Transcript Ethical Issues in Psychology

Chapters 15-16 (LeUnes):
Personality and Psychological Assessment in Athletes
Psychology of Sport
Oct 12-16, 2009
Classes #19-21
Personality Testing
• Does one of these individuals have a better
“brain type” to become an NFL QB???
He told them to draft Manning…
• Manning went on to become one of the best
QB’s ever while Leaf has taken up golf
How about Dennis?
The Science of Personality
• we are:
– different from anyone else (uniqueness)
– remain ourselves across situations (consistency)
• These differences are measurable
– Likert Scales
– Thurstone Scales
– Semantic Differential scales
• Personality research: study of measurable individual differences –
but what are they?
• Situation-free dispositions (i.e. aggregated across time) vs
situationally hedged dispositions = conditional and interactive
with the situations in which they are expressed (Mischel, 2004)
Back to Dennis...
• Rodman and Keown (1996)
– Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman was always just as
bubbly and eccentric on the basketball court as he
has been off it
– Seemed to remain himself across situations
Is it the Person or is it the Situation?
• Internal and External influences:
– Internal
• Inner personality
– External
• Specific situational factors
• What's more influential insofar as prediction of a
person’s behavior is concerned?
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI)
• The MMPI is one of the most frequently used
personality tests in mental health
• The test is used by trained professionals to assist
in identifying personality structure and
psychopathology
Raymond Cattell
(1905-1998)
• His definition of
personality:
– That which a predicts what a
person will do at a certain
situation
• Started the actual
measurement of
personality
• Developed 16 PF
– The 16 factors are NOT
orthogonal
• Orthogonal: a unique
category (factor) by itself
• Oblique orthogonal: related
with other factors
Cattell’s Approach
• Measured many different aspects of personality
• Identified 16 “source traits” or basic dimensions of
personality
• Based on this model of personality, he created “16PF”
• He used self-reports, observer ratings, and objective
tests to help determine a person’s traits
• Used statistics, formulas, probabilities, etc.
• He called this his multivariate approach
Personality & Sport
• Compared to non-sport playing controls on 16PF, national
level competitors are (Williams, 1985):
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higher emotional stability
greater mental toughness
more self-assured
more trusting
• Getting into an Olympic squad in wrestling (Silva et
al., 1985) linked to (16PF) sociability, boldness,
emotional stability and apprehension
Mood States and Performance
• Morgan & Hammer (1974) - Terry (2000)
better performing athletes display more positive
mental states:
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less anxious
less depressed
less fatigued
less confused
more vigorous (and extroverted)
Mental Health Profile
• Positive Mental Health Profile: (Morgan &
Johnson, 1978) found lower levels of
psychopathology (MMPI) in more successful
University oarsmen
• However: hardly any replication
– e.g. Brown, Morgan & Kihlstrom (1989) found no
significant associations between MMPI profiles of
collegiate athletes and their athletic success
Big Five Factors
• Extraversion
– Bold versus timid
– Outgoing versus introverted
– Talkative versus silent
• Agreeableness
– Friendliness versus indifference to others
– A docile versus hostile nature
– Compliance versus hostile noncompliance
• Conscientiousness
– Responsible versus irresponsible
– Hardworking versus lazy
– Cautious versus rash
Big Five Factors
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Neuroticism
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Adjustment versus anxiety
Level of Emotional stability
– Dependence vs. independence
• Openness
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Reflection of an inquiring intellect
Flexibility versus conformity
Rebelliousness versus Subduedness
Personality and success
• Piedmont, Hill & Blanco (1999): coach ratings
of performance and game stats linked to the Big
Five profiles of elite soccer players:
– Neuroticism / emotional stability
– Conscientiousness / «will to achieve»
– acceptance of criticism: «coachability», in turn linked
to higher self-esteem
Personality and success
• Piedmont, Hill & Blanco (1999)
– Coach ratings of performance and game stats linked
to the Big Five profiles of elite soccer players:
• Neuroticism / emotional stability
• Conscientiousness / «will to achieve»
• Acceptance of criticism: «coachability», in turn linked to
higher self-esteem
Personality Testing
• Athletes do differ from non-athletes (e.g.,
athletes are usually more confident)
– Why?
Team sports vs. Individual sports?
• Different personalities???
POMS
• A test designed to measure certain psychological traits.
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
• depression
• anger
• vigor
• fatigue
• confusion
POMS
• 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 vigor
• When presented on a graph,
the POMS profile for these
elite athletes assumes a
characteristic shape that has
been called the ‘iceberg’
profile; the better the athlete,
the more pronounced the
profile
Iceberg Profile
• Elite athlete is viewed as mentally healthy with
all negative moods falling below the population
norm and vigor score falling well above the
norm
– See next slide 
Iceberg Profile
• The iceberg profile of a
successful x-c skier is
formed by vigor being
above the mean of the
population and tension,
depression, anger,
fatigue, and confusion
being below the mean of
the population
• In contrast, less
successful elite athletes
have a flat profile,
scoring at or below the
50th percentile on all
psychological factors
Benefits of Understanding the
Personality Profile of Athletes
– 1. Helps assess the fit between persons and sports and even
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positions on a team
2. Helps athletes and coaches value their strengths and
become more aware of those areas in which development
may be warranted
3. Helps coaches and athletes in a strained relationship
analyze the source of the conflict and build a strategy to
reduce it
4. Can lead to motivated and committed behavior
5. Useful for the athlete and sports professional in career and
life planning, self-management (such as stress/time
management) and interpersonal skills areas
6. Many applications in team building and management
training
Athletic Motivation Inventory
• An inventory designed to measure personality
traits thought to be related to athletic ability
• These traits include aggression, coachability,
conscience development, determination, drive,
emotional control, leadership, mental toughness,
responsibility, self-confidence, and trust
• Although the inventory is much used, its ability
to predict athletic success has been seriously
questioned
TAIS
• Nideffer (1976)
– Two dimensions:
• Attentional Width
• Attentional Direction
TAIS
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Broad-External
Broad-Internal
Narrow-External
Narrow-Internal
Credits
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http://www.americanboardofsportpsychology.org/Portals/24/APAsymp04AIDMAN.
ppt#273,1,The Role of Personality in Sport: Conceptual and Methodological
Challenges
http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/physiology/pp01.html