Introduction
This essay analyzes the personality and behaviours of Simone Biles, considered the greatest gymnast of all time with 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. As described in her biography, Biles has shown extraordinary perseverance, grit, and passion for excellence in gymnastics from a very young age (Doehler, 2023; Geurin, 2022; Velloso, 2022). Significant childhood hardships have marked her path, yet consistent championship wins speak extensively to her determination in adversity. Biles exhibits key personality traits aligned with the Five Factor Model, exceptionally high Conscientiousness, which explains her meteoric success despite challenges. The analysis will describe how she embodies this trait, support explanations with relevant research, and discuss why this offers critical insight into the drivers of her behaviour.
Character Description
Simone Biles’ biography reveals vital personality traits instrumental to her success, such as extraordinary perseverance, grit, determination and a strong will to succeed despite adversities. As the biography highlights, Biles endured considerable hardships in her early childhood, including her mother’s substance abuse issues, which led to her being raised by her grandparents (Doehler, 2023). However, Biles demonstrated remarkable resilience in adversity and devoted herself wholeheartedly to gymnastics from an early age. Her biography notes that her commitment and passion for gymnastics have enabled her to reach new heights of success (Doehler, 2023). This demonstrates her perseverance and determination to excel in her sport.
Furthermore, the biography emphasizes that Biles has an unparalleled ability to “consistently won competitions and bagged several national and international titles” as well as clinch “her first all-around World Championships title in 2013” (Doehler, 2023). This unrelenting dedication and series of wins in the face of challenges underscores her grit and perseverance. As Velloso (2022) further articulates, Biles is defined not only by her physical talent but also by her sermons in speeches for mental health and volunteerism for equality. This gives insights into her personality beyond excellence in gymnastics, including compassion, outspokenness and advocacy for good causes.
Theoretical Application
The personality traits demonstrated by Biles, such as perseverance, passion, and determination despite adversities, can be examined through the Five Factor Model (FFM) of Personality. Precisely, her behaviour aligns strongly with the FFM trait of Conscientiousness. As Redelmeier et al. (2021) explain, conscientious individuals are incredibly self-disciplined, organized, accountable and focused. Biles’ biography provides multiple examples of Conscientiousness, including her capacity to consistently set goals, plan her schedule strategically, and adhere to commitments, which has enabled unprecedented success in gymnastics (Geurin, 2022).
Furthermore, her determination to overcome setbacks demonstrates the FFM aspect of being highly dependable, attentive to detail and committed to diligently completing tasks to produce positive outcomes. As Redelmeier et al. (2021) articulate, such strong accountability and dedication are indicative of high Conscientiousness, exactly as exhibited consistently by Simone Biles. Analyzing Biles’ personality via the FFM sheds light on the personality traits driving her behaviour.
Research Support
Research studies strongly support the idea that Conscientiousness promotes perseverance and grit. For instance, a study by Duckworth et al. (2007) tested the importance of grit, defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals for successful outcomes. The findings based on two adult samples (N=1,545 and N=690) demonstrated that grit accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in educational attainment and long-term goal achievement, even over and beyond IQ and Conscientiousness (Duckworth et al., 2007). Though grit was highly correlated with Conscientiousness, it showed incremental predictive validity. This directly relates to Simone Biles’ biography, which shows how her sustained passion and perseverance for gymnastics goals from childhood is linked to her unprecedented success.
Another study by Rimfeld et al. (2016) based on a UK representative cohort found that grittier individuals had higher consciousness, life satisfaction, and well-being over time. The researchers concluded that strong determination and will to keep striving despite challenges are linked to personality traits like Conscientiousness (Rimfeld et al., 2016). Again, this directly supports the analysis that Biles’ gritty behaviour stems from an innate conscientious personality oriented towards her gymnastics excellence.
Conclusion
Simone Biles’ biography provides rich insights into her personality, marked by extraordinary perseverance, grit and passion. The FFM model explains these behavioural traits stemming from a strong, conscientious personality. Studies confirm these relationships between Conscientiousness and goal-driven, gritty behaviour. Thus, analyzing Biles’ personality and behaviour through the lens of the FFM theory and supporting research enhances the understanding of the factors that drive her unprecedented success despite hardships. It underscores how applied psychology can reveal the mechanisms underlying even the most singular individual achievement.
References
Doehler, S. (2023) ‘Role model or quitter? Social Media’s response to Simone Biles at Tokyo 2020’, International Journal of Sport Communication, 16(1), pp. 64–79. doi:10.1123/ijsc.2022-0143.
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1087. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6290064_Grit_Perseverance_and_Passion_for_Long-Term_Goals
Geurin, A.N. (2022) ‘Covid-19, and the narratives surrounding Simone Biles and athlete mental health during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games’, Routledge Handbook of Sport and COVID-19, pp. 87–96. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OHh5EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA87&dq=Geurin,+A.N.+(2022)+%E2%80%98Covid-19,+and+the+narratives+surrounding+Simone+Biles+and+athlete+mental+health+during+the+Tokyo+2020+Olympic+Games%E2%80%99&ots=ba3UTpdd3_&sig=UD1cdff0PrxJ9TOaFA8bbHehEFY
Redelmeier, D. A., Najeeb, U., & Etchells, E. E. (2021). Understanding patient personality in medical care: Five-factor model. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(7), 2111–2114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-06598-8
Rimfeld, K., Kovas, Y., Dale, P. S., & Plomin, R. (2016). True grit and genetics: Predicting academic achievement from personality. Journal of personality and social psychology, 111(5), 780. https://doi.org/10.1037%2Fpspp0000089
Velloso, C. (2022) ‘Angry gymnastics: Representations of Simone biles at the 2019 National and World Championships’, Howard Journal of Communications, 33(5), pp. 492–513. doi:10.1080/10646175.2022.2053899.
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