ABSTRACT
The stable conception a person has of him or herself as an individual is an identity. There are two major components. Personal identity is the continuous awareness of distinctness and uniqueness, while social identity is a conception reflected from the images others have of a person. In practice, there is a close relationship if not CONCORDANCE. The conception we have of ourselves is, in large part, a mirror of how others see us (the word itself is taken from the Latin identitas, meaning ‘‘same’’). This is especially interesting in terms of athletes, as Elizabeth Daniels et al. point out:
ATHLETIC IDENTITY reflects the importance and exclusivity of the athlete role within individuals’ constellation of other identities [. . .] Individuals with a strong athletic identity view statements such as ‘‘I consider myself an athlete’’ and ‘‘sport is the only important thing in my life’’ as highly representative of themselves.
