Examining referees’ task and ego orientation in sport: A preliminary examination of the construct validity of a questionnaire

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the construct validity of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire as applied to referees. A modified version of the Greek Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (Papaioannou & MacDonald, 1993) was administered to 148 Greek referees (56, 55, and 37 referees for football, basketball, and handball, respectively). Structural equation modeling procedures showed that an 11‐item instrument yielded adequate evidence of construct validity (CFI = .97, TLI = .96, RMSEA = .05) and internal consistency for the task (α = .86) and ego (α = .78) orientation. The two goal orientations showed a moderate level of negative association (‐.32). Greek referees scored high on task orientation and low on ego orientation.