Personalities Within Sports Teams

Personality traits among athletes is a highly researched topic. A primary area of research focuses on studying personality traits in individuals who classify themselves as athletes versus non-athletes and this research shows significant differences between these two groups. Research also shows personality differences between female and male athletes and how these personality differences help each gender cope with injuries in athletics. In addition, research has been completed to support the notion that athletes who participate in different sports contain distinguishing personality traits. These findings parallel the idea that people in different occupations contain different personality traits. Though personality traits amongst athletes and occupations are highly researched topics, there is one area where not much research has been completed. I am interested in researching personality differences between athletes who participate in the same sport but compete in different events. For example, I am interested in observing if athletes who compete in distance events contain personality traits different from athletes who participate in sprint or specialty events. This is an important topic to study because athletes may be attracted to certain sports not based off of physical ability, but on certain personality traits they possess that may make them a good fit for that sport/event. This is analogous to individuals choosing a certain occupation because their personality traits make them a good match for that job. A survey, composed of several personality questionnaires, was distributed to men and women on a track and field team and women on a swimming and diving team. The study did not show any significant results when comparing personality traits amongst athletes in different events but results were significant when correlating personality traits amongst all athletes