Personality Factors Affecting Athlete Performance in Baseball and Softball: Identification and Instrument Development
- April 8, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue III, March 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
Weni Endahing Warni1, Urip Purwono2
1Airlangga University, Indonesia
2Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Abstract: Aside from physical and technical factors, personality plays an important role in athlete’s achievement and performance. Despite its importance, study in this area, especially in the area of Baseball and Softball is very limited. In Indonesia personality research related to Athlete’s performance and achievement in Baseball and Softball has never been reported. This study is aimed at filling this gap. The objectives are two folds. Grounded in traits and types approach to personality, the first objective of the study was to identify personality dimensions critical to athlete’s performance in baseball and softball. Further, this study also addressed the need for a well-grounded, reliable, and valid tools to assess these personality dimensions by developing a self-report instrument. We first conduct a series of interview and focused group discussion with coaches and elite athletes to identify dimensions important to athletes’ performances in baseball and softball fields. We found 13 personality dimensions identified as critical to athletes’ performances in baseball and softball, namely (1) Practical intelligence, (2) Concentration, (3) Emotional Stability, (4) Self Confidence, (5) Ability to Control Anxiety, (6) Adjustment, (7) Self-Discipline, (8) Commitments, (9) Openness, (10) Motivation, (11) Ambition for Achievement, (12) Teamwork, and (13) Leadership. These results were validated by a panel of experts through an invited workshop. To assess these these dimensions, we develop Athlete Personality Questionnaire (APQ) consisting of 80 items. Rating Scale analysis using Rasch Model to the field testing data collected from 514 baseball and softball athletes shows the APQ yield scores with high reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = .96) and person reliability of .95. The item polarity indices also indicate that the instruments have items with a very good level of measurement accuracy. We also validated the instrument using Batting Average, as criterion. Employing Partial Least Square procedure, we found that eight personality dimension has a significant relationship with the criterion measures while five other dimensions did not.
Keywords: Personality, Test Development, Rasch, Athlete’s Performance, Sport Psychology
