the learning capabilities and development of life skills in youth sports. Researchers in the field of sports psychology state that the mutual and causal interdependence in the relationship between coaches and the athletes is central to enhance the sports performance and vital for the sport in general. Behavioural researchers argue that a negative coach-athlete relationship results in poor performance while a positive coach-athlete relationship invariably leads to a better performance and lower drop-out rates in youth sport (in Burg, 2008). Effect of Aggression: The issue of aggression in sports has been studied widely by sports psychologists since decades. Various studies have shown the influence of aggression on performance in sports (Hanegby & Tenenbaum, 2001; Loughead & Leith, 2001; Sheldon & Aimar, 2001). Aggressive behaviour is defined as any physical action by an athlete, which is initiated with an intention to cause physical or verbal harm or injury to another individual to gain a psychological edge over the opponent/s (Silva, 1980). Since a significant proportion of sports entail legitimate physical contact / interaction between players such as basketball, rugby, soccer / football, wrestling, boxing, etc., estimating or assessing the actual impact of aggression in the context of sports is relatively tedious task (Grange & Kerr, 2010; Kerr, 2005; Russell, 2008). This is because there is a significant difference between aggression which is intended to cause physical harm or injury to the opponent and legitimate sports or play aggression / assertiveness (Cox, 2007; Apter, 2001; Kerr, 2005) whereby the athletes' actions are not intended to cause harm, but the harm caused is unintentional or incidental to the sport. Various studies have been conducted to assess the effect of aggression on sports performance. According to a study conducted by Sheldon & Aimar (2001) it was observed that aggression in hockey often leads to success. This observation has been validated by other similar studies which found a positive relationship between aggression on the field and positive outcomes. According to studies, there is a direct and positive relationship between the number of wins of a team, and the number of penalties received by them (Andrews, 1974; Wankel, 1973). Studies indicate that winning teams were found to have committed more fouls in a game as compared to the losing teams and the winning teams were likely to be far more aggressive with each success / consecutive wins (Loughead & Leigh, 2001; Gee & Leith, 2006; Jones, Bray, & Oliver, 2005). Research indicates that hostile aggression results in a high amount of arousal on field which helps the athlete in maintaining high energy levels throughout the game which is critical for success in any sport (Apter 2001; Grange & Kerr, 2010; Robazza & Bortoli, 2007). References: Adams, M., (2007). Sport and exercise science, Heinemann Publications, Pp. 81-83 Aidman, E.V., & Schofield, G. (2004). Personality and Individual Differences in Sport. In T. Morris & J. Summers (Eds.), Sport Psychology: Theory, Applications and Issues (2nd Ed.) (pp. 22-47). Milton: Wiley. Andrews, R. (1974). A Spearman rank order correlation for 18 NHL teams. In National Hockey League Guide. Montreal: National Hockey League. Apter, M. J. (2001). Motivational states in everyday life: A guide to reversal theory. Washington: American Psychological Association. Cox, R. H. (2007). Sport psychology: Concepts and applications, (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Davis, C., & Mogk, J.P. (1994). Some personality correlates of interest and excellence in sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 25, 131-143. Deary, I.J., & Matthews, G. (1993). Personality traits are alive and well. The Psychologist, 6, 299-311. Deardoff, D. L., Higgs, R. J., (2000). Sports: a reference guide and critical commentary, Greenwood Publishing Company, Pp. 227-228 Diamant, L., Byrd, J.H., & Himelein, M.J. (1991). Personality traits and athletic performance. In L. Diamant (Ed.), Mind-body maturity: Psychological approaches to sports, exercise, and fitness (pp. 227-236). New York: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation. Egloff, B., & Jan Gruhn, A. (1996). Personality and endurance sports. Personality and Individual Differences, 21(2), 223-229. Eysenck, H.J. (1995). Science and psychology of sport – the place of personality theory. Sportonomics, 1(1), 3-9. Ferguson, E., Sanders, A., O'Hehir, F., & James, D. (2000). Predictive validity of personal statements and the role of the five-factor model of personality in relation to medical training. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 321-344. Gee, C. J., & Leith, L. M. (2007). Aggressive behavior in professional ice hockey: A cross-cultural comparison of North American and European born NHL players. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8, 567-583. Gould et al., (2007) in Burg, J. M., (2008). The The relationship between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and perceptions of the motivational climate, ProQuest Publication, pp. 2-5 Grange, P., & Kerr, J. H. (2010). Physical aggression in Australian football: A qualitative study of elite athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11, 36-43. Hanegby, R., & Tenenbaum, G. (2001). Blame it on the racket: Norm-breaking behaviours among junior tennis players. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2, 117-134. Jenkins, S. P. R., (2005). Sports science handbook: I-Z, Multi-science publishing, Pp. 178-79 Jones, M. V., & Bray, S. R., & Oliver, S. (2005). Game location and aggression in rugby league. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23, 387-393. Jowett, S., (2007). Social psychology in sport, Human Kinetics publication, Vol.10, pp. 10 Kerr, J. H. (2005). Rethinking aggression and violence in sport. London: Routledge. Kirkcaldy, B.D. (1982). Personality profiles at various levels of athletic participation. Personality and Individual Differences, 3, 321-326. Liwei, Z., & Leahy, T. (1993). Athlete personality evaluation and its application. Sports Excellence, Nov, 17-23 Lougehead, T. M., & Leith, L. M. (2001). Hockey coaches’ and players’ perceptions of aggression and the aggressive behavior of players. Journal of Sport Behavior, 24, 394-407. Lyle, J., (2002). Sports coaching concepts: a framework for coaches' behaviour, Routledge Publication, 201 Magni, G., Rupolo, G., Simini, G., De Leo, D., & Rampazzo, M. (1985). Aspects of the psychology and personality of high altitude mountain climbers. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 16, 12-19. Morgan, W.P., Costill, D.L., Flynn, M.G., Raglin, J.S., & O'Connor, P.J. (1988). Mood disturbance following increased training in swimmers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 20(4), 408-414. Robertson, I.T., Baron, H., Gibbons, P., MacIvor, R., & Nyfield, G. (2000). Conscientiousness and managerial performance. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 73 (2), 171-181. Robazza, C., & Bortoli, L. (2007). Perceived impact of anger and anxiety on sporting performance in rugby players. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8, 875-896. Russell, G. W. (2008). Aggression in the sports world: A social psychological perspective. New York: Oxford University Press. Sheldon, J. P., & Aimar, C. M. (2001). The role aggression plays in successful and unsuccessful ice hockey behaviours. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 72, 304-309. Silva, J. M. (1980). Understanding aggressive behavior and its effects upon athletic performance. In W. F. Straub (Ed.), Sport psychology: An analysis of athlete behavior (2nd ed., pp. 177-186). Ithaca, NY: Mouvement. Taylor, J., Wilson, G. S., (2005). Applying sport psychology: four perspectives, Human Kinetics Publication, Pp. 159 Wankel, L. M. (1973). An examination of illegal aggression in intercollegiate hockey. Proceedings: Fourth Canadian Psycho-Motor Learning and Sport Psychology Symposium (pp. 531-544). University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, October 1973. Read More