The influence of personality on creating effective mental skills training for athletes
Author
Lyngsø, Catalina Michelle Kromann
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2017
Abstract
This thesis explores how personality can inform tailored mental skills training to help athletes achieve and sustain an Athletic Optimum—high performance with low burnout risk. Using a systematic literature review, it identifies personality traits that appear advantageous for performance and resilience, along with related mental skills. Evidence suggests that conscientiousness, adaptive perfectionism, optimism, control, and low trait anxiety support reaching and maintaining Athletic Optimum. The review unpacks the characteristics underlying these traits and links them to trainable skills, proposing individualized interventions based on self-talk, activation, imagery, and goal setting aligned with an athlete’s trait profile. The thesis concludes that sport-psychological programs are likely most effective when personalized to personality, balancing performance enhancement with burnout prevention; further empirical work can test and refine these recommendations.
Afhandlingen undersøger, hvordan personlighed kan bruges til at skræddersy mental færdighedstræning, så atleter kan nå og fastholde et Athletic Optimum—høj præstation med lav risiko for burnout. Med udgangspunkt i en systematisk litteraturgennemgang identificeres personlighedstræk, der ser ud til at understøtte både performance og modstandsdygtighed, samt tilhørende mentale færdigheder. Gennemgangen peger på, at samvittighedsfuldhed, adaptiv perfektionisme, optimisme, kontrol og lav træk-angst er fordelagtige. De underliggende karakteristika kortlægges og kobles til trænbare færdigheder, og der foreslås individtilpassede interventioner baseret på selvtale, aktivering, visualisering og målsætning i forhold til den enkelte udøvers profil. Afhandlingen konkluderer, at sportspsykologiske programmer sandsynligvis er mest effektive, når de tilpasses personlighed for at balancere præstationsfremgang med forebyggelse af burnout; yderligere empiriske studier kan styrke og finjustere anbefalingerne.
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