Personality

Personality is at the root of human behaviour. However, human performance research has focused almost exclusively on performance processes rather than on personality or the role of personality within such processes.

One aim of IPEP’s research is to redress this imbalance, specifically by investigating how personality, performance strategies, and other factors interact to influence elite performance. Some of our work has focused on the Big 5 traits of extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness. However, most of IPEP’s personality research goes beyond this broad trait-based approach to consider more focused personality variables like narcissism and alexithymia that have a strong theoretical rationale in terms of how they influence performance.

Example publications:

Zhang, S., Roberts, R., Woodman, T., Pitkethly, A., English, C., & Nightingale, D. (2021). Foresee the glory and train better: Narcissism, goal-setting and athlete training. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. https://doi.org/https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/spy0000264

Zhang, S., Roberts, R., Cooke, A., & Woodman, T. (2020). I am great, but only when I also want to dominate: Maladaptive narcissism moderates the relationship between adaptive narcissism and performance under pressure. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 42(4), 323-335. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2019-0204

Roberts, R., Cooke, A., Woodman, T., Hupfeld, H., Barwood, C., & Manley, H. (2019). When the Going Gets Tough, Who Gets Going? An Examination of the Relationship Between Narcissism, Effort, and Performance. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 8(1), 93-105. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000124

Roberts, R., Woodman, T., & Sedikides, C. (2017). Pass Me the ball: Narcissism in performance settings. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Barlow, M. D., Woodman, T., Gorgulu, R., & Voyzey, R. M. (2015). Ironic effects of performance are worse for neurotics. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 24, 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.12.005

Roberts, R. J., Rotherham, M., Maynard, I., Thomas, O., & Woodman, T. (2013). Perfectionism and the 'Yips': An Initial Investigation. Sport Psychologist, 27(1), 53-61.