Self-regulated motivation

Question 1

What is self-regulation?

Answer 1

Refers to self-initiated thoughts, feelings, and actions that athletes use to attain goals. Self-regulation is a self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills, whereby learning is a proactive activity. Self-regulated learners know their strengths and limitations and set personal goals. They monitor their behaviour which enhances satisfaction and motivation to continue.

Question 2

What are the three phases of the social cognitive self-regulation model?

Answer 2

1. Forethought: includes task analysis processes, and motivational beliefs that facilitate athletes’ preparation and motivation to engage in self-regulated learning.
2. Performance: atheletes are actively involved in learning a task, observing their performance, and using strategies to facilitate the attainment of their goals.
3. Self-reflection: involves processes that follow learning and/or performance efforts; athletes assign causes to their outcomes based on self-monitored data.

Question 3

Which processes are involved in the forethought phase?

Answer 3

• Task analysis: goal setting and strategic planning.
• Goal setting: identifying intended actions or outcomes.
• Self-motivation: self-efficacy, outcome expectations, intrinsic interest/value, and learning goal orientation.
• Goal orientation: task/mastery goals (influences self-regulation) an ego/performance goals (does not influence self-regulation).
• Self-efficacy: beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments.

Question 4

Which processes are involved in the performance phase?

Answer 4

• Self-control: employment of specific methods and strategies selected in the forethought phase.
• Self-monitoring/observation: observing and tracking one’s own performance.
• Adaptive help-seeking: involves approaching experts, seeking specific assitance, and seeking help; involves seeking specific assistance to correct flaws in one’s performance and is limited in duration.

Question 5

Which processes are involved in the self-reflection phase processes?

Answer 5

• Self-judment: self-evaluation and causal attribution
• Self-evaluation: using standards to make self-judgments about one’s performance (relative to previous performances and the performances of competitors).
• Self-reaction: self-satisfaction, affect, adaptive inferences (adjustments designed to increase the effectiveness of one’s methods), and defensive inferences (withdrawing from or avoiding new opportunities).

Question 6

What is the influence of coaches on self-regulated learning?

Answer 6

Athletes acquire skills in four sequential levels:
* Observational level: coach models and describes a specific strategy that will assist the athlete in improving athletic skills.
* Emulation level: coach asks the athlete to emulate the model’s strategy and provides them with corrective feedback and praise.
* Self-control level: coach slowly withdraws support and asks the athlete to practice on their own in a controlled setting using the strategy and process-oriented standards.
* Self-regulated level: the athlete is asked to focus on outcomes and adjust their performance as needed.

In the forethought phase coaches help atheletes prepare for competition through goal setting and strategic planning. In the performance phase coaches help athletes track their progress with feedback and encouragements. In the self-reflection phase coaches help athletes digest their statistical data, suggest corrective strategies, and guide them to find solutions for issues that arise during performance.

Question 7

What is a motivational climate?

Answer 7

The motivational climate depends on the achievement goals that are salient in the achievement context, created by significant others (including coaches). Significant others structure the achievement context in a manner that conveys to participants the criteria for success through the evaluation procedures, the distribution of rewards, the type of feedback they provide, and other means.
* Mastery climate: success is defined as individual progress, every person has an important role, and the focus is on skill improvement (positive relation to self-monitoring and evaluation).
* Performance climate: success is defined in normative terms, the top athletes typically receive the most recognition from the coach, the emphasis is on how one’s ability compares to that of others.

Question 8

How did the conceptions of individual differences change?

Regarding learning in students

Answer 8

In the 1980s it was believed that inferior achievements in school were due to a lack of interest or simple failures to learn due ot personal limitations in intelligence. Later researchers began to argue that inferior performance was caused by a lack of metacognition (awareness of and knowledge about one’s own thinking). A lack of self-regulation would lead to inferior performance.

Question 9

What does self-regulation of learning involve?

Answer 9

• Self-awareness, self-motivation, and behavioural skill to implement knowledge appropriately.
• The use os specific processes that must be adapted to each learning task.
• It is not a single personal trait that individual student either possess or lack.
• The self-motivated quality of self-regulated learners depends on several underlying beliefs (e.g. perceived efficacy).

Question 10

What are the component skills of self-regulation?

With regards to learning in students

Answer 10

1. Setting specific goals for oneself.
2. Adopting powerful strategies for attaining the goals.
3. Monitoring one’s performance to see signs of progress.
4. Restructuring one’s physical and social context to make it compatible with the goals.
5. Managing one’s time effectively.
6. Self-evaluating one’s methods.
7. Attributing causation to results.
8. Adapting future methods.