Personality in Esports
Intro
There is a wide array of personalities in the world of sports, and whilst athletes may be better suited to certain sports depending on their personality, can the same be said about esports? The American Psychological Association (APA) defines personality as differences in characteristics of feeling, thinking and behaving. Personality can be classified in many ways, with some examples being the Five Factor Model, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the Type A and Type B Personality Theory.
Dr John Perry’s book on Sport Psychology thoroughly introduces the concept of the Five Factor Model in relation to sport performance.
Big 5 Personality Traits
According to Dr John Perry the Big Five Personality Traits are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
Openness refers to the extent to which someone is keen in trying new experiences. In an esport scenario, this could mean being open to experimenting new tactics and strategies. An example of this is drafting in League of Legends. Players with greater openness may gravitate toward playing unconventional champions that could surprise the enemy. An example of this is Caps’s Vayne Mid pick in Worlds 2018.
Conscientiousness refers to how much an individual has the motivation to perform at a high standard. This usually refers to behaviours like discipline and resilience. For example, this could mean remembering to optimise aiming by entering Aim Labs for an FPS (First-Person Shooter) games like Valorant or CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive).
Extroversion refers to the extent to which someone is outgoing. Dr John Perry suggests that the explosive and outgoing energy can help motivate and elevate energy among a team. In team esports, such as League of Legends or Valorant, this explosive and outgoing energy can be good to boost team morale. A great example of this can be found in League of Legends’ League European Championship (LEC)’s mic check videos, featuring the players communicating and hyping each other up. Introverts are less outgoing and may focus on their own actions more than giving out energy.
Agreeableness refers to the extent to which players are cooperative. In most team esports, there is either a shotcaller or an in-game leader (IGL). For a team to be able to function with one of these leaders, everyone must have a certain degree of agreeableness to work as a team and listen to calls.
Neuroticism refers to one’s lack of emotional control. Typically, these individuals in esports may be more prone to tilt easily, tend to experience more frequent negative emotions and can get quite emotional. This is a trait which tends to be seen less in athletes.
Source: https://www.psychologistworld.com/personality/five-factor-model-big-five-personality
Why do these traits matter in esports?
Matuszewski and colleagues conducted a study exploring performance in esports and the Big 5 Personality traits. The 5 traits were tested among League of Legends players to see which traits had a relationship with higher ranks. It was found that those with higher ranks tended to have higher openness and lower extroversion. Matuszewski and colleagues explained these findings saying that lower extroversion may lead to one being able to focus on themselves more, leading to better individual performance, allowing them to carry a game. Higher openness may lead to better creativity, an important factor in League of Legends to outplay your opponents.
Conclusion
In conclusion, personality may play a role in constructing a successful team in esports. This is still a growing field for research. It’s yet to be found what may be the most ideal personality type to build the best team or sole performer depending on the esport. Other personality approaches, such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), suggest that some personality types may predispose us to acting in certain ways. Some personality types have dominant functions, like strategic planning, whereas others have dominant functions surrounding sensory stimulation. Overall, one’s character plays an important role in winning the game.
Article written by Orion Chan