The Role of Personality in Athletes’ Professionalism
Vol.18,No.2(2024)
This study investigates the complex interplay among personality types and professionalism in the realm of sports. The objective is to explore the relationship between personality traits, sex, age, experience in national teams, the sport they engage in, their accomplishments, duration of their sports careers, and levels of professionalism in athletes. The study involves 761 active sports participants, aged 18 to 38, selected through the snowball sampling technique. Data collection relies on the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) to evaluate personality types and the Professionalism Scale for Athletes (PSA) to measure professionalism levels. Results reveal no significant sex-based differences in personality types or professionalism levels, although females exhibit advantages in specific personality sub-dimensions. Athletes with national team experience and those engaged in individual sports demonstrate heightened professionalism, emphasizing unique opportunities and personal responsibility. Those with international and regional achievements, older athletes, and those with prolonged sports engagement display elevated professionalism levels. The correlation between personality dimensions (openness to experience, agreeableness, and extraversion) and professionalism underscores the multifaceted nature of professional behavior. In conclusion, the study provides comprehensive insights into the relationships shaping athletes’ professionalism, emphasizing the need for continued exploration to uncover additional contributing factors.
Professionalism; Personality type; Athletes
Adiguzel, O., Tanriverdi, H., & Ozkan, D.S. (2011). Occupational Professionalism and The Case of Nurses As The Members of The Profession. Journal of Administrative Sciences, 9(2), 235-260.
Allen, M.S., & Laborde, S. (2014). The Role of Personality in Sport and Physical Activity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(6), 460–465. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414550705
Allport, G.W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation (1 b.). New York: NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Altiok, H.O., & Ustun, B. (2014). Professionalism: Concept Analyse. Dokuz Eylul University E-Journal of Nursing Faculty, 7(2), 151-155.
Arsita, Sari, G., Rohmah, L., & Nadlifah (2019). Teacher Professionalism in Improving Children’s Speech Ability Speech Delay. Proceedings of the 4th Annual Conference on Islamic Early Childhood Education, 4, 367-378.
Atak, H. (2013). The Turkish Adaptation of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Archives of Neuropsychiatry, 50: 312-319.
Barth, M., Güllich, A., & Emrich, E. (2018). The rich get richer and the poor get poorer – The Matthew mechanism as an approach to explain selection effects and the occurrence of multiple medalists in the “production” of international success in alpine ski racing. Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS), 3, e008. https://doi.org/10.15203/ciss_2018.008
Baur, D.G., & Lehmann, S. (2008). Does The Mobility of Football Players Influence the Success of The National Team? IIIS Discussion Paper No. 217. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.980936
Buchanan, D.A., & Huczynski, A. (1997). Organizational behaviour: An introductory text. London: Prentice Hall, 134-136.
Björkström M.N., Athlin E.A, & Johansson, I.S. (2008). Nurses’ Development of Professional Self–From Being a Nursing Student in A Baccalaureate Programme to an Experienced Nurse. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 1380-1391. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.02014.x
Boyt, T., Lusch, R.F. & Naylor, G. (2001). The Role Of Professionalism in Determining Job Satisfaction in Professional Services: A Study of Marketing Researchers. Journal of Service Research, 3(4), 321-330. doi: 10.1177/109467050134005
Costa, P.T., & McCrae, R.R. (1992). Professional manual for the NEO PI-R. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Costa, P.T., Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (2008). The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). In G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews, & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of personality theory and assessment, Vol. 2. Personality measurement and testing (pp. 179–198). Sage Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781849200479.n9
Costa, P.T., Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (2012). 'The Five-Factor Model and the NEO Inventories', in James N. Butcher (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Personality Assessment, Oxford Library of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195366877.013.0016
Côté, J. & Gilbert, W. D. (2009). An Integrative Definition of Coaching Effectiveness and Expertise. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 4:307–23.
De Bosscher, V., De Knop, P., van Bottenburg, M., & Shibli, S. (2006). A Conceptual Framework for Analysing Sports Policy Factors Leading to International Sporting Success. European Sport Management Quarterly, 6(2), 185–215. doi: 10.1080/16184740600955087
Donnellan, M.B., Conger, R.D., & Bryant, C.M. (2004). The Big Five and enduring marriages. Journal of Re- search in Personality, 38, 481–504. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2004.01.001
Eagly, A.H., & Wood, W. (1999). The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior: Evolved Dispositions Versus Social Roles. American Psychologist, 54, 408–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.6.408
Englund, T. (2002). Are professional teachers a good thing? In I.E. Goodson & A. Hargreaves (Eds.) Teachers' professional lives (pp. 83-95). London: Routledge.
Eysenck, H.J., Nias, D.K., & Cox, D.N. (1982). Sport and Personality. Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 4, 1-56.
Farrelly, D., &Austin E.J. (2007). Ability EI as an intelligence? Associations of the MSCEIT with Performance on Emotion Processing and Social Tasks and with Cognitive Ability. Cognition and Emotion. 2007;21(5):1043-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930601069404.
Feist, G.J. (1998). A Meta-Analysis of Personality in Scientific and Artistic Creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 290–309. doi: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5
Filho, M.G.B, Ribeiro, L.C.S., & Garcia, F.G. (2005). Comparison of Personality Characteristics between High-level Brazilian Athletes and Non-athletes. Rev Bras Med Esporte 11(2). doi: 10.1590/S1517-86922005000200004
Folkman, S. (1984). Personal Control and Coping Processes: A Theoretical Analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 839 – 852. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.46.4.839
George, D., & Mallery, M. (2010). SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference, 17.0 update (10a ed.) Boston: Pearson
Goldberg, L.R. (1993). The Structure of Phenotypic Personality Traits. American psychologist, 48(1), 26. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.48.1.26
Gosling, S.D., Rentfrow, P.J., & Swann, W.B., Jr. (2003). A Very Brief Measure of The Big Five Personality Domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504-528. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00046-1
Güllich, A. (2013). Selection, de-selection and progression in German football talent promotion. European Journal of Sport Science, 14(6), 530–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2013.858371
Gungor, N.B., Kurtipek, S., & Ilhan, E.L. (2022). Investigation of the Psychometric Properties of Professionalism Scale for Athletes (APS). J Sport Sci Res, 7(1):36-48. DOI:10.25307/jssr.1007384
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., Anderson, R.E. & Tatham, R.L. (2013). Multivariate data analysis. New York: Pearson Education Ltd.
Hilferty, F. (2008). Theorizing Teacher Professionalism as an Enacted Discourse of Power. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(2), 161-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690701837521
Hanrahan, S.J., & Cerin, E. (2009). Gender, Level of Participation, and Type of Sport: Differences in Achievement Goal Orientation and Attributional Style. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 12, 508–512. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2008.01.005
Jensen-Campbell, L. A., & Graziano, W. G. (2001). Agreeableness as a moderator of interpersonal conflict. Journal of Personality, 6 9, 323–362. doi: 10.1111/1467-6494.00148
Jones, L., & Green, J. (2006). Shifting Discourses of Professionalism: A Case Study of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom. Sociology of Health & Illness, 28(7), 927-950. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467- 9566.2006.00513.x
Kaplan, T., Aktas, S., Tukel, Y., & Atilgan, D. (2017). The Investigation of Personality Types of Recreationally Active University Students. Journal of Sports and Performance Researches, 8(2), 135-144.
Karabag, B. (2019). Investigation of The Personality Traits, Decision-Making Styles and The Strategies of Coping with Stress of Secondary Students Who Do and Who Do Not Sports (Master’s Thesis). Bartın University.
Khareng, M., Machae, R., Awang, J., Ab Rahman, Z., & Mohd Noor, A.Y. (2020). The Achievement of Teacher Professionalism among Religious Teachers Alumni of the Academy of Islamic and Arabic Studies. Princess of Naradhiwas University Aias-Pnu, 90(2), 127-138.
Kirby, S., & G. Demers, (2013). Sexual harassment and Abuse in sport. In E.A. Roper (Ed.), Gender Relations in Sport, 95–118.
Kose, M. (2020). Investigation The Relationship between Individuals’ Sporting Status and Personality Types, Psychological Well-Being (Master’s Thesis). Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University.
Lestari, H.D., & Achadi, A. (2016). Analisis Pengaruh Profesionalism, Job Experience, dan job autonomy terhadap job performance (Studi pada Advokat di Purwokerto). Majalah Imiah Manajemen dan Bisnis, 13(1), 99-115.
Lockwood, P., Jordan, C.H., & Kunda, Z. (2002). Motivation by Positive or Negative Role Models: Regulatory Focus Determines Who Will Best Inspire Us. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 854–864.
Ludwig, S. (2020). Professionalism. Pediatrics in Review, 41(5), 217-223. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2018- 0234
Luthans, F. (2010). Organizational behavior: An evidence-based approach. New York: Mcgrow Hill. N.Y.
Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting networks of practice for professional learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.873
McCrae, R.R., & Costa, P.T. (1987). Validation of The Five-Factor Model of Personality across Instruments and Observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 81–90.
McCrae, R.R., & Costa, P.T. (2003). Personality in adulthood. New York: The Guilford Press.
McKillup, S. (2012). Statistics explained: An introductory guide for life scientists (Second edition). United States: Cambridge University Press.
Merriam-Webster. (2018). Merriam-Webster Online.
Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.873
Mujahidah, M., Afiah, N., & Syaiful. (2020). Perceptions of English Education Program Students towards The Professionalism of English Education Lecturers in Online Learning at IAIN Parepare. Asian Social Science and Humanities Research Journal (ASHREJ), 2(2), 70-76. https://doi.org/10.37698/ashrej.v2i2.37
Nia, M.E., & Besharat, M.A. (2010). Comparison of Athletes’ Personality Characteristics in Individual and Team Sports. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 808–812. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.1
Nicholls, J.G. (1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. Harvard University Press: Cambridge
Nixon, H.L. (1993). Accepting the Risks of Pain and Injury in Sport: Mediated Cultural Influences on Playing Hurt. Sociology of Sport Journal, 10:183–196.
Noy, C. (2008). Sampling Knowledge: The Hermeneutics of Snowball Sampling in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 11(4), 237-344.
Parikh, M., & Gupta, R. (2010). Organizational behavior. McGraw-Hill Company: New York.
Perry, J. (2020). Performing under pressure: Psychological strategies for sporting success. Routledge: New York.
Pulkkinen, L. (1996). Female and Male Personality Styles: A Typological and Developmental Analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(6), 1288–1306. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1288
Robbins, S.P., & Judge, T.A. (2012). Organizational behavior. Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
Schoonover, S. (2016). Different Personality Traits between Athletes and Non-athletes. Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal, 1(18).
Somer, O. (1998). Beş-faktör kişilik model [The five-factor model in personality traits]. Türk Psikoloji Yazilari, 1(2), 35–62.
Tabachnick, L., & Fidell, L.S. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics (sixth ed.). Pearson: Boston.
Taskinoz, B.S. (2022). Examination of The Relationship between Psychological Mobbing Behaviors and Personality Types Encountered by Physical Education and Sports Teachers (Master’s Thesis). Necmettin Erbakan University.
Tatlilioglu, K. (2014). A Research Subscales of Undergraduate’s Personality Traits According to Five Factor Personality Theory in Terms of Some Variants. Journal of History School, 7(XVII), 939-971.
Tichenor, M.S., & Tichenor, J.M. (2005). Understanding Teachers’ Perspectives on Professionalism. The Professional Educator, 27(1-2), 89-95.
Unal, Z. (2020). Examination of Leisure Time Constraints Negotiation Strategies According to Personality Traits (Doctoral Thesis). Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.
Walton, T.A. (2013). Framing Title IX: Conceptual Metaphors at Work. In E.A. Roper (Ed.), Gender Relations in Sport. Sense Publishers: The Netherlands.
Wayne, J.H., Musisca, N., & Fleeson, W. (2004). Considering The Role of Personality in The Work–Family Experience: Relationships of The Big Five To Work–Family Conflict and Facilitation. Journal of vocational behavior, 64(1), 108-130.
Wicker, P., & Frick, B. (2016). The Inspirational Effect of Sporting Achievements and Potential Role Models in Football: A Gender-Specific Analysis. Managing Sport and Leisure, 21(5), 265–282. doi:10.1080/23750472.2016.1265
Williams, K., & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, A. (1999). Coping Strategies in Adolescents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20, 537-549. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)00025-8.
Wood, W., & Eagly, A.H. (2002). A Cross-Cultural Analysis of The Behavior of Women and Men: Implications for The Origins of Sex Differences. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 699–727.
Zellars, K.L., & Perrewé, P.L. (2001). Affective Personality and The Content of Emotional Social Support: Coping in Organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 459. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.459
Zhang, L.F. (2002). Thinking Styles and The Big Five Personality Traits. Educational psychology, 22(1), 17-31. doi: 10.1080/01443410120101224
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2024 Yasin Unvanli, Ekrem Levent ILHAN, Petr Vajda, Ebru Olcay Karabulut