Mark S. Allen

An investigation of the five-factor model of personality and coping behaviour in sport

Abstract Coping strategies are important for performance in sport and individual differences may contribute to the coping strategies adopted by athletes. In this study, we explored the main and interactive effects of the big five personality dimensions on sport-related coping and compared personality profiles of discrete groups of athletes. Altogether, 253 athletes (mean age 21.1 years, s = 3.7) completed the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and the Coping Function Questionnaire for Sport (Kowalski & Crocker, 2001). Results showed that extraverted athletes, who were also emotionally stable and open to new experiences (a three-way interaction effect), reported a greater use of problem-focused coping strategies. Conscientious athletes (main effect), and athletes displaying high levels of extraversion, openness, and agreeableness (a three-way interaction effect), reported a greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies, and athletes with low levels of openness, or high levels of neuroticism (main effects), reported a greater use of avoidance coping strategies. Different personality characteristics were observed between higher-level and lower-level athletes, between men and women athletes, and between individual and team sport athletes. These findings suggest that the five-factor model of personality can help distinguish various levels of athletic involvement and can help identify the coping strategies athletes are likely to adopt during participation.

Personality in sport: A comprehensive review.

This review addresses personality in organised sport. We describe the extant literature that has explored personality effects on athletic success and population-based differences before hypothesising how sport participation may contribute to personality development. We then outline the role of personality in athletic interactions and group processes before considering the practical applications of personality research and avenues for future study. Our review shows that personality is an important determinant of long-term success in sport and identifies clear personality differences between individuals that participate in organised sport and individuals that do not participate in organised sport. We also observe important personality differences between sub-samples of athletes and outline the contribution of personality to intragroup relationships and team effectiveness in team sport. The interaction of genetic and environmental influences is presented as a promising avenue of inquiry that can strengthen our understanding of personality effects on sport and exercise participation and athletic success. We conclude by outlining implications for applied sport psychology.

The Role of Personality in Sport and Physical Activity

There is now good evidence that athletic success and participation in physical activity can be predicted by personality traits. In this article, we review new studies that have contributed to our understanding of these relationships and outline potential avenues of inquiry to support the development of personality-trait research in exercise and sport. Our review identified a number of novel findings from contemporary studies. In the context of sport performance, new studies have demonstrated that personality traits relate to long-term athletic success, interpersonal relationships, and athletes’ psychological states before, during, and after competitions. In the context of health-related exercise, new studies have demonstrated that personality traits relate to leisure-time sitting time, strength and mobility in old age, and unhealthy (addictive) exercise behaviors. There is also evidence that physical activity contributes to personality change. Our recommendations include a more targeted focus on adolescence (as this is the age of greatest change in personality and sport participation) and a greater consideration of consultant personality traits in applied research and professional practice (given their role in intervention effectiveness).

The contribution of coping-related variables and heart rate variability to visual search performance under pressure.

Visual search performance under pressure is explored within the predictions of the neurovisceral integration model. The experimental aims of this study were: 1) to investigate the contribution of coping-related variables to baseline, task, and reactivity (task-baseline) high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), and 2) to investigate the contribution of coping-related variables and HF-HRV to visual search performance under pressure. Participants (n=96) completed self-report measures of coping-related variables (emotional intelligence, coping style, perceived stress intensity, perceived control of stress, coping effectiveness, challenge and threat, and attention strategy) and HF-HRV was measured during a visual search task under pressure. The data show that baseline HF-HRV was predicted by a trait coping-related variable, task HF-HRV was predicted by a combination of trait and state coping-related variables, and reactivity HF-HRV was predicted by a state coping-related variable. Visual search performance was predicted by coping-related variables but not by HF-HRV.

Emotional intelligence in sport and exercise: a systematic review

This review targets emotional intelligence (EI) in sport and physical activity. We systematically review the available literature and offer a sound theoretical integration of differing EI perspectives (the tripartite model of EI) before considering applied practice in the form of EI training. Our review identified 36 studies assessing EI in an athletic or physical activity context. EI has most often been conceptualized as a trait. In the context of sport performance, we found that EI relates to emotions, physiological stress responses, successful psychological skill usage, and more successful athletic performance. In the context of physical activity, we found that trait EI relates to physical activity levels and positive attitudes toward physical activity. There was a shortage of research into the EI of coaches, officials, and spectators, non‐adult samples, and longitudinal and experimental methods. The tripartite model proposes that EI operates on three levels – knowledge, ability, and trait – and predicts an interplay between the different levels of EI. We present this framework as a promising alternative to trait and ability EI conceptualizations that can guide applied research and professional practice. Further research into EI training, measurement validation and cultural diversity is recommended.

Cognitive and affective components of challenge and threat states

Abstract We explored the cognitive and affective components of the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) using a cross-sectional design. One hundred and seventy-seven collegiate athletes indicated how they typically approached an important competition on measures of self-efficacy, perceived control, achievement goals, emotional states and interpretation of emotional states. Participants also indicated to what extent they typically perceived the important competition as a challenge and/or a threat. The results suggest that a perception of challenge was not predicted by any of the cognitive components. A perception of threat was positively predicted by avoidance goals and negatively predicted by self-efficacy and approach goals. Both challenge and threat had a positive relationship with anxiety. Practical implications of this study are that an avoidance orientation appeared to be related to potentially negative constructs such as anxiety, threat and dejection. The findings may suggest that practitioners and researchers should focus on reducing an avoidance orientation, however the results should be treated with caution in applied settings, as this study did not examine how the combination of constructs exactly influences sport performance. The results provided partial support for the TCTSA with stronger support for proposed relationships with threat rather than challenge states.

Personality, coping, and challenge and threat states in athletes.

This study explored the relationship between personality, motivational (challenge and threat) states, and sport-related coping. Thirty-one currently competing athletes completed questionnaire measures of personality and coping, and were asked to imagine and talk about an upcoming competition (sport-specific speech) and the events that had transpired that morning (control speech). During the speeches a number of hemodynamic parameters were recorded (heart rate, ventricular contractility, cardiac output [CO], and total peripheral resistance [TPR]) to give an index of task engagement and challenge and threat. Findings demonstrated that cardiac reactivity was similar across the two scenarios suggesting that the goal-relevant sport-specific speech was not effective in inducing challenge-threat responses above those of general speech giving. However, general cardiovascular patterns across conditions were correlated with personality and coping functions. Specifically, lower CO and higher TPR were associated with more problem- and emotion-focused coping and higher levels of extraversion and conscientiousness. Further, athlete coping strategies could be predicted by personality test scores. In short, this study reinforces recent findings linking personality and coping in sport and suggests that a simple test of cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance in a moderately stressful (non-related) situation may be sufficient to predict personality traits and sport-related coping.

Causal attribution and emotion in the days following competition

Abstract We examined the extent to which attributions are consistent in the days following competition and how attributions made immediately after competition may influence the temporal patterning of emotions experienced in response to competition. A sample of 60 adult female golfers completed measures of performance satisfaction, causal attribution, and emotion immediately after competition, 5 h after competition, and 2 days after competition. Repeated-measures multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that attributions did not change over this period. Emotions showed a significant decrease in intensity over the 5-h post-competition period. Regression analyses indicated that changes in anger and dejection were more likely in the case of less successful performances. For anger, attributions moderated this level of change. Golfers experienced anger for a longer period when they identified the cause of poor performance as stable rather than unstable. Thus, in the present sample although attributions did not change over 2 days, the longevity of anger depended on the attributions made immediately after competition.

Emotions, cognitive interference, and concentration disruption in youth sport

Abstract We explored the relationship between emotions, cognitive interference, concentration disruption and performance in youth sport. In Study 1, 150 youth sport athletes (Mage = 13.13 years, s = 1.79) completed measures of emotion, cognitive interference, and concentration disruption for their most recently completed competition. In Study 2, 46 female rhythmic gymnasts (Mage = 10.30 years, s = 1.74) completed measures of emotion immediately before competition, and measures of cognitive interference and concentration disruption immediately after competition. Study 1 showed that anxiety and dejection were associated with more interfering thoughts and greater disruptions in concentration, whereas the effects of anger and happiness on interfering thoughts differed relative to the age of participants. Specifically, anger was associated with more interfering thoughts only in younger athletes and happiness was associated with fewer interfering thoughts only in older athletes. Study 2 showed that emotions experienced before competition were not strongly associated with cognitive interference or concentration disruption, but athletes reporting more thoughts of escape in competition were less successful in the competition as measured by objective performance scores. These findings demonstrate that emotions are important for cognitive interference and concentration disruption, and provide some initial evidence that cognitive interference is important for performance in youth sport.

A systematic review of content themes in sport attribution research: 1954–2011

This review sought to identify all sport-based attribution research to systematically explore content themes and identify areas for future research. A literature search identified 167 empirical sport attribution papers (encompassing 202 independent samples) published between 1954 and February 2011. Frequency calculations showed a disproportionate focus on quantitative methodologies (99.4%), outcome attributions (94.6%), and attributions for personal behavior (69.9%), with relatively few intervention studies or longitudinal designs. Findings also showed a good proportion of research conducted on youth sport participants (22.3%) and in naturally occurring competitive sport settings (69.5%). It is recommended that researchers expand their study of attribution in sport to consider those attributions made by coaches and parents, and for diverse events such as athletic injury and dropout. In addition, more diverse research designs (e.g., longitudinal qualitative investigations) will provide a greater appreciation of the attributions made by sport performers.