Sport Psychology Achievement Motivation Achievement Motivation Personality characteristics

Sport Psychology Achievement Motivation

Achievement Motivation • Personality characteristics and the intrinsic motives to participate and achieve in sport are linked • The type of personality you are may determine how motivated you are • Personality characteristics related to motivation are called achievement motivation

Achievement Motivation • Atkinson (1964) viewed achievement motivation as arising from the personality trait characteristics • Split into two groups – High drive to succeed (need to achieve - Nach) – High fear of failure (need to avoid failure - Naf)

Achievement Motivation • I do not play to win, I play to fight against the idea of losing’ (Eric Cantona)

Achievement Motivation = Nach - Naf

Need to Achieve (Nach) • This is a personality type that involves the following characteristics; – They persist on the task – The complete the task quickly – They take risks – They take personal responsibility for their actions – They like feedback about their performance

Need to Avoid Failure (Naf) • People with a Naf personality have the following characteristics; – They give up easily – They take their time to complete the task – They avoid challenging situations will choose much higher/lower skill level as they are less threatening – They do not take personal responsibility for their actions

Changing Naf to Nach • You can devise strategies to improve performance; – Make sure goals are challenging but achievable – Give early success – Show role models that have been successful – Be supportive and encouraging • Give positive reinforcement – Use rewards – Seek to lower anxiety levels

Attribution Theory • Reasons we give for an outcome are called ‘Attributions. ’ We make them about ourselves and others. • They affect our motivation levels • We need to understand the outcome so we learn from our experiences • They will effect out future expectations of success & failure

Attribution Theory • • • Attributions fall into four categories: 1) ability or skill 2) effort (physical & mental) 3) luck (rub of the green, weather, ref) 4) task difficulty (problems of the task e. g. strength of opposition, difficulty of the shot)