THE PERSONALITY OF THE ATHLETE: A THEORETICAL REVIEW FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRAITS

The aim of this study was to perform a review of representative studies concerning the personality of the athlete against those who do not play sports using models of Cattell, Eysenck and Costa and McCrae, representatives of the theory of traits. Therefore we have performed a literature review of research articles with the Sport Discus search engine updated until July 2013, using the keywords "personality" and "sport". We have selected a total of 35 items related to the theme. We conclude that athletes are characterized by higher Extraversion, Emotional Stability and Responsibility than non-athletes. Openness to Experience and Affability according the characters from Costa's and McCrae's model, and the Psychoticism dimension from Eysenck's model does not seem to be associated with physical activity. Results are being discussed.