Extraversion and neuroticism in team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants.

Full Abstract

Scores on Extraversion and on Neuroticism as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory were compared for 90 undergraduate team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants (43 men, 47 women, M age = 20.3 yr.). From past research and Eysenck's biological theory of personality, it was hypothesized that sport participants would score higher on Extraversion and lower on Neuroticism than nonparticipants, and that team participants would score higher on Extraversion and perhaps higher on Neuroticism than individual sport participants. By comparing scores for students in first year and final year, it was also investigated whether pre-existing personality differences drew people to sport (the gravitational hypothesis) or whether personality changed as a function of sport participation (the developmental hypothesis). The main findings were that team participants scored higher on Extraversion than both individual sport participants and nonparticipants, and that test scores did not change over time, supporting the gravitational hypothesis for Extraversion.

Author information

Author/s: Eagleton, Jessica R (JR); McKelvie, Stuart J (SJ); de Man, Anton (A);

Affiliation: Bishop's University, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Perceptual and motor skills (Percept Mot Skills), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Aug; vol 105 (issue 1) : pp 265-75

Dates: Created 2007/10/08; Completed 2007/11/30;

PMID: 17918575, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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