A review of Butler and Hardy's (1992) performance profiling procedure within sport

Abstract

Butler and Hardy's (1992) performance profile has received considerable support and use within applied settings since its inception 20 years ago. Developed as a natural application of Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory, the autonomy supportive assessment tool has been proposed to benefit its athlete consumers in a variety of ways, including increasing their self-awareness, intrinsic motivation and confidence, in addition to providing a useful template to set goals, structure training and facilitate communication within teams. Early research into the technique centred on descriptive accounts from practitioners utilizing the strategy with specific client populations. More recently, detailed evaluative research has examined consultant and client opinions as to the usefulness of the technique. Such research has highlighted the range of beneficial impacts that can be gained through profiling, but it has also put into perspective the distinct lack of rigorous, empirical research examining the efficacy of the procedure. Hence the present review seeks to provide an impetus for such research by critically evaluating the profile's procedure, theoretical underpinning, validity, benefits and limitations. It also seeks to highlight several important future research priorities that warrant attention.

Keywords:

• assessment
• personal construct theory
• profile

Summary

The present review provides a comprehensive scientific critique of Butler and Hardy's (1992) performance profiling approach. Whilst the strategy does have some limitations, the literature clearly supports the usefulness of the technique, outlining a number of benefits to athletes, coaches and sport psychologists alike. Further research examining the efficacy of the traditional and recently extended profiling procedures is warranted to ensure that a rigorous and detailed knowledge base exists to inform the use of the technique within applied sport settings.