In this assignment I have been asked to identify the psychological reasons for people participating in their chosen sport, and what factors can affect or have affected their participation in sport. When dealing with different sporting situations, our personalities can affect and shape how we perform. A majority of people’s personalities and characters are genetic, and passed down from your parents but this can vary. People’s personalities can be influenced by any personal experiences, and what they have seen or been through can change how they think. The two types of personalities are type A and type B.
Type A personalities feel strongly about being a perfectionist, and are organised and efficient. Type B personalities are carefree, confident and fairly calm and collected. A healthy personality would be somewhere in between the two types, perhaps a perfectionist, but very confident. There is also a personality theory that was developed by Eysenck. He believed that personalities were either introverted or extroverted. Introverted personalities are quiet and fairly shy, they like to keep themselves to themselves, while extroverted are confident, bubbly and like to make their presence known.
Eysenck believed that it would be more difficult for introverted personality types to accept or deal with a situation or occurrence than it would be for an extroverted personality. He also believed that we inherited a mixture of all of the following characteristics, some to an extreme level and some, little or no sign of. Neurotic- Hot-headed, Aggressive, excitable, egocentric, impulsive, changeable, active. Stable- Calm, even tempered, persistent, reasonable, high principled, peaceful, passive. Introverted- Quiet, unsociable, anxious, worried, unhappy, serious, thoughtful, rigid.
Extroverted- Sociable, outgoing, playful, easygoing, responsive, happy, enthusiastic, lively. I have been asked to look at three different personalities and look into why they took up their sport, and why they suit their sport. I interviewed two classmates on their personality, and feelings about participating in their sports. Luke Wilson – Luke got involved in his sport, football at the age of 6, due to the fact that his peers all had all taken up a sport, and began to get more involved in sports.
His father directed him to take up a sport because of the co-operation and social skills involved; he then signed Luke up for his local football team and Luke willingly participated, showing good signs of commitment from a young age. Luke stated “I came from a Scottish family so football was a typical influence”. Luke was also influenced to participate in football as he wanted to be with his friends. The first time Luke participated in his sport was when he was 6, for his school team. It was not a competitive match as such, but more of a social, enjoyment, and skill developing event.
He felt slightly nervous, but excited the first time he played football. He was then enthusiastic about the game and looked forward to training every week, and playing competitively purely because of his enjoyment and opportunity to socialise and have fun. To this day Luke still thoroughly enjoys participating in football and it now plays a part in his life. He takes pride in himself when playing and has a sense of belonging on the pitch. He still looks forward to training and competitive matches, as he did when he was younger.
He believes that his parents played a major role in encouraging him to participate in sport, which in turn gave him the realisation that he enjoyed it and should continue to participate in football. Luke is rather competitive when he is participating in his sport, and seems to be very enthusiastic. This helps him to continue participation in football perhaps when he is injured, not feeling motivated or simply not performing to his optimum level. His enthusiasm indicates that he is dedicated and committed to football. In his tests, Luke showed attributes from both type A and type B personality.
This indicates a fairly balanced personality. He is competitive, can be aggressive, but likes to be organised. He is also confident, but calm and rational. His balanced personality means that he can adapt to different scenarios within the sporting situations he may encounter. After looking at his statements, I have come to the conclusion that his personality was developed in an interactive way. This means that he inherited some characteristics genetically but has obtained other attributes through the environments in which he has grown up within. Pippa Mead –
Pippa became involved in athletics at the age of 6, when she participated in her school sports day, completing the sprinting events. She began to specialise in these events and carried them on through her school life, taking part in athletics wherever she had the opportunity. Pippa said that it was her school teachers who influenced her participation in the 100 & 200 metre sprinting. She was also influenced to carry on her mother’s success in competing at athletics at a high level. She then received a lot of encouragement from her family and friends.
This in turn made her feel stronger when it came to running in large competitions. Pippa’s first out of school competitive race went very successfully, due to her determination, and she won the race. This made her feel happy with herself and she felt that she thoroughly enjoyed taking part in running. Pippa still enjoys physical activity but has had to stop due to having the responsibility for her daughter. She says that she would enjoy trying a new sport in the future and carrying on her athletics because she enjoyed it so much.
Pippa’s personal characteristics suit her sport, as she is competitive, motivated and enthusiastic. This helps her to put in full effort when competing and gives her determination when she is perhaps under performing; so she can perform to her maximum potential. Her test showed that she is more of a personality type B than type A, meaning she is fairly confident and calm; however she also showed traits from type A as she is competitive and likes to do things properly. I think that her personality suits her sport and it has helped her to enjoy it and do well throughout.
After analysing my two classmates personality types, I am going to analyse my own and see how my personality aids me to successfully participate in my specialist sport, kickboxing. How I got involved in my sport * I was bullied in infant school until my dad started teaching me thai boxing, and then got me involved in a club shortly after. I ended up getting physical back with the bully and enjoyed it in a strange way. I felt proud that I had stopped his behaviour towards me and decided that fighting was something I wanted to pursue.
After suffering a certain degree of observer discomfort and a lack of confidence, I found my confidence once I had taken up kickboxing. The first time I competed in my sport was at a large competition in Cheltenham where I fought very well and did myself and instructor proud. I was around 11 or 12 years old. I enjoyed the adrenaline rush I got from this fight and continued in the sport competing in many different places in both ring fights and mat fights. When taking part in my sport now, I feel as though I enjoy the adrenaline and also the pain and discomfort that we are made to feel during training.
I always feel as though I have achieved something and training hard always puts me in a good, although tired mood! I feel that my personal characteristics aid me to take part in my sport as most of the time I am fairly laid back. This may sound a contrasting quality to have whilst taking part in a strenuous sport but it allows me to have an adrenaline rush yet stay calm during participation and I can generally control situations better than a fighter who loses control. My laid back approach also enables me to get into a zone for when I am participating whereas I do not tend to feel pain when struck or attacked by an opponent.
These characteristics help me with my sport and in return kickboxing allows me to release any stress or worries I may have. After taking a personality test it showed that I have attributes from mostly type B personality and some from type A. I think that to be successful in sport it is important to have a good balance between type A and B as this gives you a healthy outlook on life and doesn’t put your psychological state at risk or into overdrive if you work too hard or too little.