Cognitive and Affective Concomitants of Task and Ego Goal Orientations during the Middle School Years

1994 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren C. Treasere ◽  
Glyn C. Roberts

Recent research with young adolescents (Duda, Fox, Biddle, & Armstrong, 1992) and with older adolescents (Duda, 1989) has reported a conceptually coherent relationship between individuals' achievement goal orientations and their beliefs about competitive sport. The purpose of the present study was to extend this line of research and examine the cognitive and affective concomitants of task and ego goal orientations (Nicholls, 1980, 1984, 1989) at three different ages during adolescence. Specifically, beliefs about the purposes of sport, causes of success, and satisfaction in sport were examined. A robust pattern of results emerged from canonical correlation procedures. For all three ages, a task orientation was related to prosocial and adaptive achievement beliefs about sport participation. In contrast, an ego orientation was related to negative social aspects and maladaptive achievement beliefs about sport involvement. The results suggest that a task orientation is likely to facilitate adaptive cognitive and affective patterns in competitive sport during adolescence.

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G.H. Dunn ◽  
Janice Causgrove Dunn ◽  
Daniel G. Syrotuik

This study examined the relationship between perfectionism and goal orientations among male Canadian Football players (M age = 18.24 years). Athletes (N = 174) completed inventories to assess perfectionist orientations and goal orientations in sport. Perfectionism was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct and was measured with a newly constructed sport-specific version of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990). Exploratory factor analysis of the modified MPS revealed four sport-related perfectionism dimensions: perceived parental pressure, personal standards, concern over mistakes, and perceived coach pressure. Canonical correlation analysis obtained two significant canonical functions (RC1 = .36; RC2 = .30). The first one revealed that task orientation was positively correlated with an adaptive profile of perfectionism. The second one revealed that ego orientation was positively associated with a maladaptive profile of perfectionism. Results are discussed in the context of Hamachek’s (1978) conceptualization of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism.


1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glyn C. Roberts ◽  
Darren C. Treasure ◽  
Maria Kavussanu

The present study examined the relationship between dispositional achievement goal orientations and satisfaction and beliefs about success in sport. Participants were 333 students who were administered the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ) (Roberts & Balague, 1989,1991; Roberts, Treasure, & Balague, 1995), Beliefs about Success, and Satisfaction/Interest/Boredom Questionnaires (Duda & Nicholls, 1992). Consistent with theory (Nicholls, 1984, 1989) and previous research, task and ego goal orientations were found to be orthogonal. Following an extreme group split of the task and ego subscales of the POSQ, results of a 2 X 2 (High/Low Ego; High/Low Task) multivariate analyses of variance revealed a significant interaction effect between task and ego orientation. Specifically, participants high in ego and low in task orientation believed effort to be less a cause of success while high tasMow ego-oriented individuals were the least likely to attribute success to external factors. The findings are discussed in terms of their motivational implications for athletes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kavussanu ◽  
Nikos Ntoumanis

This study examined whether participation in contact sports influences moral functioning within the sport context, and whether these effects are mediated by ego orientation; the role of task orientation on moral functioning was also examined. Participants (N = 221) were college athletes participating in basketball, soccer, field hockey, and rugby. They completed questionnaires assessing sport participation, goal orientations, moral functioning, and social desirability. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that participation in contact sports positively predicted ego orientation, which in turn predicted low levels of moral functioning. The direct effects of sport participation on moral functioning became nonsignificant in the presence of ego orientation, indicating that the latter construct mediates the relationship between the first two variables. Task orientation corresponded to high levels of moral functioning. These findings help us further understand the processes operating in contact sports and are discussed in terms of their implications for eliminating unsportspersonlike conduct from the sport context.


2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kavussanu ◽  
Glyn C. Roberts

This study examined the role of achievement goals on indices of moral functioning (i.e., moral judgment, intention and behavior), unsportsmanlike attitudes, and judgments about the legitimacy of intentionally injurious acts in college basketball players. Male (n = 56) and female (n = 143) athletes completed questionnaires assessing the aforementioned variables. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant differences according to gender on the variables of interest. Specifically, male athletes reported higher ego orientation, lower task orientation, lower levels of moral functioning, and greater approval of unsportsmanlike behaviors, and they were more likely than females to judge injurious acts as legitimate. For the female sample, canonical correlation analysis indicated the presence of a significant but weak relationship between goal orientations and the set of moral variables. Higher ego orientation was related to lower levels of the judgment and intention indices of moral functioning and greater acceptance of intentionally injurious acts. Although this relationship was significant, the strength of the association between the two sets of variables accounted for only 9% of the variance in the set of moral variables.


1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc R. Lochbaum ◽  
Glyn C. Roberts

Nicholas (1984a, 1984b, 1989) conceptual framework was used to study the relationship between two implicit goal orientations (task and ego) and achievement behaviors. This study examined the relationship between the goal orientations and (a) beliefs concerning determinants of success, (b) competition and practice strategies, (c) practice benefits, and (d) enjoyment. Subjects were 182 male and 114 female high school athletes who competed in at least one sport during the 1989–1990 school year. Factor analyses were conducted to determine the composition of the relevant factors. Ten factors emerged. Canonical analysis was employed to determine the relationship between goal orientations and the 10 subscales. The results, consistent with the hypotheses, showed that athletes with a task orientation focused on adaptive achievement strategies whereas athletes with an ego orientation focused on potentially maladaptive achievement strategies. The implications of the results to sport participation are discussed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Symeon Vlachopoulos ◽  
Stuart Biddle ◽  
Kenneth Fox

This study examined how achievement goal orientations, perceived sport competence, perceptions of success, and perceived outcome attributions affect children’s exercise-induced feeling states following physical exercise. The construct validity of the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory and a modification of the Causal Dimension Scale II for children was also investigated. Children (N = 304) responded to measures on the above scales. Task orientation, perceived success, and an ego orientation, combined with high perceptions of sport competence, were positive predictors of states of positive engagement, revitalization, and tranquillity; only task orientation was a negative predictor of physical exhaustion. The locus of causality dimension appeared to mediate the impact of perceptions of success on positive engagement, but with a negligible effect. The results were consistent with previous findings highlighting the motivational advantage of adopting a task orientation in physical achievement situations and demonstrated the role of task orientation as a determinant of affect in exercise testing in children.


1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Symeon Vlachopoulos ◽  
Stuart J.H. Biddle

This study investigated likely determinants of achievement-related affect in physical education. In particular, interrelationships were examined between achievement goal orientations, success perceptions, personally controllable attributions, and achievement-related affect based on data collected from 1,070 British students aged 11-16 years. A positive association emerged between task orientation and success perception, but not between ego orientation and success perception. In addition, perceived success positively influenced personally controllable attributions and positive affect, but had no effect on negative emotion. Furthermore, personally controllable attributions augmented positive emotion and minimized negative affect. Perceived ability moderated the relation between ego orientation and personally controllable attributions. Hence, under the low perceived ability condition, ego orientation was associated with personally uncontrollable attributions, but the opposite was true for the high perceived ability group. An enhancement of both task orientation and perceived athletic competence is needed for adolescents to derive positive affective experiences from physical education.


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