Why Negative or Positive, If It makes Me Win? Dark Personality in Spanish Competitive Athletes

Juan González-Hernández, Ricardo Cuevas-Campos, María Isabel Tovar-Gálvez and Lucía Melguizo-Rodríguez
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Juan González-Hernández: Health Psychology/Behavioural Medicine, Research Group (CTS−0267), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Ricardo Cuevas-Campos: Faculty of Education, University of Castilla La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
María Isabel Tovar-Gálvez: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
Lucía Melguizo-Rodríguez: Biomedical Group (BIO277), Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Research on the dark triad traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy) is increasingly focusing on the functional or dysfunctional influences of personality traits on cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses. Thus, studies in sport contexts have shown that athletes who participate in competitive sports have higher scores in the dark triad than those who do not. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to evaluate the linear and predictive relationships between dark traits and competitiveness ( p < 0.01), as well as to identify any differences based on sports orientation (professionals vs. amateurs). Scales SD3 (dark personality) and C−10 (competitiveness) were applied to a sample of Spanish athletes ( n = 806). The results show that competitiveness is strongly related to the traits of the dark personality triad. Narcissism is related to both the desire to win and the fear of losing, while Machiavellian tendencies are high when athletes feel like losers. Finally, psychopathic tendencies are related to feelings of inferiority and fear of failure. In conclusion, the results suggest that dark personality traits are related not only to the individuality of the athletes, but also to the self-perception of both their psychological response and the competitiveness of their sporting environment.

Keywords: narcissism; Machiavellianism; psychopathy; competitiveness; sport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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