Abstract
Since the physical and technical abilities of proficient athletes are generally similar, the disparity in results is created by a difference in mentality and personality. In competition, participants will experience differing emotions s based on the individual’s character traits. Managing emotions is critical to an athlete's success and maintenance of performance, as they can create a sizable disparity between a competitor’s skill level and their results. This paper examines how the personality traits of team and individual sports athletes differ through the analyses of four studies. The first, conducted by Nia & Besharat in 2010, compares the athletes through the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (SAS) and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) personality tests. The second, conducted by Kemarat et al. in 2022, uses the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The third, conducted by Hanle et al. in 2021, compares their moral identities and antisocial/prosocial behavior, and the fourth uses the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Self-Confidence Test. These studies confirmed that while the personality traits of athletes who participated in team and individual sports were similar due to the universal characteristics required to achieve athletic success. However, team sport athletes had significantly higher antisocial behavior, and lower self-esteem and self-confidence scores. These studies have many practical applications related to recognizing personality traits and assisting coaches, sports trainers, and counselors in selecting athletes that will most likely benefit their goals by being aware of the traits that an athlete needs to improve.
