1. Personality and Physical Activity
EPHE 348

2. What is Personality?
Basic definition - dimensions of individual differences in tendencies to show consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions, is (McCrae et al., 1990)
Hypothesized to represent a biological influence towards culturally conditioned phenomena, behavior, and life events
Traits are place holders for yet to be discovered neurotransmitters and genes
The environment provides a means for the expression of personality

3. History of Personality
Oldest history in psychology
Dated to 400 B.C. with Hippocrates suggesting that there were four basic types of people associated with bodily humors
melancholic (depressed) black bile
choleric type (irritable) yellow bile
sanguine (optimistic) blood
phlegmatic (calm) phlegm

4. History Cont... Flash forward to the 20th century
Gordon Allport ( )
one of the most influential trait theorists
believed that traits are basic building blocks of psychological organization integrating what would be otherwise dissimilar stimuli and responses

5. History Personality was almost abandoned in the 1960’s & 1970’s
Mischel (1968) argued that all individual differences are socially learned
Personality has now seen a resurgence over the last 20 years from evidence of heritability, cross-cultural stability, and neuroscience

6. Heritability Twin studies are the most persuasive
Identical twin evidence is consistently stronger than fraternal twins
Explains about 50 % of personality
New research is at the level of genetic markers
Long way to go in this exciting area

7. Temporal Stability
Test-retest reliability / stability is identical from 2 weeks to 45 years
Appears to be continuity between temperaments and personality from childhood to adolescence
Traits are relatively enduring reaching peak consistency at 50-60

8. Cross-Culture Reliability
Identified similar personality structures and traits across all cultures

9. Neuroscience Attempts to understand personality with natural science
Extraversion and cortical arousal
Neuroticism and the nervous system
Still in the early stages of research

10. How do we sort out the number of personality traits?
Theorizing / hypothesizing (e.g., Hippocrates)
Lexical studies
English contains 18,000 words that refer to characteristics of a behavior
Factor analysis reduces them into similar groupings
Idea is that language has been at least partially developed to describe behavior

11. Leading Personality Theories
One of the most famous and lasting pioneers in personality is Hans Eysenck
Identified two major dimensions:
1) Extraversion-introversion
2) Neuroticism-emotional stability
Third is Psychoticism - less researched

12. Eysenck’ s Model
Extraversion = activity, sociability, assertiveness, expressiveness, ambition, dogmatism, and aggression
Neuroticism = inferiority, unhappiness, anxiety, dependence, hypochondria, guilt, and obsessiveness
Psychoticism = risk-taking, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, manipulativeness, sensation-seeking, tough-mindedness, and practicality

13. Eysenck meets Hippocrates

14. Leading Personality Theories
The most popular model of personality is the five-factor model (Costa & McCrae, 1992; Goldberg, 1990)
Proposes 5 key traits
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Openness to experience
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness

15. Five-Factor Model
Neuroticism = anxiety, depression, self-consciousness, vulnerability, angry hostility, impulsiveness
Extraversion = warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement seeking, positive emotions
Openness to experience = fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, and values
Agreeableness = trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, and tender-mindedness
Conscientiousness = competence, order, dutifulness, achievement-striving, self-discipline, and deliberation

16. Personality and Health
Personality influences health through two Routes:
1) Psychophysical – effect of psychological events on physiological, neuroendocrine, and metabolic processes
2) Behavioral – overt actions and inactions that influence exposure to pathogenic agents / disease

17. Personality and Physical Activity
Rhodes and Smith (2006) meta-analysis of 35 studies
N,E,C are reliable correlates with a small ES
Linked to vigorous activities but not light activities
No gender difference
Potential cultural differences (Can/USA = E; UK = C)

18. Personality integrated with Social Cognition?

19. Extraversion (Rhodes, Courneya, Jones, 2002; Rhodes & Courneya, 2003; Rhodes, Courneya & Jones, 2003; Rhodes, Courneya & Jones, 2004)

20. Personality and the Stages of Change
Research suggests that personality may affect stage progression and regression (Rhodes et al., 2001; Lochbaum et al., submitted)
Significant difference in E, N, & C between Action/maintenance and contemplation /preparation
No difference in precontemplation - personality acts as a facilitator / inhibitor but not a decision maker for exercise?

21. Personality as a Moderator of Intention-Behaviour
High C individuals follow through with their exercise intentions more than low C individuals (self-discipline, organization, competence) (Conner et al., 2007; Rhodes et al., 2002)
High E individuals follow through with their exercise intentions more than low E individuals (greater opportunity and environment for physical activity ) (Rhodes et al., 2002, 2003; Hagan et al., in press)
Low N individuals follow through with their exercise intentions more than High N individuals (Less distraction/interference from mood ) (Hagan et al., in press)

22. Conscientiousness (Rhodes, Courneya, Blanchard & Plotnikoff, 2007)

23. Sub-Trait Analyses? Extraversion Positive Emotions Sociability Warmth
Activity/
Adventurousness
Assertiveness
Sensation
Seeking

24. Hagan et al. in press

25. Moderators of Intention-Behaviour
Rhodes et al., 2005 –C Achievement Striving
Hagan et al. in press – N Anxiety