Testing Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire across American and Chinese Samples.

Cecilia Ma,Eva Monsma

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158953

Abstract

This paper examines the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) across American and Chinese samples. Results based on the mean and covariance structure analyses supported configural invariance, metric invariance and scalar invariance across groups. Latent means analyses revealed that American sample had significantly higher mean scores on task and ego orientations than the Chinese sample. The findings suggest that the TEOSQ is a valid and reliable instrument in assessing achievement motivation across these two diverse populations.

Highlights

Achievement goal theory is one of the most prominent theories of motivation [1]
This paper examines the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) across American and Chinese samples
Before performing the invariance test, the two-factor structure of TEOSQ was examined in each sample (Model 1: American sample; Model 2: Chinese sample)

Summary

Introduction

Achievement goal theory is one of the most prominent theories of motivation [1]. It provides insight for understanding how individuals interpret, feel, and act when they engage in achievement-related activities [2, 3]. According to Nicholls [4], task-oriented individuals possess undifferentiated conceptions of ability, focus on their own performance, and define their success based on their effort and mastery of the skill. Ego-oriented individuals hold differentiated conceptions of ability, define success by outperforming others with minimum effort, and use norm-referenced information to judge their competence. Supporting evidence for the cultural variation in the perception of achievement goal has been demonstrated by researchers who used the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) [8] to examine the generalizability of dispositional goal orientation participants from China [9, 10], Greece [11], Japan [12], Korea[13], and the United Kingdom [14]. The two factor structure of the TEOSQ was supported across diverse populations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion