C.3.1 Achievement Motivation

Adapted from class notes.

Definition of Motivation

• Without motivation, exercise (and its benefits) won’t happen

• Motivation: the direction and intensity of effort

• Direction of Effort: Where a person wants to put their effort (motivation might lead toward one sport over another) or the reaosn for which a person wants to put in effort

• Intensity of Effort: The amount of effort a person wants to exert

• The reason for starting, continuing, and determination of path

• The motivation answers the question of “why?”

Types of Motivation

• Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation that comes from a person’s inner desires. Includes excitement, fun, self-improvement

• Extrinsic Motivation: Motivation that comes from outside sources, rewards either physical (trophy) or intangible (social status)

Combining Motivators

• Additive Principle - Intrinsic motivation is deepened by extrinsic motivatiors

  • Can end up lowering intrinsic motivation

  • Praise/awards can be thought of as “controlling”, meaning they are designed to get someone to do something. Can lower intrinsic motivation

  • “Informational” rewards can increase intrinsic motivation. Positive feedback about competence

• Some motivation is more complex than simply intrinsic/extrinsic

Need Achievement Theory

• NAT: Motivation is a balance between wanting to succeed and wanting to not fail

  • Achievement Motivation - Desire to succeed minus fear of failure

  • If fear of failure is too large, there will be no motivation to achieve (or try)

  • Important to understand in order to motivate people who have low achievement motivation (large fear of failure). High probability of success and good rewards will be more motivated

• High achievers go for difficult tasks, display a high level of effort, don’t give up, and focus on pride of success

• Low achievers are all the opposite: avoid difficult tasks, lower effort, more likely to give up, and focus on shame of failure

• Components that contribute to NAT:

  • Personality: Achieve success of avoid failure

  • Situation: Probability of success and incentive value of success

  • Resultant tendencies: Approach success of avoid failure

  • Emotions: Pride or shame

  • Achievement Behaviors: Look for challenes; avoid challenges

Goal Orientation Theory

• GOT: When given an opportunity to achieve, people want to show proficiency and not show deficiency. People want to look good, and not look bad

• Task-oriented people focus on doing tasks correctly and improving

• Ego-oriented people focus on being better than others

• Three factors of motivation: Achievement goal and percieved ability = Achievement Behavior

  • Percieved ability affects ego-oriented people more; task-oriented define success as improvement

  • Achievement behavior includes the performance, effort, persistence, and choice of task