Competition and Extrinsic Rewards: Effect on Intrinsic Motivation and Attribution

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of monetary rewards and success/failure on intrinsic motivation and causal attributions of males and females competing on a motor task. Multivariate analysis of variance produced a significant overall main effect for feedback, with subjects exhibiting more intrinsic motivation after success than after failure. The Sex × Feedback interaction (p < .09) indicated that males exhibited more intrinsic motivation than females after success, whereas females displayed more intrinsic motivation than males after failure. Attribution results showed that success was primarily attributed to high ability, high effort, and good luck while failure was attributed to low ability, low effort, and bad luck. Correlational analysis revealed that success was related to high ability, high effort, good luck, and high intrinsic motivation. Conversely, failure was associated with low ability, low effort, bad luck, and low intrinsic motivation. In addition, ability and effort were the causal attributes most related to changes in intrinsic motivation. The relationship between causal attributions and intrinsic motivation is discussed in terms of the self-enhancement hypothesis and Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. Implications for competitive physical activity are drawn.     

Goal Orientation and the Modeling Process: An Individual's Focus on Form and Outcome

Abstract

One's achievement goal orientation (e.g., task, ego) is suggested to reflect a differential focus on skill mastery and performance outcome (Duda, 1992). Goal orientation has further been suggested to be an important observer characteristic in the observational learning of motor skills (McCullagh, Weiss, & Ross, 1989). This study assessed the relationship between goal orientation and a focus on form and outcome aspects of a motor skill demonstration with college students (N = 30) having low perceived ability, knowledge, and experience in tennis. Participants viewed several videotaped demonstrations of a correctly performed tennis forehand and then visual recognition and verbal recall accuracy of form and outcome task characteristics were assessed. A canonical correlation analysis revealed a nonsignificant relationship between goal orientation and recall and recognition of form and outcome task characteristics. These results provide preliminary evidence to suggest that goal orientation may not be an important observer characteristic in the learning phase of the modeling process. Also, achievement goal orientations may not be associated with a differential focus on skill mastery or performance outcome but instead remain a reflection of divergent processes of success evaluation.     

Effects of Achieving Tendency,Gender, and Outcome on Causal Attributions following Motor Performance

A test of Weiner's propositions of the effects of achieving tendency on causal attributions was conducted using a stabilometer performance as the criterion task. The Achieving Tendency Scale and the Internal-External Control Scale were administered to 930 college students. From these, 120 subjects who had extreme scores on the ATS and moderate scores on the I-E Scale were selected for the experiment. Subjects performed one 30-second trial on either a spring-assisted or a non-spring-assisted stabilometer. The importance of the causal factors of ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck as influences on performance were then rated. A 2 × 2 × 2 MANOVA was performed across the ratings of the four factors, with achieving tendency, gender, and outcome considered as independent variables. The only significant effect was a main effect for outcome (p < .001). Subsequent univariate analyses indicated that only effort attributions differed as a function of outcome (p < .001). Those who succeeded perceived effort to be more important than those who failed. Also, a significant univariate effect (p < .02) was found for gender on the luck factor; females perceived luck to be more important than did males. These results are discussed in terms of methodological and theoretical considerations.     

The effects of self-handicapping on attributions and perceived judo competence

The aim of this study was to examine hypotheses derived from Jones and Berglas's (1978) self-handicapping model. It was hypothesized that individuals using many self-handicaps would use more internal attributions and report greater gains in perceived judo ability following success than individuals using few self-handicaps. In addition, it was hypothesized that individuals using many self-handicaps would use more external attributions and report less reduction in perceived judo ability following failure. Fifty-three judo players completed measures of trait self-handicapping, situational self-handicapping and a measure of perceived judo ability before competition. Following competition, the participants completed the Causal Dimension Scale II and the measure of perceived judo ability for a second time. Analyses of variance revealed that high self-handicappers attributed failure to more external factors than low self-handicappers. It was also found that high self-handicappers reported less of a reduction in perceived judo ability following failure than low self-handicappers. The findings therefore provide support for the potential short-term benefits of self-handicapping in sport, although further research is required to examine the long-term implications of using self-handicaps.     

Social Loafing and Identifiability: The Mediating Role of Achievement Goal Orientations

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if differences in the tendency to exhibit social loafing is a function of achievement-goal orientation and identifiability. Ninety-six males drawn from 10th-grade physical education classes responded to the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (Duda, 1992) prior to completing a 30-meter sprint task under three separate conditions: as an individual, in a team with individual performance identified, and in a team with individual performance not identified. Following a median split of the task and ego values reported, subjects were divided into high and low groups for both orientations. Sprint times were compared by means of a 2 × 2 × 3 ANOVA (task x ego x sprint condition) with repeated measures on the third factor. Findings revealed that individuals with a combined low task/high ego orientation were significantly slower in the nonidentifiable team condition than in the other two conditions, whereas high-task/low-ego-oriented individuals demonstrated consistent performance across all three conditions. While confirming that identifiability of performance is an important situational variable, the findings suggest that the dispositional factor of achievement orientation may interact to provide a more detailed explanation of the social loafing phenomenon.     

Sex-Role Stereotypes and Causal Attributions for Success and Failure in Motor Performance

This experiment investigated the relationship between sex-role stereotypes and causal attributions. Eighty fourth-grade boys and girls competed at a motor skill task against either boys or girls—either winning or losing. Subsequently, subjects assigned causality of their success or failure to various attributional factors. The data confirmed the following hypothesis derived from the literature on the sex-role stereotypes: Boys are less likely to claim the lack of their own abilities and the presence of the opponents' (girls') abilities as causes of their failures when they lose to girls than when they lose to boys. Girls showed a tendency (nonsignificant) to accept the lack of their abilities and the presence of the opponents' (boys') abilities as causes of their failures to a greater extent after losing to boys than after losing to girls. The results further revealed that mere performance against competitors of the same sex increased boys' stereotypes about their superiority over girls.     

Individual Differences Influencing Immediate Effects of Internal and External Focus Instructions on Children’s Motor Performance

Purpose: A large pool of evidence supports the beneficial effect of an external focus of attention on motor skill performance in adults. In children, this effect has been studied less and results are inconclusive. Importantly, individual differences are often not taken into account. We investigated the role of working memory, conscious motor control, and task-specific focus preferences on performance with an internal and external focus of attention in children. Methods: Twenty-five children practiced a golf putting task in both an internal focus condition and external focus condition. Performance was defined as the average distance toward the hole in 3 blocks of 10 trials. Task-specific focus preference was determined by asking how much effort it took to apply the instruction in each condition. In addition, working memory capacity and conscious motor control were assessed. Results: Children improved performance in both the internal focus condition and external focus condition (?_p² = .47), with no difference between conditions (?_p² = .01). Task-specific focus preference was the only factor moderately related to the difference between performance with an internal focus and performance with an external focus (r = .56), indicating better performance for the preferred instruction in Block 3. Conclusion: Children can benefit from instruction with both an internal and external focus of attention to improve short-term motor performance. Individual, task-specific focus preference influenced the effect of the instructions, with children performing better with their preferred focus. The results highlight that individual differences are a key factor in the effectiveness in children’s motor performance. The precise mechanisms underpinning this effect warrant further research.     

Effects of Success/Failure and Extrinsic Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation Using a Competitive Motor Task

Abstract

Female high school students participated in a motor task to assess the effects of success/failure and extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. A questionnaire was administered to check for the degree of satisfaction after participation under each experimental condition. A significant change in intrinsic motivation was found to be due to the effects of success and failure, but not to the effect of the tangible reward. Those groups receiving success feedback persisted longer at the voluntary play situation than did those receiving failure feedback. As well, the task was deemed more satisfying for the success feedback groups. Results tend to indicate the potency of success over failure feedback in inducing intrinsic motivation and are interpreted in terms of cognitive evaluation versus the overjustification hypothesis.     

Effects of Competition,Success/Failure,and Sex on Intrinsic Motivation

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of different types of competition and success/failure on intrinsic motivation of males and females performing on a motor task. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following competition conditions: (a) face-to-face competition, (b) competition against a standard of excellence, or (c) a noncompetitive condition (control). In addition, subjects received either success or failure feedback while performing on the pursuit rotor. Results indicated that subjects receiving success exhibited more intrinsic motivation than subjects receiving failure. Subjects also displayed more intrinsic motivation during competition than when not in competition. In addition, the Sex × Competition interaction indicated that males exhibited more intrinsic motivation when competing than when not competing, whereas females displayed no differences between these conditions. Results are discussed in light of previous research by Deci (1975) and Deaux (1977) and future direction is offered.     

Achievement goals, beliefs about the causes of success and reported emotion in post-16 physical education.

The main aim of this study was to examine whether goal orientations of male and female adolescents involved in an optional post-16 physical education (PE) programme were related in a conceptually consistent manner with their beliefs about the causes of success in PE. We also determined relationships between these achievement goal-belief dimensions and reported enjoyment and boredom within PE classes. Participants (n = 171) in a sixth-form college PE programme completed an inventory assessing their task and ego goal orientations, beliefs about the determinants of success in PE, and emotion in PE activities at college. Separate factor analyses of goal orientations and beliefs for male and female students revealed two goal-belief dimensions. The first dimension showed ego orientation was linked to the view that ability and deceptive tactics lead to success. The second dimension suggested task orientation was associated with the belief that success is the result of hard work and effort. This task goal-belief factor was found to be more strongly correlated with enjoyment in PE among female students than among males. For boys, the task goal-belief factor was correlated significantly and negatively with boredom in PE, but this was not the case for girls. No significant relationships emerged between the ego goal-belief factor and reported emotion in PE among the male and female participants. Facilitating task involvement and beliefs about causes of success that are fundamentally under personal control may, therefore, promote positive affective experiences in sixth-form PE, especially among female students.     

Effects of modelling and observer's ego involvement on warm‐up decrement

Warm‐up decrement (WUD), a phenomenon associated with motor behaviour, is the temporary decrement that occurs when performance resumes after a period of inactivity. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which observing a model while concerned about one's own subsequent performance (e.g. a substitute about to enter the sport contest) influences WUD. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) observing an ego‐involved model demonstrate the criterion skill, (2) observing a model while not ego‐involved, (3) ego involvement without modelling and (4) resting (control). Performance outcome (accuracy) and arousal (cognitive and somatic) were assessed. The results of the study indicated that only the combined ego involvement plus modelling condition eliminated WUD. Positive rather than negative emotions and heart rate increased significantly for these subjects after rest. In contrast, the other conditions each exhibited WUD. Heart rate was significantly higher in the ‘model and ego’ and ‘ego only’ groups as opposed to ‘modelling only’ and rest. Implications for using cognitive strategies while observing competitors just prior to entering the contest on reducing WUD are discussed.     

Modeling and Motor Performance: A Developmental Perspective

Abstract

The present study was designed to examine the effects of age, modeling and verbal self-instruction on children's performance of a sequential motor task. Eighty-four children between the ages of 4–0 and 5–11 years and 84 children between the ages of 7–0 and 8–11 years were randomly assigned to one of six instructional conditions in a 2 × 3 × 2 (age × model type × verbal self-instruction) factorial design. Results revealed that older children performed better than younger children on motor, verbal-cognitive, and attentional measures. More importantly, an age by model type interaction revealed that model effectiveness depended on the age of the observer as well as the type of model observed. Specifically, 7- and 8-year-old children performed equally well after observing either a silent or verbal model, while the 4- and 5-year-olds performed best under a verbal model only. The absence of verbal self-instructional effects was attributed to task difficulty, information processing capabilities and methodological procedures. In general, the results supported the notion that developmental factors play a critical role in the modeling process, and both theoretical and practical implications are outlined.     

Predicting motivational regulations in physical education: the interplay between dispositional goal orientations,motivational climate and perceived competence

In this study, we examined the main and interactive effects of students' goal orientations, perceived competence and perceptions of the motivational climate on the motivational styles advanced by self-determination theory. The participants were 328 British secondary school students aged 13.6±0.6 years (mean±s). Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed task orientation, perceived competence and perceptions of a mastery climate to be positive predictors of self-determined styles of motivation. Perceived competence in physical education was negatively associated with amotivation. Significant interaction effects for mastery climate×task orientation and for ego orientation×perceived competence emerged. The results indicate that: (1) for students endorsing a high task orientation, the perception that the class climate was high in mastery cues was associated with increased intrinsic motivation; and (2) for students high in ego orientation, the belief that one was competent increased, while perceptions of incompetence attenuated intrinsic motivation. Additionally, a three-way interaction between ego orientation, performance climate and perceived competence emerged. In light of achievement goal and self-determination frameworks, we propose that studying the potential interplay between both individual and situational goal perspectives and the moderating effect of perceived competence may further enhance our understanding of motivation in physical education.     

学生体操学习行为归因倾向的研究

本文通过实验,研究不同教学情境对学生体操学习行为归因倾向的影响。结果表明,在成功条件下,实验组倾向于能力等稳定因素的归因对照组倾向于努力、运气等内部的和外部的不稳定因素的归因。在动作失败的条件下,其归因倾向与“成功”的归因,恰恰相反。进而探讨学生不同归因是如何对学习行为发生作用的。这对于学生取得良好的学习效果,形成有利于学习行为的归因模式有着积极的意义     

Understanding Teacher Change: A National Survey of U.S. Physical Educators

Physical education is critical to addressing childhood obesity, yet many school-based programs do not meet established quality standards and teachers are called upon to change. Little is known about how change is initiated and its associated internal and external factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education teacher change that was self-initiated and externally initiated and to examine dispositions toward the change process relative to initiation. Method: A random national sample of physical educators representing each SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators regional district participated in a survey measuring past programming changes, primary initiators of change, and teachers’ dispositions toward change. In total, 2,423 teachers (46% response rate) completed electronic, paper, or telephone questionnaires. Results: Teachers most often made minor curriculum changes, and they added/subtracted student assessments (primarily informal assessments) least often. Self-initiated (bottom-up) change was most frequently (83.1% of the time) reported. Externally initiated (top-down) changes were less frequent and were most often associated with professional development. Teachers reported principals’ involvement in both top-down and bottom-up change processes was minimal. Teachers who were more disposed to making future changes reported making significantly (p < .01, η² = .046–.119) more past changes than those who were less disposed to change. Conclusions: Physical education teachers primarily self-initiated minor programming changes without involvement from administration. Externally initiated change was infrequent and mostly involved professional development. Dispositions toward change were individual and enduring such that teachers who had made more past changes were more likely to also make future changes.     

An external focus of attention promotes flow experience during simulated driving

Achieving a state of flow is associated with positive experiences and improved sporting performance (Jackson &; Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Focused attention is a fundamental component of the flow experience, but to date there has been little investigation of whether attention plays a causal role in creating flow, or is a product of it. Consequently, this study aimed to test the effect of an attentional focus manipulation on flow and performance in a simulated driving task. It was predicted that an external focus would lead to improved visuomotor control, greater flow experience and improved performance. Thirty-three participants from a student population completed the driving task under both internal and external focus instructions. Eye movements and steering wheel movements were recorded during each race. Participants reported greater flow experience (p?d?=?1.78) and enhanced outcome expectancies (p?=?.02, d?=?0.41) under external, compared to internal focus conditions, however, there was no effect on visuomotor control (gaze-steering coordination and steering entropy) or racing performance (ps?>?0.28). These findings suggest that adopting an external focus of attention may contribute to positive performance states such as flow.     

Motivational variables involved in commitment of female soccer players at different competitive levels

Today more and more women are playing sport and choosing activities previously considered the exclusive domain of men, such as soccer. The main purpose of this study was to analyse the role of motivational variables (individual and team) regarding the commitment to and future expectations of playing higher levels of competition in a sample of female association soccer players (N = 117) at different levels of competition (local, regional and national leagues). Results confirm that the highest league shows high values in perception of success (ego orientation and task orientation), transactional psychological contract and future expectations. On the other hand, the local league produces high values in relational contracts. A path analysis tests a theoretical model with all the motivational variables as predictors of sporting commitment and future expectations. It shows the power of individual and team motivational variables in terms of predicting the involvement of women in soccer.     

Forthcoming events

Abstract

We conducted two experiments to assess the effect attentional focus has on learning a complex motor skill and subsequent performance under secondary task loading. Participants in Experiment 1 learnt a golf putting task (300 practice trials) with a single instruction to either focus on their hands (internal focus) or the movement of the putter (external focus). No group differences were evident during learning or retention. Differences between the groups were only apparent under secondary task load; the external group's performance remained robust, while the internal group suffered a drop in performance. Verbal protocols demonstrated that the internal group accumulated significantly more internal knowledge and more task-relevant knowledge in general than the external group. Experiment 2 was designed to establish whether greater internal focus knowledge or greater explicit rule build up in general was responsible for performance breakdown. Two groups were presented with a set of six internal or external rules. Again, no performance differences were found during learning or retention. During the secondary task, both groups experienced performance deterioration. It was concluded that accumulation of explicit rules to guide performance was responsible for the internal group's breakdown in performance under secondary task loading and may be responsible for some of the performance differences reported previously.