Personality traits and stereotypes associated with ice hockey positions

Are correspondences between personality traits and hockey positions a matter of perception rather than reality? This exploratory study assessed self-reported and ascribed characteristics in a sample of 578 male hockey players (163 defensemen, 305 forwards, and 110 goaltenders), who completed a measure of the Big-Five personality domains and then rated the extent to which they thought the traits applied to players of each position. Contrary to the 'goalies are different' hypothesis, self-reported personality traits did not correlate with hockey position. There was, however, some consensus about what players of different positions are like, with forwards seen as more extraverted, disagreeable, undisciplined, and open to experience than defensemen and goalies. Overall, players rated goaltenders as the most conscientious and defensemen as the most emotionally stable. Moderating effects of participants' own position reflected systematic biases, such that players tended to accentuate the relative positive distinctiveness of their in-group. Results are interpreted with respect to perceptual processes accompanying social categorization and stereotyping.
Do hockey players possess characteristics that correspond to the position they play? Some anecdotal evidence, such as the common observation that goaltenders are a 'breed apart' (Plante, 1972, p. ii) [...]