We all know that psychology and personality play a crucial role in sport (just ask José Mourinho or Alex Ferguson). But psychologists have recently identified a link between your sport and your personality type. If you were a professional sportsperson, which sports or events would you go for? Rank the following in order of preference:
a. 100m sprint
b. high jump
c. basketball
d. football
e. tennis
f. rugby
If you mainly ranked the individual sports (100m sprint, high jump, tennis) above the team sports (football, basketball, rugby), this is indicative of a personality trait known as openness to experience. These people are adventurous and like trying new things. If you mainly ranked the team sports above the individual sports then you are, on average, likely to be less open to experience and less energetic.
These were the findings of a new study at the University of Milan, which also reported that sportspeople generally score higher on the trait of agreeableness. It also found that more successful sportspeople scored higher on conscientiousness (hence the footballer who always stays behind after training) and emotional stability.
We can all think of sportspeople who “bottled it” under pressure. Consider, for example, most English penalty takers, and Kevin Keegan’s famous 1996 rant, which demonstrated that, when it comes to mind games, Alex Ferguson will always be the master.
Order a copy of Are You Smarter Than A Chimpanzee? by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books, priced £12.99) for £11.04 at bookshop.theguardian.com
