Optimising Athlete Motivation Flashcards
What is Athlete Motivation?
• Motivation can be defined as the direction and intensity of one’s effort (Sage, 1977).
What is difference between direction and intensity? (motivation)
- Direction refers to whether the individual seeks out, approaches or is attracted to certain situations.
- Intensity refers to how much effort the person puts into the particular situation.
Draw the motivation diagram
see flash card
What behaviours relate to intrinsic motivation?
- Better task-relevant focus
- Fewer changes (ups and downs) in motivation
- Less distraction
- Less stress when mistakes are made – lower levels of anxiety
- Increased confidence and self-efficacy
- Greater satisfaction
What are the behaviours related to extrinsic motivation?
- Less interest, value, and effort towards achievement
- Anxiety – can increase due to focusing on extrinsic prior to competition
- Difficulty coping with failure
What are the optimal patterns of motivation?
- Striving for personally challenging goals.
- Effort under conditions of challenge
- Persistence following mistakes, failure or difficulty.
- Continuing motivation - returning to the task.
- Commitment to the activity
- A focus on the task being learned or performed - Attention is clearly focused.
- Emotions are channeled into the task – not worried about their performance of the task.
- An internalised perspective of the value of effort.
- Intrinsic interest in the achievement activity and intrinsic reward for success – get satisfaction and pleasure from their sporting performance.
Who was the AGT by?
Nicholls 1979, 1984
What was the aim of the AGT?
to explain that an important part of motivation is the desire to feel competence and belief in their ability to be successful.
What are the two ways an athlete can define success?
- Task involvement – a focus on one’s own effort and improvement/mastery specific skill.
- Ego involvement – focus on comparing oneself to others; solely focused on out performing others.
Draw the AGT and what it shows.
See flashcard.
- Your perceived ability will influence the goals you set for yourself (task or ego-oriented)
- This then affects your achievement behaviour: the effort, persistence and task choice of the individual.
What do achievement goals predict?
- Beliefs about ability and the cause of success in sport
- Affective experience of sport
- Beliefs about the purpose of sport
- Practice strategies
Duda et al., 1992 study on AGT - “beliefs about success in sport and affective experience”
Aim: To examine the relationship between task and ego-oriented goals and; 1. beliefs about success in sport, 2. Affective experience.
Methods:
- Children (n=142, mean age 10.5 years)
- completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ),
- answered question “What do you think is most likely to help kids do well and succeed in sport?”
- using a list of seventeen causes (related to motivation/effort, ability, deception/external factors)
- on a 5-point scale.
Results:
- Males > ego oriented characteristics.
- Task oriented goals corresponded to the belief that success stems from motivation/effort.
- Ego oriented goals corresponded to the belief that success stems from external factors.
- Task oriented goal - beliefs were positively correlated to enjoyment of sport.
- Ego oriented goal - beliefs were positively correlated with boredom.
What is the relationship between AGT and affective experience, and how skill level determines achievement goals affect performance?
Part 1:
- Ego orientation > cognitive anxiety prior to competition.
- Task orientation > self-confidence prior to competition. (Hill et al.,)
Part 2:
- Task orientation was positively associated with positive affect in high and low level athletes.
- Ego orientation showed a weak relationship with positive and negative affect at a high skill level but a positive relationship with negative affect in low level athletes. (Vlachopoulos & Biddle)
Duda et al 1989 study on “AGT and Purpose of Sport”?
Aim: How does task and ego goal orientation predict the purpose of sport in high school students.
Methods:
- Interscholastic athletic participants from six different high schools (n=128 male, 193 female).
- Two questionnaires;
o Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ)
o Purpose of Sport Questionnaire.
Results:
- Task orientation was positively related to the beliefs that sport should enhance self-esteem and teach people to try their best and cooperate.
- Ego orientation was a positive predictor of the view that sport involvement should enhance one’s self esteem and social status.
Roberts and Ommundon’s 1996 study on “AGT and Practice Strategies”?
Aim: To examine the relationship between goal orientations and practice strategies.
Methods:
- University students (n=148) completed the perceived motivational climate in sport questionnaire (PMCSQ) and questions regarding achievement strategies in team sport.
Results:
- Task oriented athletes endorse practice in order to learn and improve skills. They also actively tried to obtain coach approval.
- Ego oriented athletes reported avoiding practice.
