Motivation and Personality Types
What Is Motivation?
Motivation is the drive or desire to achieve a goal. It determines whether a person starts, continues, and gives maximum effort in an activity. Understanding motivation helps coaches design effective training and helps performers maintain long-term commitment.
Types of Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from within the performer. The performer takes part because they enjoy the activity, find it satisfying, or feel a sense of personal achievement.
Examples of intrinsic motivators:
- The satisfaction of mastering a new skill
- The enjoyment of playing a sport
- The pride of beating a personal best
- The sense of challenge and self-improvement
Key point: Intrinsic motivation is considered the most sustainable form of motivation — performers who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to persist through difficulties and continue participating long-term.
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside the performer. It involves external rewards or pressures.
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tangible rewards | Physical, material rewards | Trophies, medals, prize money, certificates |
| Intangible rewards | Non-physical external rewards | Praise from a coach, crowd applause, media recognition |
Advantages of extrinsic motivation:
- Can attract people to a sport who might not otherwise participate
- Provides short-term boosts in effort and performance
- Useful for beginners who have not yet developed intrinsic motivation
Disadvantages of extrinsic motivation:
- If rewards are removed, motivation may disappear
- Can undermine intrinsic motivation — a performer who originally played for fun may begin to play only for trophies (this is called the undermining effect or over-justification effect)
- Can create pressure and anxiety (fear of losing rewards)
The Balance Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic
The best approach combines both:
- Use extrinsic rewards to attract and encourage beginners
- Gradually develop intrinsic motivation so participation becomes self-sustaining
- Avoid over-reliance on external rewards, especially for activities the performer already enjoys
Personality
Personality refers to the unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that make each person different. In sport, personality may influence:
- The sports a person chooses
- How they respond to pressure
- How they interact with teammates and opponents
Introvert vs Extrovert
| Characteristic | Introvert | Extrovert |
|---|---|---|
| Social preference | Prefers quieter, less stimulating environments | Prefers exciting, highly stimulating environments |
| Arousal level | Naturally has high internal arousal, so seeks calm activities | Naturally has low internal arousal, so seeks excitement |
| Preferred sports | Individual, precise, low-arousal activities | Team, fast-paced, high-arousal activities |
| Examples | Archery, long-distance running, cycling, snooker | Rugby, football, boxing, netball |
Important nuance: These are generalisations. Many performers do not fit neatly into one category, and personality alone does not determine sporting success.
Personality Theories
Trait theory: Personality is inherited and stable — a performer's personality remains the same across all situations. According to this view, an introverted person would behave introvertedly in all settings.
Social learning theory: Personality is learned from the environment by observing and imitating others (role models). A performer's behaviour may change depending on the situation.
Interactionist approach: This combines both — personality is a mix of inherited traits and environmental influences. Behaviour depends on the interaction between a person's natural tendencies and the specific situation.
Example: A performer may be naturally introverted (trait) but behave in an extroverted way when captaining their team in a big match (situational influence). The interactionist approach best explains this.
Exam tip: The interactionist approach is considered the most accurate and is the view most commonly expected in exam answers.
Aggression in Sport
Direct (Hostile) Aggression
- The intent to harm an opponent — this is outside the rules of the sport.
- Example: deliberately punching an opponent in football, a dangerous high tackle aimed at injuring.
- This is unacceptable in sport and results in penalties, red cards, or bans.
Indirect (Channelled) Aggression
- Forceful play within the rules that is directed at an object or within the spirit of the game, without intent to harm.
- Sometimes called assertive behaviour.
- Example: a powerful tackle in rugby, smashing a shuttlecock in badminton, an aggressive sprint finish.
- This is acceptable and often desirable in sport.
Key distinction: The difference between aggression and assertion is intent. Aggression intends harm; assertion uses force within the rules.
Exam Tips
- Be able to define and distinguish intrinsic and extrinsic motivation with clear sporting examples.
- Know the undermining effect — examiners often describe a scenario where a performer loses enjoyment after receiving rewards, and ask you to explain why.
- When discussing personality, use the interactionist approach unless asked specifically about a different theory — it is the most balanced and creditworthy answer.
- Learn the difference between direct aggression (intent to harm, illegal) and indirect aggression / assertion (forceful but within rules). Apply to named sports.
- A common extended question: "Using examples, explain how a coach could use both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to keep a young performer engaged." Structure your answer with definitions, examples, and the balance between the two.