Motivational differences among talented teenage athletes: the significance of gender, type of sport and level of excellence

Abstract

A range of motivational characteristics were studied in a sample of 228 males and 124 females (age: 15–16 years) recruited from the most promising performers of different sports, mainly in western Norway. They all completed the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (competitiveness, win and goal orientation), the short Sensation Seeking Scale, the Life Orientation Test (optimism), a new scale on Social Reactivity (reactive and proactive negativism) and questions on the importance of friendship among sport performers and of being the best. Differences of motivational styles were tested between males and females, performers of endurance, explosive and team sports and moderately versus highly successful performers. The males scored significantly higher on competitiveness, win and goal orientation, sensation seeking and so-called reactive negativism, but scored significantly lower than females on the importance of friendship. More complex group differences were also significant. One example is the relatively high mean score for proactive negativism in males performing explosive sports and the low mean in females of team sports. Our findings indicate a role for gender, type of sport, and level of excellence in motivational differences among these promising athletes. The prospective significance of motivational differences for future success in sport competitions will be tested in a follow-up study.