Personality.
‘Your personality can affect the type of sports you like and excel in’ (www.teachpe.com)
This can be shown through the different types of personality groups/traits, and how their contents and factors can benefit or work against you when in a sporting environment. Different Athletes display their own unique patterns of behaviour in the course of sports performance, personality can be sectioned into many different parts…confidence is one example of a behaviour pattern within personality this ultimately determines whether an individual has a strong commitment to participate and achieve. The study of personality in sport also includes perceptual and cognitive characteristics such as ones ability to concentrate and direct the focus of attention in a competitive situation when there is a pressure to succeed.
Below will be a list of the key personality theory’s and an explanation/ understanding on how each one works when in a sporting environment.
Theories of Personality.
There are a number of different theories which relate to sport and how it can affect us, they each take different approaches due to the complexity and many varied explanations/thoughts on personality.
• Trait Theory
A trait is a general, underlying enduring way in which to behave each time a given situation occurs. Trait theories assume that out personality is made up of many different characteristics, our traits can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways.
Two theorists in particular Eysenck and Cattell suggested that these characteristics are organised in a hierarchical way, their research led to a model of personality which is used to label and summarise a group of behaviors. Trait theory was very important in the early years of sport personality research, largely because it provided a straightforward way of assessing personality which sport psychologists and coaches could use with their athletes. Although the test shows good reliability and validity they sometimes do not appear to predict behaviour consistently. For example the captain of a netball team might be flamboyant, confident and controlling in a netball game but when asked to stand up and make an audience speak come across as shy or lacking in confidence. Meaning her core personality could be somewhat in-between the two characteristics depending on how she views herself. Another concern with this theory is how it tends to suggest personality is innate. (Davis, bull, Roscoe, D roscoe) Identified sixteen groups of traits, which he claimed were present within all people at varying degrees of intensity. Traits are arranged in a hierarchical form with the primary or strongest overriding weaker or secondary traits.
A strength of this theory is that is allows easy and objective measurement to be put in a place through questionnaires.
A drawback on the other hand is how it isn’t a true predictor of behaviour and it appears no significant difference exists between sports performers and people with differing trait strengths, it also does not take into account the influence of environmental factors, and so conflicts directly the social learning theory.
Cattells work was supported by Eysenck (1968) who believed that the traits should be displayed in a different manor as personality types; he recognised four of these personality types;
-Neurotic and extroverted
-Stable and extroverted
-Stable and introverted
-Neurotic and introverted
Many studies have been undertaken in an attempt to prove the existence of the ideal sports personality and for many years it was believed that most sports performers shared the same personality profile which fell into the extroverted and stable area. A sport psychologist named Ogilvie (1966) believed that one was born with a personality type to make powess in sport easy, He recognised the traits thought to be to elite performers such as endurance, aggression, ambition and dominance. Studies in the 1960’s included that games players of a high standard were indeed extroverted and stable. Gondola (1968) found that although some marathon runners tended to be introverted and stable, many top performers had different personality profiles. However Mischel (1973) strongly opposed the theory that an ideal athletic personality existed and claimed that no personality profile has been found to discriminate between athletes and non athletes, Finally, Gould state that personality type does not predict excellence or participation in sport.
Below are some of the traits found within the trait theory which determines an individual’s personality.
-Type A vs. type B.
-Extraversion vs. introversion
-Neuroticism
The Type A and Type B personality theory.
When considering this theory in sport, we spilt the two different personality traits into two separate sections and label them type A and type B. The theory is a personality type theory that describes a pattern of behaviors after different situations and is determined by the way in which an individual responses.
-Type A individuals can be described as impatient, time-conscious, controlling, concerned about their status, highly competitive, ambitious, aggressive, have difficulty relaxing and are sometimes disliked by individuals with Type B personalities for the way that they're always rushing. They are often high-achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive themselves with deadlines, and are unhappy about delays.
Because of these characteristics, Type A individuals are often the ones who tend to be in control and lead in their chosen fields, for example in sport this type tend to be the ones who consecutively try their best, love to win and play at a highly competitive set, becoming easily annoyed if their performance wasn’t to a high enough standard and trying/training harder in order to strive and achieve a higher level of play… in his book (1969 Type A Behavior: Its Diagnosis and Treatment, Meyer Friedman) suggests that the Type A personality group ‘’Tend to be Competitive, this made them oriented towards achievement which caused them to become stressed due to wanting to be the best at whatever it may be i.e. sports ’’Holding these traits within their personality tends to make them out of the two the type which is thought to fit in better in the sporting environment.
-Type B individuals, in contrast, are described as patient, relaxed, and easy-going, generally lacking an overriding sense of urgency. This type in a highly competitive or serious sporting environment may struggle as certain traits such as the above wouldn’t provide them with the energy and enthusiasm to win and to the best possible and instead they have that ‘play for enjoyment’ attitude, this however is a good outlook to have for a non competitive, non serious level of sport
Extroversion vs. introversion.
There are a further two groups in which personality can be explained, this is whether an individual is an Extrovert or an Introvert. Whether you are more of an introvert or extrovert can affect the type of sport you like to play.
• Introverts
Tend to like sports which require:
• Concentration
• Precision
• Self-motivation
• Intricate skills
• Low arousal levels
• Individual performances
-Introverted people tend to be quiet and thoughtful, people who keep themselves to themselves and tend to participate in individual sports, this is perhaps because the sports require less communication with others and need high levels of self motivation and concentration to succeed at. For example, archery, golf and snooker, all sports which introverted people seem to excel in because of their personality traits and structures allowing them to cope with the demands of the sport.
• Extroverts
The typical extrovert tends to be more Outgoing, natural leaders, decision-makers, and socialites. These traits allow them to interact and perform better in a sporting activity with others, Extroverts are usually the team captains, loud mouthed team players who love competition and thrive of victory.
Preferring sports which are:
• Exciting
• Team sports
• Fast paced
• High arousal levels
• Large, simple motor skills
• Low concentration
For example, rugby and boxing, an extrovert loves to be in high contact sporting events and have high levels of Aggression, as explained below by
(www.teachpe.com)
Aggression in sport.
‘’Aggression is any form of behaviour toward the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment’’
(r.a.barron, 1977)
In considering modern sport certain types of behaviour within sport are seen as acceptable where as others are seen as unacceptable. Aggressive or ‘’unacceptable behaviour’’ is witnessed on a regular basis within many sporting situations. It has been argued that the increase in aggressive and unacceptable behaviour on the pitch/court etc… is merely a reflection of general behaviour within society as a whole.
The context in which the term aggression is used sometimes causes confusion. It can be applied in several different ways. Very often coaches demand more aggression from players and these aggressive actions are often praised e.g harder tackling in rugby. These examples are of when the word aggression is used as an adjective to infer that a performer is being energetic or persistent in their actions.
At the same time there are many actions which fall into the unacceptable form of aggression e.g a rugby player stamping on a player in a ruck or verbal abused to officials.
Extroverted people are often involved and therefore associated in sports which require a degree of aggression. There are two types of aggression:
• Indirect aggression
This means taking the aggression out on an object
For example the ball in golf, tennis or football
• Direct aggression
The aggression is in the direction of another player
Involves physical contact such as a rugby tackle or in wrestling or boxing
Aggression can sometimes be the same as being assertive and determined, in non-contact sports especially, this is usually a good thing.
Assertive Behaviour.
Assertive behaviour is seen as the acceptable but forceful behaviour. It is also;
• Goal directed behaviour
• The use of legitimate verbal or physical force (involving energy and effort which, outside, could be interpreted as aggression)
• Behaviour which has no intention to harm or injure
• Behaviour which does not violate the agreed rules of the sport e.g. strong tackling in rugby etc…
Neuroticism.
For neuroticism, athletes scored significantly lower than non-athletes, confirming previous research that athletes are more stable (less neurotic) than non-athletes (Kirkcaldy, 1982). ‘’People who are high in neuroticism avoid sports participation.’’ (www.athleticinsight.com)
The Above statement taken from an experiment conducted by the above people explains how people who have higher traits of Neuroticism are less likely to be of a sporting background, Neuroticism is a personality trait which is an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and depressed mood. They are often self-conscious and shy. When in sport having a high level of Neuroticism could hold an athlete back from reaching their potential. For example in boxing, if the athlete feels guilty and sorry for his opponent after every punch, he/she will perform less aggressively and throw less punches as to not hurt the opponent leading to the opening of possibilities for the opponent to step in and take control. Another example would be for kick-boxing or cage fighting, is one competitor comes into the ring/arena with his head down, self conscious, audience shy and timid the opponent will automatically think they have the upper hand and re-assure themselves, gain more confidence for a win. From this the conclusion is that high levels of Neuroticism when in sport are a trait which isn’t desired or helpful for an athlete.
• Marten Schematic view.
Within this view, there is seen to be three different levels which all relate and conjoin together.
-Psychological core.
-Typical responses.
-Role-related behaviour.
Psychological core is explained as the central, internal, and consistent part of an individual's personality. It includes an individual's self concept, basic values, attitudes, and motives; a person's true self.
Typical responses displays how you react and respond under different circumstances and situations for example when your treated unfairly in a sport say illegally tackled or exposed to foul play in a rugby game you may get easily aggravated and annoyed, but when faced with a group communication situation you could tend to be quiet and reserved because you don’t feel as comfortable in that environment.
Role-related behaviour is an individual's behaviour that is determined by the role of the person and the person's perception of how he or she should behave... in different circumstances you find yourself taking on different roles someday being the leader and giving out instructions and orders , sometimes taking the orders and being instructed.
• The Psychodynamic Theory.
Psychodynamics is the theory of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, emphasizing the interplay between unconscious and conscious motivation. It’s the theory of inner conflicts which surface in behavior or emotions. Generally, one conflict is subconscious; it’s spilt into three groups
Id, ego, super-ego
They are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described.
Id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; The id is the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives and is amoral and selfish, It acts according to the "pleasure principle", seeking to avoid pain or unpleasant events has been described as the dark, inaccessible part of our personality, of a negative character which can be described only as a contrast to the ego. And can sometimes cause mistakes when taking part in sport, for example freezing at the start of a big race event because of fear and threaten of expectations.
Ego is the organized, realistic part, seeking to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.
Super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role. Aiming for perfection, criticizing and prohibiting ones drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions. ‘’The Super-ego can be thought of as a type of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt’’ Arthur S. Reber, the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (1985)
Both the ego and super ego play more or less the same part when in physical activity, for example suggesting someone else on the team to take the penalty in football, because of the ‘fear of failure’ and negative recognition from watchers/other athletes etc…
For example in a netball game, if foul play has been conducted towards you the desire to respond in a similar manner would be your id, the though process of what is right and wrong moral wise (it’s ok because I was harmed first it’s wrong to responds with violence) is your super ego and the decision making role falls on the shoulders of your ego…what would be the after realistic physical effects of my actions? Could I get sent off and jeopardise my team.
- Integrationist theory
Behaviour =Function of personality x Environment.
This approach considers both the inherited characteristics (genes) and the environmental influences in the development of personality. This theory combines trait and social learning theories and is generally accepted to be a more realistic explanation of personality.
A psychologist named Bowers (1978) went so far as to claim that ‘interaction between the person and the situation explains twice as much as traits and situations alone’
The sport psychologist aims to produce a personality profile. These are produced through testing using methods such as observational assessing and self questioning.
However there are problems associated with this theory, although there is evidence gained from the self reports/questioning and observational studies it is not completely reliable due to the subjective nature of the conclusion. The evidence can also be in danger of becoming too generalised.
From the different traits and types of personalities researched in this essay, it’s clear to see that every sport requires a different type of personality, and so some people can excel in one sport whilst being average or below in another, this is because of the traits they hold and how they work with or against them. There is no right personality or approach to have overall as different environments need different personalities for different sports.
Bibliography.
• Arthur S. Reber, the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (1985)
• (www.athleticinsight.com)
• (www.teachpe.com
• (r.a.barron, 1977)
• Psychology Notes
• Classroom Notes
• Advanced PE for OCR a2 Daniel Bonney, John Ireland, Claire Miller, Ken mackreth, Ian Thomas, Sarah Van Wely (2004)
Olivia McCarthy 12PDL.
Mrs Donald-
Arousal In sport.
Introduction.
An example of how physiological elements can effect how well you perform, is arousal in sport can be seen as‘’ the intensity of the drive that is experienced by an athlete when trying to achieve a goal.’’ Sport- John Honeybourne 2003.
Arousal can affect a sporting performance in many different ways as it can be seen as‘’ the state of mental and physical preparedness for action.’’ Playing a major role in how we think and act before and during performance. It regulates consciousness, attention, and helps with information processing, and so is crucial for motivating certain behaviors, such as mobility, the pursuit of nutrition and the fight-or-
flight response. (Known as an athletes emotion, determining response to a stressor) It is also very important in emotion, determining how we think and then act…our emotions are a deep understanding of our sate of thoughts, varying from either positive or negative, confident, relaxed or bringing about a state or worry and/or fear. Each emotion effects how we perform as it determines our mind frame and readies us towards our performance.
There are 3 main theories associated with Arousal through a sporting performance; these theories refer to the explanation of behavior that has been tested and studied to come to a conclusion and method/guide that we can use to help explain performance.
1.Inverted 'U' Hypothesis
This theory was established by Yerkes and Dodson (1908)
At low levels of arousal, performance will be below par as the athlete is not psyched up. As arousal increases so does performance, up to an optimal point. After this point, further increases in arousal lead to declines in performance. Optimal arousal is higher for more simple tasks and lower for more complex taskIf the task is complex, requiring fine motor skill, the optimal level of arousal is low. If the task is relatively simple, requiring gross motor skill, the optimal level of arousal will be high.
There are a number of different factors which can affect the optimal level of performance with different sporting activities, personalities and environments. Below is an exploration of these;
Types of activities
If the activity to be performed involves many fine controlled movements then arousal of the performer needs to be fairly low for optimum performance. Pistol shouters and archers for example need to control their emotional arousal levels. If the activity is much intense such as weightlifting arousal levels needs to be fairly high.
Skill levels
If a performer is highly skilled, their actions tend to need a lot less conscious attention and though, meaning they can cope with higher levels of arousal.
A performer who is low in skill levels will need to attend and focus on more details and movements, constantly needing to process information meaning distractions are more likely to disturb them, even moderate levels of arousal throw them off balance and so for them a low level of arousal will produce an optimal performance.
Personality
Personalities who hold the characteristics of extroverted behaviour (enjoy pressure and high levels of excitements) generally tend to cope in a high-arousal situation. People who are more reserved and introverted are more likely to perform better under low levels of arousal.
Strengths
- The theory allows athletes to understand where their peak in performance should be, and helps to set goals to achieve it.
Weaknesses
This theory is among the most popular with sports psychologists, however its simplicity does lead to its drawbacks;
- Critics question if optimal arousal always occurs at the mid-point of the curve. Some athletes could hit there optimal peak state at varying different intervals and so the theory is not always seen as being 100% reliable. If an athlete experiences confidence problems and frustration when starting to loose in a sporting environment, performance can decrease significantly at different times through out the game.
- One curve does not explain the different optimal levels of arousal needed for simple and complex tasks.
2. Drive Theory.(1943) and Spence and Spence (1966).
This demonstrates that the more a sports person was aroused the better their performance would be, hence creating this smooth linear relationship between arousal and performance. Hull
P = f(H x D)
Where P represents performance, F the function H the habit and D the drive. If the dominant learned response is correct then the performance will be enhanced, the dominant response for a beginner however may be incorrect action meaning a possible decrease in performance, Drive can be reduced if the individual looses motivation.
Weaknesses
- Its validity has often been questioned, as it states a continuous increase in performance discarding the fact that after a certain point arousal can negatively affect performance.
- This theory also explains that novices to a sport often do not perform well under pressure resulting in a skill level decrease.
- Experienced athletes tend to perform better under pressure due to their superior skills and the use of stress management techniques
3. Catastrophe Theory Hardy & Fazey’s (1988).
Originated by the French mathematician. Rene Thom in the 1960s.
This picture below shows how the theory works when in a sporting point of view.
‘’Sport psychologists have applied the theory to the development of stress in athletes during competition. Such stress results from a complex interaction between physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety. When athletes are subjected to a small increase in stress above a critical level, they may experience a huge and sudden loss of performance.’’ http://sports./catastrophe-theory.html
This shows that if a sports person goes over a certain point of arousal their performance will slip therefore having a negative affect, this theory goes against the Drive theory as it argues too much arousal can decrease levels of performance. An example of being sometimes over aroused in a sporting environment would be the New Zealand haka, in past events the team have become so over aroused that its lead to a result of violence with the opposition, this could then have an extremely negative game playing defect as both teams aren’t focused on the rugby but instead on violence leading to foul play. ‘’In 1997, Richard Cockerill was disciplined for responding to the haka before the start of an England vs. All Blacks game. Cockerill went toe-to-toe with his opposite number Norm Hewitt while they performed the haka. The referee became so concerned that Hewitt and Cockerill would begin fighting that he pushed Cockerill away from Hewitt.’’
- They’re work has been regarded by some as questionable methodology, there were a number of differing conclusions by researchers as to the specific effect that somatic and cognitive anxiety had upon performance. This lack of concordance between researchers was considered the greatest shortcoming within the theory.
- Some doubt has been raised as to the full efficacy of Hardy & Fazey's (1988) model as a faithful account of the effect high cognitive anxiety has upon performance. Many Researchers were unable to offer complete support to Hardy & Fazey's prediction that performance should be high when cognitive anxiety is high and physiological arousal is low.
- The model also fails to explain how the effects of cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal on performance occur.
- The majority of the research has been conducted by the same small number of behavioural scientists, and therefore adds to the questionable validity of the model and its role in sport and exercise psychology.
Strengths
- Despite its shortcomings, Hardy & Fazey's (1987) approach has been regarded by many as a plausible 'up to date' alternative to the outmoded multidimensional theory.
Olivia McCarthy 12PDL.
L.O.3 – Write a report on how a coach could improve the group dynamics within a sports team.
Introduction.
Every sporting team is lead, instructed and guided by a coach. The coach is at the head of the sporting performance and has a major impact on how their players perform as a unit. How they chose to carry out training and development determines how a team performs, It is their role and responsibility to ensure that their players are working together as a team, they may list the most talented and skilled performers within individuals but if theses individuals can’t work as one they become a failure as a unit. This is why it is so vitally important that they do the best they can to work within the team in order to achieve success. Below I have tried to analyse how and why different group dynamics affect performance.
Group Effectiveness.
Working as part of a team in sport has proved to be extremely beneficial in many different aspects. Being part of a team/group allows you to act and perform as a unit. And so it is important that the group you work within is effective in their ways and processes in order for success to be achieved. There are a Varity of different ways in which this can be done…In the essay below there are some different actions and procedures which can be taken to try and accomplish this.
Group Development.
‘’A group is two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person’’. The above quote shared by (Shaw M E 1976), gives us an approach on how a group can be seen, group and team members need to depend and rely on each other, offering support and motivation in order to accomplish targets, goals and objectives.
The development of a group is a vital part in the making of a successful team. It is split into 4 different sections, each sporting team/group normally passes through these following stages;
1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
Forming is when the group members familiarise themselves, make first impressions and a level of formality is set. Strengths and weaknesses are assessed and members start to weigh up role duties.
Storming this is the stage at which conflicts become common there is a level of tension where the fight for status and recognitions forms. Leaders begin to get questioned and members try to climb up the influential ladder.
Norming tends to be where previous conflict is replaced by a sense of co-ordination and solidarity, the goals become a team outlook and objective instead of individual achievements, certain rules and regulations are set and it is here that cohesion, satisfaction and respect all begin to develop and the team becomes more of a unit.
Performing is the process where little supervision and motivation from external sources are needed, the group is more experienced and so more knowledgeable in making their own actions and decisions, overall the group matures to work as a team successfully.
Cohesion.
Cohesion is the extent to which members of a group exhibit a desire to achieve common goals and group identity. Common sense therefore suggests that the more cohesive a team is, the better they perform as a unit. Cohesion is a popular subject for research studies in sport but the results are equivocal. Some studies show that high group cohesion leads to better performance. Others suggest that good performances lead to increased cohesion. Where as some show a negative correlation between sporting performance and cohesion.
In early research the effects of Cohesion were assessed in terms of both interactive and coactive groups. In interactive teams such as basketball, netball, rugby, football etc… perceived cohesion was thought to be important for success. In contrast, team cohesion was seen as less vital for coactive teams such as rowing, swimming and relay where team members rely less on each other and just concentrate on their own task as individuals.
Later research developed these two basic assessments of cohesion into two further categories, referring to them as;
-Task cohesion
-Social cohesion
Task cohesion relates to how well the team works together to achieve common targets and goals. The level of the teams desire to win and be the best is directly linked to their level of group effort and teamwork.
Social cohesion relates to how much the members of a team enjoy each others company and interaction, how well they integrate socially whether they win or loose.
‘’A man named Albert Carron (1982) proposed a conceptual model in order to highlight the many pre-existing variables that could influence the development of group cohesion. Carrons framework highlighted four major categories of antecedents that contribute to group cohesion. The above quote was taken from’’ (www.wiki.org) and are explained further as of below;
• Situational/environmental elements e.g.-group size, age, contrasts, geography.
• Personal elements e.g. similar/dissimilar, gender, motivational reasons i.e. task, affiliation, self.
• Team elements e.g. the desire for success, shared team experiences.
• Leadership elements e.g. decision making, participative style.
These four categories of antecedents were seen as affecting both task and social cohesion in relation to either the group or the individual. Whilst the team’s objectives may be the same for all, the individual motives for joining and maintaining the group may be different. Below is a diagram to explain the theory with regards to sport.
There are other factors which are associated with Cohesion, below is a list of some factors that can be commonly linked with cohesion with a few suggestions as to how cohesion co-insides with these factors.
Stability
-The longer a group stays together, with the same members the more likely it is to develop cohesiveness.
Size
-Cohesion develops most quickly in small groups, unless there are any disruptive members, who will have a greater effect in small groups compared to larger ones.
Support.
-Cohesive teams tend to have managers and captains who provide support to play and who encourage players to support each other. This support occurs before, during and after competition (task related support) and at other times (personal and emotional support).
Satisfaction.
-Cohesion is associated with the extent to which team members are pleased with each others performance, behaviour and conformity to the norms of the group. For example, cohesion can be lessened if a player consistently lets the team down.
Leadership.
‘’Most successful teams have strong leaders and the importance of this role is evident in all categories of sport. The performance of a leader is very clear in interactive games like hockey and netball, where as a leaders contribution in co-active team games such as swimming and athletics is less obvious although still influential.’’ This statement taken from the following book (Advanced PE for OCR A2 Daniel Bonney et al. 2004) shows us just how important then presence of a leader is in sport. Leaders can be referred to the head of a sporting team and has a huge influence on how the team performs. They help to give instructions and direction on the sport and have to have the respect of their fellow team members in order to gain that sense of authority.
There are some clear characteristics that are found within leaders of the sporting society, these are qualities of personality which allow a leader figure should hold in order to achieve maximum success. A short list is as below;
- Communication – This is vitally important, it allows the coaches to become more familiar with players and breaks the barrier of misunderstanding.
- Self Discipline – Coaches are looked up to by their team players and athletes, it is key that they set a bench mark in order to lead by example and set the right impressions.
- Confidence – Being confident in their own decisions ensures the team that they’re being lead by someone who has full knowledge and understanding, as well as this being able to show confidence in others with regards to decisions and outlooks.
- Intelligence – Being able to think of different game tactics, strategies and plans is vital in recorded the success and development of players and moving forward as a team.
Styles of Leadership.
Different styles of leadership were identified as early as 1939 by Lewin et al. In their investigations of adult leadership styles on 10 year old boys attending after school clubs Lewin used three basic styles.
-Autocratic leaders.
This type of leader adopts a very authoritarian style generally based on strong rule structures. They tend to be very inflexible, make all the decisions and rarely get involved on a personal level with consideration to the team and group members.
-Democratic leaders.
This type of leader only makes decisions after consulting the group. They are usually more informal, relaxed and active within the group and team community than the autocratic leader. In addition, they show a keen interest in personal group involvement and are prepared to help and explain appropriate feedback and encouragement.
-Laissez-faire.
This type of leader leaves the group to get on by themselves and generally pays a passive role. They do not interfere, either by directing or co-ordinating. Being generally unsure of the task they tend no to make or give any positive/negative evaluations.
The results put forward by Lewin et al were specifically related to patterns of aggression and co-operation. Those in the groups lead by an autocratic leader tended to become aggressive with one another, working independently and in competition against each other. They also worker hard when their leader was present and were generally submissive to the leader.
Those boys with the democratic leader were more consistent in their approach to work, although less was done it was of a similar quality. They related better to one another and were generally more interested, cheerful and co-operative. Altogether they continued to work well when left alone
The boys in the laissez-faire-led group were also generally aggressive towards each other, being restless and easily discouraged. They too produced very little work.
Lewin et al’s study indicates that leadership style is a more important factor than personality, i.e. that democratic leaders are apparently most effective. The fact that the third group hardly did any work indicates that leadership of some sort and level is incredibly important.
Theories of leadership.
Research often investigates into the leadership styles of coaches, these investigations look at personalities, behaviours, and other related factors in an attempt to better understand and define leadership. Below are some of the more distinguished theories of leadership within the sporting environment.
• Chelladurai’s multi-dimensional model.
There has been a great deal of research to try and apply the many non-sporting contingency models and theories to the sporting environment. The so called unique characteristics of sporting teams with a lack of specific support and application success, suggested that a more sports-specific model of leadership was needed. By bringing together the many aspects of different research and contingency model Chelladurai put forward his sport specific multi-dimensional model in 1980. Through this model he argued that the style adopted by a leader in sport. And its relative effectiveness, depended not only on the demands and constrains of a situation together with the characteristics of a leader, but also on the characteristics and demands of the group, His model suggests therefore that in order to achieve both;
-High performance levels
-Good group team satisfaction
A leader had to be even more dynamic and changeable in relation to the characteristics of the situation, leader and group. These types of interdependent behaviour will help produce the required outcomes.
1. Required behaviour – the type of behaviour appropriate to or required by the situation or task. E.g. teachers are expected to conform to certain norms and express certain accepted values.
2. Preferred behaviour – the type of behaviour preferred by the group or performer. Different groups will demand different things from their leaders. I.e. achievement of performance levels by some for fun and enjoyment whereas for others it could be competitive and serious.
3. Actual leader behaviour – the behaviour shown by the teacher or coach in a specific situation.
• Differences between male and female leaders.
The below information is taken from www.questia.com Who have provided an explanation on the topic of gender differences within coaching leadership, This is extremely interesting as it shows the preferences of genders in terms of coaching styles and techniques and allows us to explore whether gender does have an impact on the coaching world of sport.
‘’Researchers provide contradicting evidence for the differences between male and female leaders. Freeman and Lanning (1989) demonstrated how males and females are similar in social power motivation (an element of leadership). Conversely, Chelladurai and Saleh (1980) found that male athletes preferred coaches to be more autocratic, yet more supportive than did female athletes. Following Chelladurai and Saleh's (1980) research on preferred leadership behaviour, suggesting that behaviour is dictated by member's preferences (athlete's attitudes), it would follow that coaches of males (typically male coaches) would be different than coaches of females (typically female coaches). Additionally, Lipman-Blumen (1992) reported that gender differences exist in leadership achievement styles.’’
• Trait Approach.
This theory argues that leaders are born with the skills necessary to take charge and cannot be ‘made’ or ‘manufactured’ into being able to lead effectively. They believe that the leadership traits are part of a person’s personality (intelligence, assertiveness and self –confidence) and so certain members of society are born natural leaders. However this theory has proved to be quite controversial as explained in (Advanced PE for OCR A2. Daniel Booney et al 2004) Who state ‘If this is true a leader should be able to take control of any situation. This is highly unlikely, an early trait theory is the ‘great man theory’ which suggests that the necessary qualities are inherited by sons (not daughters) whose fathers have been successful in this field.’’
From this I think it is clear to conclude that although certain characteristics or traits are helpful when it comes down to leadership, not all people who hold these traits are guaranteed success in leadership.
Bibliography.
• Sport and P.E - Kevin Wesson Nesta Wiggins Graham Thompon and Sue Hartigan
• Physical Education and the study of sport - Rob Davis, Ros Bull, Jan Roscoe, Dennis Roscoe. (1991)
• www.wiki.org.
• Advanced PE for OCR A2. Daniel Booney, John Ireland, Claire Miller, Ken Mackreth, Ina Thomas, Sarah van Wely. (2004)
• www.questia.com
• Classroom notes – Mrs Donald.
Olivia McCarthy 12DPL.
Needs Analysis.
Clients Name – Amy Howarth. |
Sports Psychologist’s name – Olivia McCarthy. |
The following initial assessments were undertaken;
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Results from assessment 1. In this assessment the client obtained a score of 51 of out a possible 84, this score being over the half way mark indicates the client shows fairly high amounts of skill level. From these results we can conclude that Amy remains calm and positive when finding her self in difficult situations, she enjoys receiving guidance and structure from a coach and is extremely focused on her sporting performance. Amy enjoys the demands that pressure brings to her game, but does tend to step away from organisations and goal setting. |
Results from assessment 2. The client scored moderately high on this assessment, producing a self confident set of scores equating to well over half way in each section. This suggests that the client is a fairly self confident personality and has little faith in her own performances. Often worrying about meeting standards and losing confidence when not performing well. |
Results from assessment 3. In assessment 3 we can gather the understanding that the client sometimes experiences changes before competition due to nervousness and anxiety, Amy prefers to work in a team indicating she feels less nervous when being interactive and in the company of a team environment. |
Results from assessment 4. In the final assessment the client displays high levels of somatic anxiety meaning she begins to feel nervous and anxious before her sporting performances, Amy’s score on the worry scale is again very high and so we can draw that her need to impress and exceed in her performance is incredibly important to her. Amy’s low scoring results from her concentration disruption testing announce she is extremely focused on her sporting task and remains in control no matter what her external environments may be. Finally Amy’s overall trait anxiety score shows high levels of anxiety. |
Client’s strengths. Amy’s ability to remain focused and controlled regardless of her environment allow 100% commitment, she also thrives off pressure which allows her to enjoy performing under a range of different environments. |
Clients Weaknesses. Amy’s lack of self confidence and high levels of anxiety could get in the way of performance, the client tends to worry about what others think and looses confidence when not performing to the best of her ability. |
Possible Improvements to performance by using the following techniques;
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Olivia McCarthy 12PDL.
