Heymans’ cube model of temperament in the case of basketball coaches

Abstract

Aim. This study examined whether temperament characteristics differ among basketball coaches according to coaching performance level and gender.

Material and method. A total of 54 basketball coaches participated in the study, including 28 medal-winning coaches at National Championships (9 at U14 level and below; 19 at U16 and senior level) and 26 coaches without medals. The sample also included 24 female and 30 male coaches. Temperament was assessed using a 21-item online questionnaire based on the Heymans’ Cube model.

Results. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and independent samples t-test. No statistically significant differences were identified between coaching performance groups regarding emotionality, non-emotionality, activity, non-activity, or primary-secondary functioning (p > .05). However, descriptive trends suggested that coaches with higher competitive achievements tended to show lower emotionality, higher activity, and slightly stronger secondary tendencies, reflecting a potentially more reflective and action-oriented temperament profile. Significant gender differences were found for emotionality and non-emotionality. Female coaches scored significantly higher in emotionality (p < .001), indicating greater emotional responsiveness, whereas male coaches scored significantly higher in non-emotionality. No statistically significant gender differences were found for activity, non-activity, or primary-secondary functioning, although male coaches showed slightly higher descriptive activity scores.

Conclusions. These findings suggest that gender may represent a more relevant differentiating factor than coaching performance regarding temperament characteristics, particularly emotional responsiveness, with potential implications for coaching behavior, emotional regulation, and decision-making in competitive sport contexts.