Table of ContentsSocial Learning TheoryInteractional TheoryAttribution TheoryPersonality is believed to impact athletic performance. There are several theories that lead us to believe that personalities have an effect on the way athletes handle sport. This is how we see if sport impacts us by carrying out different tests to see which categories we belong to. This can allow us to know if the athlete is lazy, energetic, enthusiastic or relaxed when practicing their sport. Their personality may reflect their athletic performance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Personality is divided into two different sections. The first part is having an introverted personality. An introvert is when someone is not actively seeking attention. Their arousal levels are higher and do not require additional arousal. Introverts are shy and quiet. Because of their excitement levels, introverts often prefer "quiet" sports where there is less contact with other players. Introverts in sports include marathon runners and archery players. These are quiet sports where the coaches and other players probably aren't very excited either. This means they can stay calm during the competition. If they try to perform while they are too excited, they will not compete in their sport to the best of their abilities. They prefer to have regular routines. If there is no routine that they can follow, again, they may not give their best and achieve the goal they want. Extroverts are the other half of the personality traits. Their attitude is to have a naturally high level of excitement. They therefore get bored more easily. This means they cannot participate in sports that require a high level of concentration. They like situations where they don't know what's coming next and the game is unpredictable. Being socially extroverted, extroverts play sports like rugby or football. Indeed, they must be enthusiastic about their sport and in this type of sport, players are constantly active and moving. If they are constantly moving and enjoying the sport they are doing, they will likely perform better. In conclusion, the personality traits of introverts and extroverts tell us what people prefer about sports as a reflection of their personality. Social Learning Theory Another impact of sports performance is social learning theory. Social learning theory believes that personality depends on the environment you are placed in and behavior is learned. Relying on personality traits, some people believe that in fact, the environment you are in impacts how you compete as an artist. For example, some shy people, such as introverts, may be able to participate in an extroverted sport due to the environment. So, the sport expected by an introvert would be an individual sport, like golf. Personality is not a stable characteristic. This means that our personality can change in social situations. We can change the way we learn in sport with two adaptations. When people copy athletes, it is called modeling. An example of modeling is if a young footballer has a professional footballer as a role model, they will look at how they train and observe their techniques to try and improvein order to resemble his model. The other way to learn in sport is through social reinforcement. Social reinforcement is where the individual will repeat their behavior, achievements, or downfall in sport due to an epiphany or reward. An example of social reinforcement is when a swimmer does something good and receives praise for it, they will be in a good mood. This means that in sport, they will repeat skills they have mastered well when they realize it is the correct technique. Overall, social learning theory impacts sports performers because they adopt different traits when they accomplish something good or bad. Social learning theories can be used in sport because they impact how we perform. There are believed to be four main stages that affect how we train and perform, whether it be the environment or modeling from others. Bandura's theory is where we apparently learn in 4 steps. Albert Bandura agrees with the theory that we learn from the environment in which we are involved. The environment can affect us because it can put us in a good or bad mood. Sports performance can be improved by copying other athletes who are more experienced than us. . The first step is therefore modeling. Nowadays we see celebrities and sports stars who are role models for young children. In sport, people aspire to be like their role models. For example, in a sport like football, an 11 year old child who plays every Sunday will strive to be like one of the premier league football players. They want to be successful like them one day, so they will learn by watching them on TV and paying attention to the way they play football. By following their every move, they learn through observation. The impact this has on sporting performance comes from allowing professionals to learn the correct technique and improve their performance. Retention is the second path of Bandura's theory. Modeling will only be effective if the skill or behavior is in your memory. For example, if a swimmer wants to beat his competitor, he will watch him practice and see how his technique is. This will therefore remain engraved in their memory and they will be able to find solutions to beat their competitors. Motor reproduction is the third theory of Bandura's theory. It is also known as reproductive theory. This is where the athlete observes a technique or routine, has time to practice and eventually perform it. An example of this is in a sport like tennis, if you practice individual techniques such as hitting the ball, once you develop these skills and put them together, they will ultimately make you a better player overall. Depending on your motivation, the motivational response will only occur if you experience the first 3 steps. For the person to improve, the task must feel important. So, praising a diver when he does a good dive will motivate him to repeat a good skill. Overall, social learning theory and its four stages impact sports athletes because it is all about modeling and practice techniques. This is an effective way for athletes to learn new skills because they can model what other athletes are doing for their technique. This can impact sports performance as they can gain the proper technique and practice to improve. With the evaluation ofpersonality, there are different tests you can take to determine where your personality fits. The tests created help us decide what kind of person you are. The test created by Eysenek was the first test I took part in. This test presents people's traits and reveals their personality. He focused on the two different dimensions of personality: extroverts and introverts. He is interested in stability and neurosis. The results at the end were given in a table which puts you into a category. I don't think this test is very reliable because it doesn't take your age into account. The way this can impact athletic performance is if an athlete gets a score they didn't expect on this test, their confidence level can be compromised. So that means they might not want to exercise anymore because they're being told something they're not doing. The second test was the Cattells Personality Test. After answering the questions we were given 16 traits for which they were rated out of 4. I think the second test was more reliable because it asked your age and gender. He also repeated some of the questions that make you think and answer questions with more truth. The way this can impact sports performers is that it can allow the athlete to see how their traits affect their performance. Interactional Theory Interactional theory believes that the environment and your personality both impact behavior to the same extent. This theory examines a multitude of sporting experiences and examines how personality types and learned behaviors can be mixed to create a predictable outcome. An example of this is if an extroverted player on a soccer team scores a goal, he will be just as excited as an introvert. They show enthusiasm regardless of their trait because their excitement level is very high. This will make them excited for the rest of the game. Another example of when introverted or extroverted athletes show interactional theory is that if during training a goal is missed, there is not as much pressure on the players. players only during training. However, in a match there is a lot more pressure because there are more people watching, which therefore changes the situation and their reaction when they miss a goal. This will make the athlete feel depressed because there will be a lot more pressure on them and therefore they will feel more depressed and less confident. This shows the connection between environmental factors and personality factors that determine the type of behavior exhibited by the athlete. In the 1950s, there were two heart surgeons named Friedman and Rosenham. They had theories related to sports performance. The couple said that every person in the world would fall into either personality type A or type B. These personalities are put to the test when someone has high levels of anxiety. Type A, under pressure, would lack patience because he wants to win. They have a strong desire to compete and achieve their goals. They will rush activities and happily multitask within a limited time frame. They will begin to lash out at others due to high levels of anxiety. Type B, however, can mean that the person is more relaxed towards others and will want to find a tactical solution to the problem. Their anxiety levels tend to be lower and they demonstrate high levels of imagination. In the Type A personality, they have factors that cause them to lack patience, they have a strong need for competition, and they have a great desire to achieve their goals. In order to carry outtheir activities, they rush and will happily multitask. However, they then tend to have high levels of anxiety. A sporting example of an athlete with a Type A personality is before the gymnast competes and warms up. If the movements don't go well, the gymnast will become anxious and start to get frustrated with their partners. Their anxiety level will increase and they won't stop until they make a move. However, Type B personalities are more tolerant of others, which makes them more relaxed. Their anxiety levels are lower and they have higher imagination levels. A gymnast with a Type B personality would stop everyone, calm them down, and think about why the movement isn't working. They would find reasons why the movement isn't working and keep trying until it improves. Therefore, gymnasts will also remain calm and the movement will be more likely to work. Motivational Factors There are motivating factors in sports that increase sports performance. Motivators make us more determined because there is a goal at the end. There are two different types of motivators. One of the factors is intrinsic, the other extrinsic. Intrinsic is where motivation has no external reward. The extrinsic is influenced by a reward such as a medal or money. In sports, it motivates athletes because they either receive an award from someone else or achieve a personal goal. If I were to coach an athlete such as a 200m runner, I would motivate them using an intrinsic way of motivating the athlete. I would tell them to keep training. This would increase their knowledge of a skill. However, if the athlete is motivated by extrinsic factors, such as getting a medal at the end of a competition, a coach might do this to further motivate their athlete because they know there is a physical reward in the form of a medal at the end. This should make the athlete feel successful and deserving of a reward. It also shows that their personal hard work has paid off. Another example of an athlete with intrinsic motivation is a boxer who would like an adrenaline rush with training because it is a high-intensity sport. The stimulation will give the athlete the feeling of having completed a successful training session. If my athlete was an extrinsic boxer, I might use verbal praise. This will make them feel good about themselves. It’s an intangible way to motivate them. In conclusion, an athlete may prefer verbal praise because it shows the athlete that their coach notices their hard work. When participating in sports, many factors will impact motivation and the relationship between a coach and an athlete. These factors can impact an athlete's performance. Factors that impact their motivation can also have a negative effect on the athlete. If an athlete is constantly praised during a session, it will become normal for them to hear a “well done!” If a footballer has a good week and the coach just praises him once the footballer makes a mistake, he will feel depressed. On top of that, by constantly hearing praise, no corrections will be made. This means the athlete will not improve. When coaching a gymnast, the coach must establish a strong relationship with the athlete. This will make the gymnast want to work hard for their coach. If a coach is consistently horrible, doesn't train gymnasts properly, or doesn't.