Psychological Factors Affecting Performance

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Psychological Factors Affecting Performance

• Personality theories

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• Personality as a layered structure
• Narrow band approach
• Eysencks Type Theory
• Personality by continuums
• Trait theories
• Interactionist approach
• Summary

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Theory 1 Hollander (1971) Personality as a
Layered Structure

• Inner psychological core (not affected by the
  environment). Fairly permanent qualities, e.g.
  basic beliefs and values reside here (controlling
  or dictating behaviour trait approach)
• Way we typically or usually respond to certain
  situations
• Role-related behaviours Typical response may be
  affected by circumstances. Behaviour will be
  completely different at different times and in
  different situations and may well be quite unlike
  our psychological core (interactionist approach)
• Social environment Affects our role-related
  behaviours

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Narrow Band approachPersonality

• TYPE A
• Impatient
• Intolerance
• High levels of stress

• TYPE B
• Relaxed
• Tolerant approach
• Lower personal stress

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• Eysencks Type Theory
• Stable (reliable and predictable) Extroversion
  (likes social affiliation) Introversion (avoids
  social contact) Neurotic (extreme emotions and
  unreliable)
• People dont have one type of personality or
  another, they lie on a scale of traits
• This research led to the construction of the EPQ
  and EPI (Eysencks Personality Inventory)

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• Eysenck regarded personality as largely resulting
  from inherited (innate) tendencies.
• He measured these inherited characteristics
  through a Personality Inventory (EPI, 1964), and
  personality questionnaire (1975)
• He used factor analysis to identify general
  trends.
• Therefore identifying 2 major personality
  dimensions on a continuum
• Extroversion Introversion
• Stable - Neurotic

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Personality continuums

• (Extroversion Introversion). This dimension
  linked to a persons Reticular Activating System
  (RAS). Related to how social or unsocial a person
  appeared to be.
• (Stable Neurotic). This linked to a persons
  autonomic nervous system. Referred to the levels
  of nervousness and anxiety that a person was
  susceptible to.

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• It was claimed that extroverts were more likely
  to take part in sport and be more successful,
  that they prefer team games and that
• Extroverts cope better in competitive and highly
  charged, stressful situations
• Extroverts cope better in the presence of
  distracting stimuli (e.g. audience, noise)
• Extroverts can cope with pain more easily then
  introverts

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Cattells theory (1965)

• Adopted a trait approach but argued you needed
  more than 2 dimensions to create a full picture
  of a persons personality.
• Cattells 16 point personality questionnaire
  would identify certain common traits (possessed
  by all), and unique traits (possessed by some).
• Therefore personality was more dynamic and could
  fluctuate according to the situation and the
  environment.

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Evaluation of trait theories

• Did not recognise the specific effects of
  different environmental situations
• Traits are seen as poor predictors of behaviour.
  Although people have certain core tendencies, or
  are disposed to act in certain ways, these
  behaviours are not general but specific to
  certain situations
• Therefore interactionist approaches would be more
  efficient in predicting behaviour

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Interactionist approach

• Bf(PE)
• BBehaviour
• FFunction
• PPersonality Trait
• EEnvironment

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Summary

• Hollander (1971) believes personality is subject
  to both trait and interactionist approaches.
• The narrow band approach believes there are only
  2 categories of personality
• Eysencks type theory - People dont have one
  type of personality or another, they lie on a
  scale of traits
• Cattells 16 point personality questionnaire
  would identify certain common traits (possessed
  by all), and unique traits (possessed by some).