Subject:                               Time:12:06 AM
  OFFICE MEMO          My thesis...                           Date:10/26/96
 
... was FINALLY accepted this past August!
 
 So why is it relevant to this list? Well, back in 1988, I started a graduate
program in Counseling at Springfield (MA) College and was told I had to
select a thesis topic. After having been told that for many years that all
goaltenders are crazy (myself included), I decided to see if there were any
actual personality differences between goaltenders and non-goaltenders, and
if this was also the case in sports other than hockey.
 
My subjects were male Division I college hockey, lacrosse, and soccer
forwards and goaltenders (N = 162) and the measuring instrument was the
Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (which also includes 5 secondary
factors). A very abbreviated description of the results I found is as
follows:
 
Forwards scored significantly higher on Factor A (warmth), meaning that they
might typically be more outgoing, easygoing, sociable, and less afraid of
criticism.
 
On Factor Q2 (self-reliance), forwards scored significantly lower, meaning
that they might be more likely to prefer to work and make decisions with
others, tend to go along with the group, and depend on social approval and
admiration.
 
On Factor EX (extroversion), forward scored significantly higher, meaning
that they might typically be more socially outgoing, uninhibited, and good at
making and maintaining interpersonal contacts.
 
Finally, on secondary Factor AX (anxiety), goaltenders came very close to
having a significantly higher score toward being more anxious than forwards.
 
I also found several significant differences between groups when compared by
sport as well as clusters of scores on some factors that could indicate
traits that are common to college athletes. If anyone is interested in any of
this info as well, please feel free to e-mail me personally for the details.
Thanks!
 
John Paerels
Whittier College
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