New research from PhD candidate, Svenja Wirtz, has found that personality traits can influence how female AFL players experience mental fatigue.
“Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state characterised by tiredness, amotivation and low mood. It has become a growing focus in sport science due to its potential to impair performance,” she explains.
The study found that the personality trait of extraversion was linked to lower mental fatigue, while openness to experience was linked to higher mental fatigue.
The reason, Svenja says, may lie in how these traits influence the way athletes engage with their environment.
“Athletes higher in extraversion are typically more sociable, energetic and emotionally positive, and they are likely to find the social and dynamic environment of team sport energising rather than draining,” she explains.
“In contrast, athletes high in openness – who are curious, reflective, and inclined to process experiences deeply – may engage more cognitively and emotionally with their surroundings, increasing their susceptibility to mental fatigue.”
The findings highlight that mental fatigue is an individual and multifaceted experience, shaped not only by training and competition demands but also by each athlete’s psychological profile.
“Recognising that traits such as extraversion and openness influence how athletes experience and interpret mental fatigue enables more accurate and personalised use of self-report measures in applied settings.”
“This helps practitioners move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches, allowing them to tailor monitoring, communication, and recovery strategies to individual needs.”
