Important

• Understanding the Client – It is critical for practitioners (coaches, trainers, consultants) to look beyond the “facade” or mask an athlete presents to understand what truly makes them tick, as this insight is required to determine the most effective helping strategy.
• Unconscious Drivers of Behaviour – A key contribution of psychodynamic theory that students must know is the recognition that not all athlete behaviours are under conscious control, meaning one must sometimes look to the unconscious mind to understand the athlete’s true personality.
• Athlete vs. Non-Athlete Differences – The most meaningful and consistent personality differences are found when comparing athletes to non-athletes (or active vs. inactive people), rather than comparing athletes across different sports.
• Mental Toughness Research – The qualitative work by Jones, Hanton, and Connaughton involving focus groups with elite performers is a classic, essential study that provided a clear definition and attribute list for mental toughness.
• Psychology and Excellence – It is important to note the view that as physical skill levels increase, psychological factors become increasingly critical, with some suggesting psychology is the key to athletic excellence.

Core Concepts

• Definition of Personality: An individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioural traits, though this is often obscured by a “facade” or role-related behaviour adopted to suit specific social situations.
• Interactionist Perspective: The view that behaviour is not determined solely by personality traits or the environment, but by the interaction of both, summarized by Lewin’s formula $B = f(P, E)$.
• Athletic Pyramid: A model suggesting that as athletes move up competitive levels (from entrance to elite), their personalities become more homogeneous (alike) due to a natural selection of adaptive traits.
• Gravitational Hypothesis: The theory that individuals with specific stable personality traits—specifically higher extroversion and emotional stability—are naturally attracted to and selected into the world of sport.
• Developmental Hypothesis: The counter-view to gravitation, suggesting that participation in sports has the power to shape and modify personality over time, particularly in youth.
• Two Dimensions of Perfectionism: Perfectionism is split into “Evaluative Concerns” (maladaptive, driven by social pressure and self-doubt) and “Personal Standards” (adaptive, driven by high standards and conscientious striving).
• Mental Toughness: Defined as a psychological edge enabling an athlete to cope better than opponents with demands and to remain more consistent in determination, focus, confidence, and control under pressure.
• Flow: An autotelic state of complete absorption in an activity where high challenge meets high skill, characterized by a loss of self-consciousness, total focus, and a transformation of time.
• Paradox of Control: A specific characteristic of the flow state where the athlete feels a sense of total control without actively attempting to exert control.
• Peak Performance: An episode of superior functioning that is relatively rare and involuntary, requiring both physical conditioning and the systematic use of psychological skills to achieve.

Theories and Frameworks

• Psychodynamic Approach: Originating with Freud, this theory posits that behaviour is driven by unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses, managed by the ego through defense mechanisms like sublimation (channeling impulses into socially acceptable sports).
• Humanistic Approach: A positive framework emphasizing self-actualization and the need for “unconditional positive regard” to avoid “conditions of worth” that force athletes to wear masks to gain acceptance.
• Social Learning Theory: Suggests behaviour is learned through the environment via modeling (observational learning) and shaped by reinforcement or punishment.
• Five Factor Model (Big Five): The dominant trait model assessing personality across five dimensions: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
• 2×2 Model of Dispositional Perfectionism: A framework that categorizes individuals into four subtypes (Pure Personal Standards, Pure Evaluative Concerns, Mixed, and Non-Perfectionist) based on their combination of high or low scores on two perfectionism dimensions.
• Psychological Profile of Elite Athletes: A composite profile suggesting elite athletes possess high self-confidence, strong emotional regulation, total concentration, productive perfectionism, and view difficult situations as exciting challenges.

Notable Individuals

• Steve Tambellini: General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers who utilized a sport psychologist to draft Taylor Hall over Tyler Seguin based on psychological fit.
• Sigmund Freud: Founder of the psychodynamic approach, emphasizing the unconscious mind and defense mechanisms.
• Terry Orlick: A key figure in humanistic sport psychology who focused on athlete personal growth and respecting the athlete’s perspective.
• Robert McCrae & Paul Costa: Researchers responsible for the Five Factor Model (Big Five), the most widely accepted trait model.
• Kurt Lewin: Psychologist who proposed the interactionist formula $B = f(P, E)$, stating behaviour is a function of person and environment.
• Rhodes & Smith: Conducted a meta-analysis confirming that athletes/exercisers are generally more extroverted and conscientious than inactive individuals.
• John Silva: Proposed the “Athletic Pyramid” concept, arguing that personality traits become more similar among athletes at higher elite levels.
• Bill Morgan: Proposed the “Gravitational Hypothesis,” suggesting certain personality types are naturally attracted to sport contexts.
• Tattersfield: Conducted a longitudinal study showing that sport participation can modify personality traits like extroversion and stability in youth.
• Gaudreau & Thompson: Developed the 2×2 model of perfectionism, distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive forms.
• Jones, Hanton, & Connaughton: Conducted classic qualitative research to define the specific attributes of mental toughness in elite performers.
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: The positive psychologist who coined the term “Flow” to describe the state of optimal engagement.
• Krane & Williams: Developed the psychological profile of successful elite athletes and identified key mental skills for peak performance.