Personality
What are the Big Five personality traits?
Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism
Name the 5 Cs of mental toughness.
Commitment, Communication, Concentration, Control, Confidence
According to Sage (1977), what are the two components of motivation?
Direction and intensity of effort
What are the three psychological needs in Self-Determination Theory?
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness
Which mental toughness trait (5Cs) is most closely linked to conscientiousness (Big 5)?
Commitment
What’s the difference between a personality trait and a personality state?
Trait = stable and enduring; State = temporary and situational
What does the "control" component of mental toughness help an athlete manage?
Emotional regulation and composure under pressure
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
Intrinsic = internal satisfaction; Extrinsic = driven by external rewards or pressure
Define "amotivation" and give one sport-related example.
No intention to act; e.g., athlete skips practice because they see no point
How does ego orientation relate to maladaptive perfectionism?
Ego orientation promotes external validation; can lead to anxiety and fear of failure
How might a high level of neuroticism affect an athlete during a penalty shootout?
Increases anxiety, overthinking, and poor decision-making
How would a high-performing athlete demonstrate “commitment” during a losing season?
Maintains training intensity and effort toward goals
Give traits of a high-achieving athlete using Need Achievement Theory.
motivated by success, sets personal goals, low fear of failure
A swimmer trains when injured to avoid guilt. What type of motivation is this? (HINT: one of the I's)
Introjected regulation (controlled motivation)
An athlete scoring low on confidence and high on neuroticism might respond how under pressure?
Likely to choke, experience emotional breakdowns, or withdraw
Compare the usefulness of S-data in athlete profiling.
S-data = self-reported and potentially biased
Why is it difficult to measure mental toughness with self-report tools?
Prone to bias, lack of objectivity, social desirability effects
Why is the 50-50 chance of success important in predicting motivated behavior?
It's the ideal scenario to reveal high vs. low achievement motivation
Why is integrated regulation more sustainable than external regulation?
Aligned with identity and values = long-term commitment; external depends on rewards
How could understanding an athlete's personality help a coach foster self-determined motivation?
Tailor strategies to athlete traits, meet SDT needs (e.g., use agreeable feedback for high neuroticism)
To what extent is perfectionism helpful or harmful for elite performers?
Adaptive perfectionism may enhance performance; maladaptive linked to anxiety, burnout; Neuroticism contributes negatively
Evaluate the effectiveness of PST in building mental toughness for team sport athletes.
PST builds focus, coping skills, and confidence, but varies based on athlete buy-in and context
Should coaches encourage more task or ego orientation? Justify.
Task orientation promotes resilience, effort, intrinsic motivation; ego may cause stress and drop-out
How could a coach use SDT to reduce dropout rates in youth sports?
Support autonomy, build competence, foster team relationships to increase intrinsic motivation
Design a motivational intervention for a low-achieving athlete using 2 of the following: SDT, Need Achievement Theory, and trait theory.
Promote autonomy (SDT)
set realistic 50-50 goals (Need Achievement)
understand trait profile (e.g., support high neuroticism with stability)