Task-involving Climate Research Articles

Associations between motivational factors and burnout syndrome among elite skiers

The present research investigated the association between a series of motivational factors and burnout syndrome among elite skiers at the contextual level within the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation (HMIEM). There are 352 subjects (258 males, 94 females, aged 18 to 25 years) across five skiing events from three sport universities in this study. Four psychological scales related to motivational factors and burnout syndrome were completed by subjects. Overall, the result showed that a task-involving climate had a positive relationship with basic psychological needs, eliciting a positive pathway to autonomous motivation, and thus negatively affecting burnout syndromes. On the other hand, an ego-involving climate had a negative relationship with basic psychological needs, eliciting a negative pathway to amotivation, and then positively affecting burnout syndromes. The results underscore the intricate associations between a variety of motivational factors and athletes’ burnout syndrome, supporting the need to incorporate burnout syndrome elements into the outcomes of HMIEM sequence.

Opposites attract? Mixed-sex parents' and siblings' sport participation differentiates youth athletes' perceived parenting climates.

Guided by family systems and achievement goal theories, this study examined how the sex of athletes and their main sport parents, as well as sport participation patterns (same sport, different sports, and no sports) of parent-athlete and sibling sex compositions (same-sex and mixed-sex), differentiated athlete perceptions of parenting climates-task-involving (emphasizing individual improvements, effort, and mastery) and ego-involving (emphasizing winning and performance comparison). Participants were 353 U.S. high school athletes (Mage=15.52 and SD=1.18; 55% male) who completed a survey on perceived parenting climates, family compositions, and sport backgrounds of their parents and siblings. We conducted six moderated regression analyses, two of which used (1) athlete sex and main sport parents' sex, (2) sport participation patterns of parent-athlete sex compositions, or (3) sport participation patterns of sibling sex compositions as independent variables. Four of the analyses were statistically significant with small effect sizes, showing that (1) boys perceived greater ego-involving climates than girls; (2) athletes whose same-sex parents played sports (same or different sports) compared to no sports-perceived greater task-involving climates: (3) athletes whose mixed-sex parents played (same or different sports) compared to no sports-perceived greater task-involving climates and less ego-involving climates; and (4) athletes whose mixed-sex siblings played different sports than they did, compared no sports, and perceived greater task-involving climates. None of the interactions were significant. Findings provide theoretical and practical implications by incorporating motivational climates, addressing the potential relationships of parents' and mixed-sex siblings' sport participation to adaptive parenting climates.

An Ego-Involving Motivational Climate Can Trigger Inflammation, a Threat Appraisal, and Basic Psychological Need Frustration in an Achievement Context.

In this experimental investigation, male college students (N = 56; Mage = 19.95years) who did not yet know how to juggle were randomly assigned to a 30-min instructional juggling session with either a caring, task-involving climate or an ego-involving climate. An inflammatory response to psychosocial stress was assessed via salivary interleukin-6 prior to (t = 0) and following (t = +30, +45, +60min) the session. Surveys were utilized to examine positive and negative affect prior to the session and affect, psychological needs, challenge and threat appraisals, and perceived ability to juggle following the session. This is the first investigation to show that ego-involving climates can trigger inflammation, along with maladaptive psychological responses. Participants in the caring, task-involving climate responded with greater psychological need satisfaction, resource evaluations, positive affect, and perceived juggling ability. This research suggests there may be important physiological consequences to ego-involving climates, in addition to concerning cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses.

Exploring the Dynamics of Athletes' Enjoyment and Self-Determined Motivation, and of the Motivational Climate in Youth Football: A Longitudinal Perspective.

We aimed to explore a short period longitudinal interplay between athletes' enjoyment and their self-determined motivation and motivational climate in youth football. We recruited 109 youth football athletes (79 males, 30 females) through a convenient sampling method. We included individuals within the 12-17-year-old age range, with a mean age of 14.31 (SD = 1.46) years. To examine these proposed associations, we performed hierarchical multiple regression analyses and found that enjoyment at pre-season assessment (T1) and self-determined motivation and a task-involving sport climate at mid-season (T2) were significant predictors of mid-season enjoyment (at T2). However, self-determined motivation and task-involving climate at T1 did not significantly contribute to the model. These findings emphasize the importance of initial enjoyment and an evolved self-determined motivation, and task-involving climate in understanding later enjoyment in sport. Coaches, practitioners, and policymakers should prioritize strategies that enhance intrinsic motivation, provide opportunities for autonomy, and cultivate a supportive and growth-oriented environment.

Motivated and without Fear of Failure: The Strength of Basic Psychological Needs in Youth Spanish Athletes in Team Sports.

Connecting desires for achievement, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and the perception of fear of failure is one of the most relevant questions in the understanding of negative mental responses in youth athletes. How to act with less fear is what every athlete seeks to feel to enhance their performance actions. This paper aims to shed light on a sample of 681 members of sports teams belonging to different Spanish clubs (391 boys and 290 girls), with a mean age of 16.2 years, and a high sports dedication (75.5% > 5 years of experience; 96.3% > two training sessions/week; 90.3% > 3 hours of training/week). The collected data used self-reports based on the tenets of achievement motivation, Self-Determination Theory, and fear of failure. Those aspects linked to task involvement were positively close to Basic Psychological Needs (BPNs), while those related to ego involvement moved away from task involvement and BPNs. Fear was associated positively and significantly only with ego, and negatively with the rest of the constructs. In the standardized direct effect, positive and significant associations were observed among all constructs except between an ego-involving climate and basic psychological needs satisfaction. The association between a task-involving climate and BPNs was significant in fostering relationships among group members, as well as in improving interpersonal cohesion, empathic understanding processes, and reducing fear of failure in youth athletes.

The Relationship of Coach-Created Motivational Climate to Teamwork Behaviors in Female Collegiate Athletes

Although teamwork behaviors would be expected to emerge from coach-created task-involving climates, no study has focused on this connection. Thus, we surveyed female National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletes (N = 536) on their perceptions of motivational climates created by their head coaches (i.e., 33-item Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire) and their beliefs about their team’s teamwork behaviors (i.e., 19-item Multidimensional Assessment of Teamwork in Sport—Short Form). Cluster analyses revealed three groupings of coach-created climates: low task/high ego (n = 125), moderate task/moderate ego (n = 286), and high task/low ego (n = 125). Through a series of multivariate analyses of variance, with post hoc discriminant descriptive analysis, we found a significant main effect for the motivational climate clusters on teamwork behaviors. Athletes in the high-task/low-ego motivational climate cluster endorsed more teamwork behaviors (e.g., preparation, execution) than those in the moderate-task/moderate-ego and low-task/high-ego climate clusters. These findings suggest the importance of coach-created motivational climates in teamwork behaviors.

Task-Involving Motivational Climate and Enjoyment in Youth Male Football Athletes: The Mediation Role of Self-Determined Motivation.

This study aimed at examining the mediation role of self-determined motivation (identified and integrated regulation and intrinsic motivation) in the association between task-involving climate and enjoyment in youth male football athletes. A total of 109 youth males (M = 14.38; SD = 1.55) were recruited to participate in this study. The survey included sociodemographic data and validated instruments such as the Motivational Climate Sport Youth Scale, the Behavioral Regulation Sport Questionnaire, and the Sports Enjoyment Scale. The results showed that the task-involving climate was a positive and significant predictor of integrated regulation and intrinsic motivation. In addition, integrated regulation and intrinsic motivation were positive and significant predictors of enjoyment. The results of the mediation analysis revealed a partial mediation role of self-determined motivation in the relationship between task-involving climate and enjoyment. Significant indirect effects only occurred through intrinsic motivation. Providing higher levels of enjoyment in the sport context could be an excellent option for leisure activities for children and youth, as long as self-determined motivation and task-involving climates provided by the coaches are present.

The Influence of Climate on Flourishing and Motivational Outcomes for U.S. Masters Swimmers.

The climate in which older adults exercise and participate in sport may play a role in promoting a lifetime commitment to exercising. However, little research has examined the relationship of caring (C) and task-involving (TI) climates, motivation, and well-being with respect to older adult athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Masters swimmers' perceptions of the climate, effort, enjoyment, and flourishing as well as explore the mediating effects of effort and enjoyment on the relationship between climate and flourishing. U.S. Masters swimmers (n = 294; Mage = 63.57 years; 84.40% White) with 1-80 years of swimming experience (M = 34.54 years) participating in coach-led programs completed an online survey. The results of latent variable, multiple-mediator analyses via structural equation modeling revealed two important contributions to the literature: (1) when Masters swimmers perceived that they were in C and TI climates, they were more likely to report higher levels of effort and greater enjoyment and flourishing; (2) the Masters swimmers' effort levels directly influenced their flourishing, mediating the relationship between climates and flourishing. This research has important implications for practice and policy, as U.S. Masters Swimming appears to be a fruitful avenue for promoting an enjoyable physical activity that can be experienced throughout a lifetime.

Achievement motivation and grit’s perseverance of effort among collegiate athletes

ABSTRACT Grit has almost exclusively been examined in relation to performance success. Achievement motivation theory (AMT) provides a framework to start examining psychosocial factors that may be associated with promoting grit. Thus, we examined the direct and indirect relationships from athletes’ perceived motivational climate, implicit beliefs, and goal orientations to their grit levels. Collegiate student-athletes (N = 523; 47% men) completed self-report measures assessing these constructs. Through multilevel modelling, grit’s perseverance of effort varied minimally at the team level and was only predicted by individuals’ task orientation and incremental beliefs. Structural equation modelling supported our hypothesised, most parsimonious model with the direct and indirect relationships of a task-involving climate through athletes’ incremental beliefs and task orientation explained 65% of their perseverance of effort scores. Perceptions of an ego-involving climate were related to athletes’ entity beliefs and ego orientation; these three constructs were not significantly related to our grit outcome. Our findings suggest AMT may be useful to understand how athletes develop the ability to persevere over time. Practically, our results suggest the greater athletes’ grit levels, as represented by perseverance of effort, the more likely they are to have task orientation and incremental beliefs, which can be promoted by a task-involving climate.

The Relationship Between College Students’ Perceptions of Their Campus Recreation Center Climate to Their Thriving in Physical Activity

The college years are a critical period for students to adopt and strengthen health behaviors, such as physical activity (PA), that support their physical and mental health. This exploratory study examines the relationship between students' perceptions of a caring and task-involving climate (CTIC) at their campus recreation center (CRC) to their feelings of thriving, effort, and enjoyment. Students ( N = 161) at a large Midwestern university volunteered to complete a brief survey. A canonical correlation analysis indicated students' perceptions of a CTIC were significantly and positively related to thriving (vitality and learning), effort, and enjoyment. Although future research is needed to further examine thriving in PA settings, the construct may be key in understanding college students' experiences at CRCs and the benefits that may result from experiencing a supportive environment, allowing individuals to focus on their personal effort and improvement as measures of success.

Mindful Engagement Mediates the Relationship Between Motivational Climate Perceptions and Coachability for Male High School Athletes

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of mindful engagement in the relationship between male high school athletes’ motivational climate perceptions on their teams (i.e., caring, task-, and ego-involving climate) to athlete coachability. Athletes (N = 164, Mage = 15.58 years) from multiple sports completed measures assessing mindful engagement in sport (Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale—Revised), Caring Climate Scale, task- and ego-involving climate perceptions (Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire), and coachability (Athletic Coping Skills Inventory). Initial bivariate correlations linked mindful engagement and coachability positively with perceptions of a caring and task-involving climate and negatively with ego-involving climate perceptions. Structural equation modeling analyses then revealed mindful engagement mediated the relationship between climate and coachability. Encouraging coaches and players to foster a caring/task-involving climate might assist in enhancing athletes’ mindful engagement in sport, which may positively influence the degree to which they are coachable.

Positive and negative spontaneous self-talk and performance in gymnastics: The role of contextual, personal and situational factors.

The purpose of this study was to analyse whether contextual (perception of motivational climate and positive and negative spontaneous self-talk in sports), personal (positivity) and situational variables (positive and negative spontaneous self-talk employed in competition and precompetitive anxiety) predict performance in a competition of ensembles of rhythmic gymnastics. 258 female gymnasts between ages14 and 20 (M = 15.24, SD = 1.46) participated in the study, completing pre- and post-competition measures. The results of the path-analysis showed that both the task-involving climate and positivity predicted positive self-talk in sport. This predicted self-confidence which, in turn, positively predicted positive situational self-talk in competition. For its part, the perception of an ego-involving climate positively predicted the use of both negative and positive self-talk in sport. Negative self-talk in sports predicted negative situational self-talk in competition and somatic and cognitive anxiety. In turn, cognitive anxiety positively predicted negative situational self-talk. Finally, performance was positively predicted by positive situational self-talk and negatively by negative situational self-talk. These results explain the functioning of spontaneous self-talk at different levels of generality and its relationship with sports performance.

Autonomy support in sport and exercise settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Drawing from self-determination theory (SDT) and a database of 1,320 correlations across 131 independent samples (N = 38,844), we conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of coach autonomy support in sport and exercise settings. Results showed autonomy support was strongly positively associated with athlete well-being and negatively associated with distress. Consistent with SDT, meta-analyzed correlations were strongest for autonomous forms of athlete motivation (ρ = .39) and weaker for controlled forms of motivation (introjected regulation ρ = .16, external regulation ρ = −.01), and negative with amotivation (ρ = −.19). We found strong positive associations between autonomy support and athlete basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and very strong associations between autonomy support and other climate or behavioral supports for athlete basic psychological needs: competence support; relatedness support; structure; involvement; and task-involving climates. Effects were not moderated by culture, with collectivist and individualist cultures generally yielding effects in the strong range (ρ ≥ .35), providing support for the assumption within SDT of universal benefits of autonomy support. Effects were also not moderated across types of sport. We discuss implications of the review and suggest coach autonomy support is consistent with environments supporting autonomous motivation, basic psychological needs, and well-being.

The role of parent initiated motivational climate in athletes’ engagement and dispositional flow

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of parent-initiated motivational climate on athletes’ dispositional flow and sport engagement. For this purpose, a total of one hundred and eighty athletes (age, M=17.48, SD=3.39 years; sport experience, M=6.48, SD=3.75 years) voluntarily participated in this study. The participants were recruited voluntarily from team and individual sports. A personal information form, Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Questionnaire-2, Athlete Engagement Questionnaire, and Short Dispositional Flow Scale 2 were used as the data collection tool. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis. According to the Pearson correlation analysis, confidence, dedication, vigor, enthusiasm, global engagement, and dispositional flow were found to be positively and significantly correlated with parent-initiated task-involving climate. Parent-initiated ego-involving climate did not significantly correlate with any engagement or flow variables. According to the results of multiple regression analysis, parental task-involving climate significantly contributed to athletes’ confidence, dedication, vigor, enthusiasm, global engagement, and dispositional flow. Overall, the results showed that parents’ task-involving motivational climate contributed to athletes’ engagement and dispositional flow. In line with these findings some suggestions for parents are proposed.

The relationships among motivational climate, perceived competence, physical performance, and affects during physical education fitness testing lessons

Despite the prominence of fitness testing in school physical education (PE), there is a sparsity of research examining the antecedents of students’ affective experiences during fitness testing lessons. This study aimed to investigate the associations among task- and ego-involving motivational climates, perceived physical competence, physical performance, enjoyment, and anxiety during two different types of PE fitness testing lessons. Altogether, 645 Finnish students from Grade 5 (50% boys, Mage = 11.2, SD = 0.36) and Grade 8 (47% boys, Mage = 14.2, SD = 0.35) participated in two fitness testing lessons with different content (lesson 1: 20-meter shuttle run test and a test of flexibility; lesson 2: curl-ups, push-ups, 5-leaps, and a catching-throwing combination test). Students’ experiences were collected using short questionnaires immediately after the lessons. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine the direct and indirect associations among study variables. Results indicated that task-involving climate and perceived competence increased students’ enjoyment and decreased their anxiety levels whereas ego-involving climate had no effect on students’ enjoyment but increased their anxiety levels. In addition, students’ actual physical performance as a mediator between motivational climate and affects, or as a direct predictor of affects, was limited. Strategies advancing task-involving motivational climate and students’ perception of competence should be employed to increase enjoyment and decrease anxiety during PE fitness testing lessons.

The Relationship Between the Perceived Motivational Climate in Elite Collegiate Sport and Athlete Psychological Coping Skills

Psychological coping skills in sport are believed to be central to athlete performance and well-being. This study examined the relationship between the perceived motivational climate in elite collegiate sport teams and player psychological coping skills use. Division I athletes (N = 467) completed a questionnaire examining their perceptions of how caring, task-, and ego-involving their teams were and their use of sport specific psychological coping skills (i.e., coping with adversity, peaking under pressure, goal setting/mental preparation, concentration, freedom from worry, confidence/achievement motivation, and coachability). Structural equation modeling revealed positive relationships between perceptions of a task-involving climate and confidence/achievement motivation (β = 0.42) and goal setting/mental preparation (β = 0.27). Caring climate perceptions were positively associated with coachability (β = 0.34). These findings illustrate how encouraging athletes and coaches to create a caring, task-involving climate may facilitate athletes’ use of psychological coping skills and set athletes up to perform their best and have a positive sporting experience.

Disentangling the effects of ego and task-involving climate perceptions on cohesion in youth sport.

Disentangling the effects of ego and task-involving climate perceptions on cohesion in youth sport.

Motivational Context and Perfectionism Traits in Pediatric Sports

In sports, one of the social agents who can pressure an athlete for perfection in their performance is their coach. However, perfectionism has many potential negative consequences such as excessive concerns over even minor mistakes. The purpose of this study is to test a sequential model: the motivational context (i.e., task- and ego-involving climates generated by the coach and a coach’s support for autonomy) and the facets that determine the level of perfectionism exhibited as a trait (i.e., perceived coach pressure—a facet of socially prescribed perfectionism—and concerns over mistakes—a facet of self-oriented perfectionism). The sample included 317 athletes (133 boys and 184 girls) aged between 10 and 14 years, who answered a battery of questionnaires that evaluated an athlete’s perception of their motivational climate, their perception of support for autonomy, their perceived coach pressure and their concerns over mistakes. Using the structural equations model, the results showed that the task-involving climate was negatively correlated with perceived coach pressure, whereas the ego-involving climate and support for autonomy were positively correlated with perceived coach pressure and were positively correlated with concerns over mistakes. Finally, perceived coach pressure did not influence concerns over mistakes from the motivational context. This study highlights the importance of considering motivational contexts as important motivational elements of perfectionism in youth sports.

Creating an Optimal Motivational Team Climate to Help Collegiate Athletes Thrive during the COVID-19 Pandemic

College athletes’ lives have been upended due to the sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2020, athletes lost their competition seasons, face-to-face contact with their coaches and teammates, access to their training facilities and equipment, and faced additional struggles specific to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., financial, health concerns). The purpose of this paper is to outline strategies coaches can employ to create a caring and task-involving climate on their teams to help athletes thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategies came from a research study conducted to assess the responses of coaches and teammates that athletes perceived to be supportive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adaptive Social Factors and Precompetitive Anxiety in Elite Sport

Grounded in achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, the aim of this study was to analyze the motivational determinants of precompetitive anxiety in the sports context, considering the horizontal motivational sequence: adaptive social factors (task-involving climate, autonomy support style), competence need, types of motivation (autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, amotivation), and consequences (precompetitive anxiety and self-confidence). This study was also conducted in order to analyze the mediating role of the need for competition and motivational regulations on social factors and consequences. The sample consisted of 217 athletes of both sexes engaged in elite sport, who answered a series of questionnaires to measure study variables to develop an analysis of the structural equation model. The results showed that both the task-involving climate and autonomy support were associated with competence need, and competence need was associated with autonomous motivation in a positive way and with controlled motivation and amotivation in a negative way. On the other hand, autonomous motivation was positively associated with self-confidence, while amotivation was positively related to somatic and cognitive anxiety before a competition. Furthermore, there was a total mediation of competence need and autonomous motivation between task climate and self-confidence. In conclusion, these social factors favor self-confidence, and besides, these climates disfavor anxiety before a sport competition.