1. The document discusses various theories of personality including trait theories by Eysenck and Cattell, as well as social learning theory. 2. It also covers achievement motivation theory and the concepts of Nach (motive to achieve success) and Naf (motive to avoid failure). 3. Several psychological tests are described, including the Profile of Mood States (POMS) test, which measures mood traits in athletes.

1. Section B –
Psychological aspects that optimise
performance
Aspects of Personality
Lesson 2

2. Starter:
1. Define personality.
2. Who are the 2 Trait theorists?
3. What are the limitations of their theories?
4. What are the 4 stages of Social Learning Theory?
5. What is the formula of the Interactional
Approach?
6. What are the 4 components of Hollander’s
Theory?

3. Answers
Personality is the sum total of an individuals characteristics which make him or her unique. (Gill, 1997)
Personality is the underlying relatively stable psychological structures and processes that organise human experiences
and shape a person’s actions and reactions to the environment.
(Lazarus and Mowat, 1979)
Eysenck and Cattell
• too simplistic
• do not take into account the nurture or personal development of an athlete
• they are an unreliable predictor of behaviour
• they do not take into account the environment or situation
Attention – Retention – Motor Reproduction – Motivational Response
Observe - Identify – Reinforce – Copy
B = F (P.E) Behaviour is the Function of Personality and Environment
• 1 : The Psychological Core
• 2 : Typical Responses
• 3 : Role-related behaviour
• 4 : Social Environment

4. Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson you will be able to:
• evaluate the use of personality testing
• describe the profile of mood states (POMs)
• define motivation
• describe achievement motivation theory
• explain motives to achieve (Nach) and avoid failure
(Naf) and the characteristics of each
• give examples of incentive value and probability of
success
• Understand the terms ‘learned helplessness’, ‘approach
behaviour’ and ‘avoidance behaviour’.

5. • How did Eyesenck and Cattell test their
subjects’ personalities?
• What are the benefits and limitations of using
a questionnaire? (2 of each is sufficient)
Benefits Limitations

6. Personality Tests
What are the advantages of using
questionnaires to test for personality?
• Quantitative data
• Easy to administer
• Take little time/set up for investigators etc

7. Questionnaire Limitations
Reliability:
How consistent is a questionnaire?
Would Cattell’s 16PF questionnaire produce similar results if
used again at another time?
Validity:
Does the study measures what it claims to measure?
Especially as there is no agreed definition of personality.
Questionnaires often lack validity as participants may lie; give
answers that they think they should; answer differently on
different days.
Simplistic:
Eyesenck’s EPI only asked for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers
Ethics:
Personality testing can be a sensitive subject. Results must be
confidential and the researcher must be suitably qualified to
interpret the results.

8. Research Task
What is the Profile of Mood States (POMS)?
• Describe the test
• List the 6 moods
What is the Iceberg Profile/effect?
• Draw and annotate the graph
• Describe what the graph shows
• Explain what an inverted graph would show

9. Profile of Mood States
(POMS) McNair, Lorr and Droppleman, 1971
A test designed to measure certain psychological traits. The Profile Of
Mood States (POMS) is a popular tool among sport psychologists who have
used it to compare the prevailing moods of elite athletes and non-athletes.
Six mood states are used in POMS:
• tension Subjects are given a score for each trait
• depression according to their responses to certain
• anger statements which include key words such as
unhappy, tense, careless, and cheerful.
• vigour
• fatigue For each statement, subjects state how they
• confusion feel at that moment, or how they felt over
the previous day, few days, or week, by
choosing one of the following responses: not
at all; a little; moderately; quite a lot;
extremely.

10. The Iceberg Profile
Elite athletes from different sports
(including runners, rowers, and
wrestlers) tend to score below
average for negative states such as
tension, depression, fatigue, and
confusion; and score well above
average on vigour.
Non athletes show similar scores for
all moods and produce a fairly level
line.
On a graph, the POMS profile for
elite athletes forms a shape that has
been called the ‘iceberg’ profile; the
better the athlete, the more
pronounced the profile.
POMS may be used to diagnose
overtraining because the shape of
the profile becomes inverted when
an athlete overtrains.

11. Motivation
Why do elite athletes continue despite pain?
Why do we strive to improve our skills?
Motivation has 2 aspects:
It energises and directs our behaviour.
It can be defined as:
The desire to fulfil a need.

12. Sporting Challenge
What motivates you?
Extreme Skipping by Boxer Frankie Gavin -
YouTube

13. Achievement Motivation
Atkinson (1964)
He described achievement motivation as an aspect of
personality, a stable disposition based on two different
motives. His theory takes into account both personality
and the situation.
BBC Sport - Euro 2012: England-Italy - Pirlo's audacious
penalty kick
Champions League Final
The 2 Motives:
motivation to achieve success (Nach)
motivation to avoid failure (Naf)

14. Achievement Motivation
People tend to show the following characteristics:
Motive to Achieve Success Motive to Avoid Failure
• look for challenges
• dislike situations in which there is a 50/50 chance
• value feedback from others
• persist for longer
• prefer to play very easy or very difficult opposition (guaranteed results)
• perform worse when they are being evaluated by others
• are not afraid of failure
• are concerned about standards of excellence
• attribute performance to internal factors (effort, concentration, ability)
• attribute performance to external factors (luck, referee, weather)

15. Achievement Motivation
People tend to show the following characteristics:
Motive to Achieve Success Motive to Avoid Failure
look for challenges dislike situations in which there is a 50/50 chance
value feedback from others prefer to play very easy or very difficult opposition
(guaranteed results)
persist for longer perform worse when they are being evaluated by
others
are not afraid of failure attribute performance to external factors (luck,
referee, weather)
are concerned about standards of excellence
attribute performance to internal factors (effort,
concentration, ability)

16. How could coaches change
Naf athletes to Nach
athletes?
• let them experience success
• raise their confidence
• use positive reinforcement
• set SMARTER goals
• use role models
• control arousal levels

17. Measuring Achievement
Motivation
Personality Traits:
Atkinson claimed that we all have these two motives to some
extent but it is the difference between the two. The larger the
difference – the greater the achievement motivation.
Situation:
2 aspects of the task will determine behaviour:
• Task difficulty: the probability of success or failure in the
task
• Incentive value of success: the importance to the individual
of success or failure in the task

19. Key Words to Remember
• Learned helplessness = a belief (state of mind)
that failure is inevitable and that we have no
control over it e.g. a netball shooter
repeatedly fails to score a goal in a game, they
become passive, lose the motive to act and
eventually give up altogether – changing
position.
• Avoidance Behaviour = rejects challenges
• Approach Behaviour = accepts a challenge

20. Home Learning
Complete 2 case studies that demonstrate:
• The characteristics of one Nach and one Naf
athlete/sportsman.
• Include information regarding the task
difficulty and the incentive value of success for
each.
• Include the use of the key words on the
previous slide.

21. Review of Learning Outcomes:
You should be able to:
• evaluate the use of personality testing
• describe the profile of mood states (POMs)
• define motivation
• describe achievement motivation theory
• explain motives to achieve (Nach) and avoid failure
(Naf) and the characteristics of each
• give examples of incentive value and probability of
success
• understand the terms ‘learned helplessness’, ‘approach
behaviour’ and ‘avoidance behaviour’.