Achievement goal orientations and motivational outcomes in youth sport: The role of social orientations

Psychology of Sport and Exercise 10 (2009) 255–262

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Psychology of Sport and Exercise journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport

Achievement goal orientations and motivational outcomes in youth sport: The role of social orientations Cheryl P. Stuntz a, *, Maureen R. Weiss b,1 a b

St. Lawrence University, Department of Psychology, 23 Romoda Drive, Canton, NY 13617, USA University of Minnesota, School of Kinesiology, College of Education and Human Development, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 9 January 2008 Received in revised form 26 August 2008 Accepted 6 September 2008 Available online 19 September 2008

Objectives: Social goal orientations, which reflect ways of conceptualizing competence in terms of social relationships with others, have been researched minimally in the physical domain. While the relationship between task and ego orientations and motivational outcomes has been well-studied, the link of friendship, group acceptance, and coach praise orientations with enjoyment, perceived physical competence, and intrinsic motivation warrants further study.

Keywords: Relationships Friendship Peer acceptance Perceived competence Enjoyment

Method: Male and female middle-school students (N ¼ 303) completed questionnaires assessing task, ego, coach praise, friendship, and group acceptance orientations; enjoyment; perceived physical competence; and motivation. Two approaches to data analysis (variable-centered, person-centered) examined whether social orientations were significantly related to motivational outcomes among adolescents. Results: Variable-centered analysis (i.e., canonical correlation) showed that social orientations were related to enjoyment, perceived physical competence, and intrinsic motivation. Person-centered analyses (i.e., cluster analysis, MANOVA) classified participants with similar patterns of goal orientations and then compared the emergent groups on motivational outcomes. Participants who defined success using either higher task, ego, and social goal orientations or higher friendship and lower ego orientations reported the most adaptive responses (higher perceived competence, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation). Conclusions: Social orientations in sport are important to consider alongside task and ego orientations in research stemming from achievement goal theory. Defining success or competence in terms of social relationships can have positive motivational benefits in sport. Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction Approximately 47 million children and adolescents participate in organized sport each year, indicating that this is a salient achievement context for youth (Ewing & Seefeldt, 2002). The benefits of participating in sport include enhanced self-perceptions, moral development, and emotion management within sport as well as better school behavior and achievement, reduced health problems, and lower rates of dropout and pregnancy (see Ewing & Seefeldt, 2002). Clearly sport and other forms of physical activity can have an important positive impact on the lives of youth. However, about one-third of the youth who participate in a specific sport do not participate the next yeardmany because they do not feel competent or enjoy their sport anymore (see Weiss & Ferrer-

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 315 229 5145 (off.); fax: þ1 315 229 7427. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (C.P. Stuntz), [email protected] (M.R. Weiss). 1 Tel.: þ1 612 625 4155. 1469-0292/$ – see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2008.09.001

Caja, 2002; Weiss & Petlichkoff, 1989). To help more children reap the potential benefits of sport participation, more needs to be known about what influences enjoyment and perceived competence in sports. One less-often explored avenue is through an understanding of the social relationships that occur within sport participation. Social relationships in sport matter; they can make a significant difference in motivated beliefs and behaviors. For example, research clearly shows that adolescents with stronger friendships and group acceptance are more intrinsically motivated and committed to continuing sport/physical activity, have more positive self-perceptions, and enjoy their experiences more (e.g., Smith, 1999; Weiss & Smith, 2002). In addition, youth participants who interact positively with their coaches are more likely to feel competent, exhibit higher self-esteem, enjoy their involvement, be more intrinsically motivated, and stay involved with their sport (e.g., Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2007; Barnett, Smoll, & Smith, 1992; Smith, Smoll, & Curtis, 1979; Smoll, Smith, Barnett, & Everett, 1993). More complete knowledge of how these social relationships influence beliefs and behaviors may identify pathways for further

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enhancing motivation and participation rates in sport settings. One theoretical approach that has been extended to closely examine social forms of motivation is achievement goal theory. Achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989) suggests that individuals differ in terms of how they view the world and the information they find most meaningful in terms of feeling competent in achievement domains. A primary motive behind achievement striving is to develop and display competence (in whatever form it is conceptualized by the individual). Two orientations have been commonly examined: task and ego. Task orientation, or feeling competent when showing skill improvement and task mastery, has been related to a host of adaptive outcomes among sport and physical activity participants including greater positive affect, intrinsic motivation, perceived effort, and task persistence (e.g., Duda, Chi, Newton, Walling, & Catley, 1995; Ferrer-Caja & Weiss, 2000; Ntoumanis & Biddle, 1999; Sarrazin, Roberts, Curry, Biddle, & Famose, 2002; see Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007 for review). In addition, ego orientation, or defining competence in terms of outperforming others and winning, is either unrelated or negatively related to such outcomes. Research using achievement goal theory as a framework shows that how participants define competence or success relates to their emotions, beliefs, and behaviors in sport. Although many studies have examined the influence of task and ego orientations on a host of outcomes, little research has focused on other ways individuals determine how competent or successful they feel (Urdan & Maehr, 1995). How ability or competence is conceptualized can extend beyond simply excelling physically at a task or strategy. Individuals can feel socially competent or that they have high social ability following diverse types of interactions with significant others (e.g., getting voted captain, having a strong social bond with a teammate, receiving praise and acceptance from a coach). Earlier writings on achievement goal theory (Maehr & Nicholls, 1980) and the closely-related personal investment theory (Maehr & Braskamp, 1986) show that orientations reflective of defining success or competence in terms of relationships with others should also be considered. Research supports the notion that adolescents can define success or competence in terms of different social relationships such as peer acceptance, close friendships, and romantic relationships (see Harter, 1988; Weiss & Stuntz, 2004). Making distinctions between different types of social orientations may be as important as distinguishing between task and ego orientations when describing how individuals define competence and success. Social relationships with peers and coaches are very important during adolescence. For example, research suggests that relationships with peers are vital during the transition from elementary to middle school, conformity to parents declines while conformity to peers peaks during early adolescence, and peers and coaches are strong sources of physical competence information during early and middle adolescence (e.g., Black & Weiss, 1992; Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Horn & Amorose, 1998; Urdan & Maehr, 1995). In fact, having positive social relationships with peers and adults relates to psychological and emotional well-being (see Forgas, Williams, & Laham, 2005). Thus, enhanced knowledge regarding how these different relationships with significant others influence well-being may be critical to understanding adolescent motivation. Within the last few decades, many studies have empirically examined how social relationships with others can represent ways adolescents feel competent both within and outside the physical domain. For example, in school settings, social orientations such as social status, intimate relationships, and responsibility predicted academic efficacy, positive affect, and avoidance of help-seeking (e.g., Anderman, 1999, Patrick, Hicks, & Ryan, 1997; Ryan, Hicks, & Midgley, 1997). Fredricks et al. (2002) also suggests that feedback and recognition from significant others are important contributors

to adolescents feeling competent and successful in sport (and other extracurricular activities), which in turn enhances motivation to continue and enjoyment for those activities. Work within the physical domain suggests that additional social orientations include social approval, affiliation, social status, recognition from others, cooperation, avoidance of negative social evaluation, interdependency, in-group pride, and social support (e.g., Allen, 2003; Duda & Nicholls, 1992; Hayashi, 1996; Lewthwaite & Piparo, 1993; Sage & Kavussanu, 2007; Schilling & Hayashi, 2001; Stuntz & Weiss, 2003). Stuntz and Weiss (2003) examined three specific social orientationsdfriendship, group acceptance, and coach praisedused by adolescents in sport. Friendship orientation refers to conceptualizing success and competence in terms of having a close, mutual relationship with one other individual. Group acceptance orientation represents the tendency to define success and competence in terms of feeling liked and accepted by a group of peers (e.g., teammates). Finally, coach praise orientation characterizes defining success in terms of receiving praise and approval from a coach. Stuntz and Weiss examined links between these three social orientations and beliefs about unsportsmanlike play. Factor analysis showed that these three social orientations were in fact distinct from task and ego orientations. In addition, especially for boys, social orientations were predictive of intention to use unsportsmanlike play across a variety of peer approval/disapproval scenarios. The social orientations that emerged in Stuntz and Weiss were used in the present study because we viewed them as representative of the types of social relationships important to middle-school-age adolescents (i.e., acceptance by peers, close friendship, coach recognition). Achievement goal theory suggests that individuals want to and will strive to display competence in the way they define it (Nicholls, 1989). Unfortunately, despite the potential positive impact of social orientations on motivation, little is known about the links between social orientations and motivational outcomes in the physical domain. One study that has examined these links was conducted by Allen (2003). Allen used a variable-centered approach to data analysis (hierarchical regression) and showed that social orientations (affiliation, social status, social recognition) together with perceived belonging explained an additional 9% of the variance in sport interest and enjoyment beyond the variance explained by task and ego orientations and perceived physical ability. However, despite significantly predicting interest and enjoyment as a group, the social orientations (and belonging) did not reach statistical significance on an individual level (i.e., regression coefficients did not reach significance). These results suggest that social ways of defining competence may be predictive of affect, cognitions, and motivation. Understanding how social ways of defining competence relate to enjoyment, self-perceptions, and motivation in sport may help identify avenues for enhancing levels of sport participation and subsequent benefits among youth. The majority of studies examining links between goal orientations and motivated beliefs and behaviors have used a variablecentered approach (e.g., most regression-type or correlational analyses). These variable-centered approaches assess the relationship between important study variables across all participants. However, research employing person-centered approaches has been useful for describing varying goal orientation profiles and associated adaptive or maladaptive outcomes in physical activity settings (e.g., Cumming, Hall, Harwood, & Gammage, 2002; Hodge & Petlichkoff, 2000; Pensgaard & Roberts, 2003; Smith, Balaguer, & Duda, 2006; Stephens, 1998). These person-centered approaches first grouped participants based on their patterns of scores of goal orientations (or other important study variables) using techniques such as mean/median split procedures or cluster analysis. Then, differences between groups on other variables (such as enjoyment,

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intrinsic motivation, self-perceptions, peer relations, and imagery use) were assessed. For example, Hodge and Petlichkoff found that rugby players with a high task/high ego orientation profile reported higher rugby competence and also perceived their physical selfconcept to be of greater personal importance than the low ego/low task group. Stephens similarly reported that athletes with a high task/low ego orientation profile reported greater soccer enjoyment and importance and utility value than low task/high ego and low task/low ego players. Person-centered approaches to data analysis acknowledge the importance of preserving individual differences and provide a complementary perspective to variable-centered approaches (e.g., Bergman & Magnusson, 1997; Fredricks & Eccles, 2005). As these groups represent combinations of variables as they actually occur in individuals, person-centered analyses may reveal findings that are ecologically valid to real-life applications and differ from results revealed by variable-centered analyses. The majority of studies have examined the combination of only task and ego orientations on a variety of outcomes. What remains unknown is the impact of adding different social orientations to the mix. Social influence is pervasive in sport. Knowing more about the impact of combinations of task and ego orientations with different social orientations may contribute to theory development and provide practical implications to increase physical activity motivation. A recent study by Solmon (2006) utilized cluster analysis to group high school physical education students with similar profiles of task, ego, social, and work avoidant goals. Six different clusters emerged, with varying patterns across the four goal orientations assessed. Interviews with teachers and students from all clusters suggest that differences in level of motivation may exist among the groups, but conclusions about such differences are difficult to make using qualitative data. Although Solmon’s results point to different combinations of a single type of social orientation with task and ego orientations, multiple social orientations representing diverse ways of conceptualizing social relationships were not examined in relation to motivational impact. Thus, the main purpose of the present study was to examine links between adolescent participants’ diverse goal orientations (task, ego, coach praise, friendship, group acceptance) and adaptive outcomes in sport and physical activity (enjoyment, perceived physical competence, intrinsic motivation) using both variable- and person-centered data analytic approaches. Using two approaches to data analysis should help us understand not only how specific goal orientations relate to motivated beliefs and behaviors but also how these orientations combine in varying ways to predict beliefs and behaviors. Painting a more complete picture may help us better understand and work towards maximizing participation and motivation in physical activity. Based on past research (e.g., Allen, 2003; Anderman, 1999), we hypothesized that social orientations would be positively related to adaptive motivational outcomes using variable-centered analysis. In addition, similar to Solmon (2006), we hypothesized that, using person-centered analyses, several groups with different profiles across the five goal orientations would emerge and that differences would exist between these groups on enjoyment, perceived competence, and intrinsic motivation related to physical activity participation. Method

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Hispanic (1.3%), and American Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut (1.0%) also represented. Several participants (3.3%) did not feel that any of the labels described them and selected ‘‘Other.’’ Measures Achievement goal orientations Participants completed a 28-item achievement goal orientation measure developed and validated by Stuntz and Weiss (2003). This measure was based primarily on the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ, Duda & Nicholls, 1992) and contained seven items to measure task orientation and six items to measure ego orientation that were original to the TEOSQ. An additional 15 items assessed three distinct social orientations (coach praise, group acceptance, friendship; Stuntz & Weiss, 2003). An adapted stem (‘‘I feel sports have gone really well for me when.’’) was used in this measure because the wording of the original TEOSQ stem (‘‘I feel most successful in sport when.’’) was not as inclusive of alternative ways of defining competence. Revising the stem allowed participants to respond to all items effectively, and past work showed that revising the stem does not alter responses (e.g., Hayashi, 1996; Stuntz & Weiss, 2003). Participants responded to the stem and each item using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree). Sample items include ‘‘I score the most points, goals, or hits’’ for ego, ‘‘I learn a new skill and it makes me want to practice more’’ for task, ‘‘I please my coach when I perform well’’ for coach praise, ‘‘My sport friend looks out for me’’ for friendship, and ‘‘Everyone on the team wants me for a friend’’ for group acceptance orientations. To provide further validity for the scale developed by Stuntz and Weiss (2003), a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the sample in this study. The initial model tested showed an inadequate fit of the model to the data, c2(341) ¼ 863.98, p < .05, CFI ¼ .87, NNFI ¼ .86, RMSEA ¼ .07. Based on modification indices for measurement parameters (i.e., correlations, factor loadings, uniquenesses), theoretically consistent changes were made in a series of related models. Specifically, one item was dropped because the modification index indicated a strong loading on ego orientation (‘‘I’m the most popular person on my team’’dthe same item that cross-loaded on group acceptance and ego orientation factors in Stuntz & Weiss, 2003). In addition, the residuals of two pairs of similarly-worded items were allowed to correlate.2 The final model showed an adequate fit to the data, c2(313) ¼ 669.34, p < .05, CFI ¼ .91, NNFI ¼ .90, RMSEA ¼ .06. For use in subsequent analyses, subscales were created for each of the five goal orientations by averaging the scores on the items loading for each orientation. Coefficient alpha for each resulting subscale ranged from .77 to .87, indicating good reliability for each. Enjoyment Sport enjoyment was assessed with the following items, ‘‘How fun is sports participation for you?’’, ‘‘How much do you like sports?’’, and ‘‘How much do you enjoy sports?’’ Acceptable validity and reliability for this measure have been shown with adolescents using the generic ‘‘sports’’ terminology and when adapted to specific sports (e.g., Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, & Keeler, 1993; Weiss, Kimmel, & Smith, 2001; Weiss & Weiss, 2003).

Participants The sample included 303 middle-school students (157 female, 145 male, one did not indicate gender) with experience in participating in organized sport. These participants ranged in age from 11 to 14 years old (M ¼ 12.57, SD ¼ 0.89) and were drawn from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The sample was predominantly White (81.8%), with Black (7.3%), Asian or Pacific Islander (5.3%),

2 Because of similar wording of items, residuals between the following pairs of items were allowed to correlate, ‘‘My coach praises my performance’’ and ‘‘My coach praises me’’; ‘‘I learn a new skill and it makes me want to go and practice more’’ and ‘‘Something I learn makes me want to practice more.’’ Similarly-worded items may share common method variance in addition to the trait variance. The trait variance is captured by the CFA model loadings, and the common method variance is captured by the correlated residuals (X. Fan, personal communication, May 27, 2008).

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Perceived physical competence The six-item athletic competence subscale of Harter’s (1985) Self-Perception Profile for Children was used to assess perceived physical competence. Using a four-point structured alternative format, participants first selected which of two statements best describes them. Next, participants decided whether the selected statement is really true or sort of true for them. A sample item reads, ‘‘Some kids do very well at all kinds of sports BUT Other kids don’t feel that they are very good when it comes to sports.’’ Research demonstrates adequate reliability and validity for 11–14 year-old youth (see Weiss & Ferrer-Caja, 2002). Intrinsic motivation Participants completed the preference for challenge and independent mastery subscales of the Motivational Orientation in Sport Scale (Weiss, Bredemeier, & Shewchuk, 1985). This scale was developed and validated based on Harter’s (1981) intrinsic motivation scale for academic classroom contexts. The challenge subscale (six items) measured whether children prefer challenging sport skills or easy skills assigned by the coach. The mastery subscale (six items) measured children’s preference for attempting to learn and improve skills either on their own or with coach help and guidance. Similar to the format for perceived competence items, a four-point structured alternative format was used. Example items for challenge and mastery motivation, respectively, included, ‘‘Some kids like hard sport skills because they are challenging BUT Other kids prefer easy sport skills that they are sure they can do’’ and, ‘‘If some kids get stuck on a skill, they ask the coach for help BUT Other kids keep trying to figure out the skill on their own’’. Previous research has established acceptable reliability and validity with adolescents (e.g., Amorose, 2001; Black & Weiss, 1992; Smith, 1999). Procedure Only students who returned signed parental consent forms and assented themselves participated in the study. Participants completed the questionnaire in a quiet location outside of the gymnasium in groups of approximately 20–35 students during a break in physical education class. The first author gave verbal instructions for each section of the questionnaire, and several trained assistants were available to answer any questions. Participants were informed that there were no right or wrong answers as they were reporting their own personal thoughts and feelings. Participants were also reminded that their answers were anonymous and that no one would have access to their answers other than the researchers. Participants took approximately 30–45 min to complete the survey. A total of 346 students completed questionnaires for this study. Several participants who either had never participated in organized sport (n ¼ 24) or who indicated using physical education experiences to respond to survey questions (n ¼ 19) were not included in the final sample because the research questions and analyses were relevant only to those who had organized sport experiences. Results Descriptive statistics and scale reliabilities Means, standard deviations, scale reliabilities, and correlations between variables are shown in Table 1. All measures showed adequate to good reliability (a > .70). Means suggest that youth participants agreed that improving, being accepted by a peer group, having a close friend, and getting praise from a coach were ways in which they felt successful. The mean score for ego orientation was at the midpoint of the scale (i.e., neither agree nor disagree). Mean

scores also indicated that participants liked to work towards mastery on their own, preferred challenging tasks, enjoyed sport, and felt relatively competent in sports and physical activities. Examination of correlation coefficients shows moderate, positive relationships between all five goal orientations, with the exceptions of task with ego orientations and friendship with ego orientations. Variable-centered approach To examine the relationships among the five goal orientations, enjoyment, perceived competence, and intrinsic motivation, a canonical correlation analysis was conducted. The five goal orientations served as the predictor variables, and perceived physical competence, enjoyment, and two indicators of intrinsic motivation (independent mastery and preference for challenge) served as the criterion variables. The relationship between the goal orientations and motivational outcomes was significant, Wilks’ l ¼ .69, F(20, 976) ¼ 5.66, p < .001. The correlation between the two sets of variables was Rc ¼ .53 (28% overlapping variance), indicating a moderately strong link between goal orientations and perceived competence, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation. Canonical loadings were used to determine the relative contribution of each variable to the multivariate relationship. Loadings equal to or greater than .30 indicate a meaningful contribution to the multivariate relationship (Pedhazur, 1982; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). Among the predictor variables, task orientation (.98) contributed most to the overall relationship, followed by friendship orientation (.59), group acceptance orientation (.56), and coach praise orientation (.56). Enjoyment (.90), challenge motivation (.90), and perceived physical competence (.68) were criterion variables that contributed to the relationship. [Loadings for independent mastery (.07) and ego orientation (.17) indicated that these variables did not meaningfully contribute to the relationship.] These results mean that adolescents who define success in terms of learning and improvement, gaining approval and praise from coaches, having a close sport friend, and being accepted by teammates also feel physically competent, enjoy sports, and prefer challenging skills rather than easier ones. The redundancy index showed that 10.9% of the variance in the criterion variables was explained by the set of predictor variables. A redundancy value of 10% or higher is considered to be meaningful (Pedhazur, 1982). Person-centered approach Cluster analysis was used to classify participants into groups with similar patterns across the five goal orientations. Then, these emergent cluster groups were compared on the motivational variables using a MANOVA. Cluster analysis After standardizing the goal orientation scores and excluding six outliers with z scores greater than j3j, both hierarchical and nonhierarchical cluster techniques were used to determine the best cluster solution (e.g., Hair & Black, 2000). First, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to determine which of the three-, four-, five-, and six-cluster solutions best fit the data. The change in Schwarz Bayesian criterion (BIC) was smallest following the four-cluster analysis, suggesting that the four-cluster solution was ideal. Then, k-means cluster analysis was used to finalize the cluster solution. This final four-cluster solution identified conceptually coherent groups with good variability in goal orientations, thus meeting both statistical and common-sense criteria. Means, standard deviations, and z scores for each cluster profile are shown in Table 2. A z score of 0.5 was used as a criterion for determining whether participants in different groups scored

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Table 1 Correlations, means, standard deviations, and alpha coefficients for study variables

1. Task 2. Ego 3. Coach praise 4. Friendship 5. Group acceptance 6. Mastery motivation 7. Challenge motivation 8. Perceived competence 9. Enjoyment M SD Response scale

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

.86 .06 .50 .65 .43 .04 .46 .35 .47 4.20 .58 1–5

.87 .36 .01 .38 .02 .10 .07 .06 3.06 .94 1–5

.83 .47 .53 .10 .24 .13 .26 3.94 .73 1–5

.85 .58 .01 .27 .19 .29 3.78 .77 1–5

.77 .00 .27 .21 .26 3.62 .75 1–5

.75 .24 .20 .16 2.63 .63 1–4

.86 .65 .66 3.04 .67 1–4

.77 .69 2.91 .62 1–4

.93 4.41 .81 1–5

Notes. Alpha coefficients are shown on the diagonal. r’s > j.13j are significant at p < .01.

relatively higher or lower in comparison to their peers (the sample mean, e.g., Hodge & Petlichkoff, 2000; Smith et al., 2006). Cluster 1 adolescents (n ¼ 74) scored relatively higher across all five goal orientations compared to others, and were named the versatile group because they reported using a broad variety of different cues to define success in sport. Cluster 2 youth (n ¼ 53), with the smallest number of participants, had lower levels on all of the goal orientations relative to other participants. This group was named the lower on all goal orientations group because of the consistently lower scores across the orientations, suggesting that either participants did not feel sports had gone well for them or that other undisclosed motives underpin their sense of success. Cluster 3 participants (n ¼ 86) scored relatively higher on ego orientation in comparison to their peers. These youth were comparatively more likely than others to believe outperforming others made them feel sport had gone really well for them. Thus, this group was named the more ego-oriented group. Cluster 4 participants (n ¼ 84) scored relatively higher on friendship and lower on ego orientations in comparison to the sample mean. Thus, as this group was more likely than others to value friendship and less likely to focus on comparisons to others in determining when they felt successful, they were named the more friendship- and less ego-oriented group.

Table 2 Values for each cluster group on the five goal orientations Goal orientation

Cluster 1: versatile (n ¼ 74)

Cluster 2: lower on all goal orientations (n ¼ 53)

Cluster 3: more egooriented (n ¼ 86)

Cluster 4: more friendshipand less egooriented (n ¼ 84)

Task

z M SD

0.81 4.67 0.31

0.79 3.74 0.43

0.34 4.00 0.42

0.36 4.41 0.39

Ego

z M SD

0.65 3.67 0.73

0.67 2.42 0.74

0.70 3.72 0.61

0.82 2.29 0.54

Coach praise

z M SD

0.80 4.53 0.39

1.10 3.13 0.59

0.21 4.09 0.53

0.05 3.90 0.46

Close friendship

z M SD

0.83 4.42 0.47

0.95 3.05 0.54

0.47 3.42 0.43

0.55 4.12 0.47

Group z acceptance M SD

0.94 4.32 0.44

1.09 2.81 0.56

0.04 3.65 0.54

0.00 3.62 0.45

Note: Bold numbers indicate z scores above j.50j criterion.

Cluster group differences on motivational variables To investigate differences between the emergent cluster groups on motivational outcomes, a MANOVA was performed with cluster group membership as the independent variable and perceived physical competence, enjoyment, challenge motivation, and independent mastery motivation as dependent variables. The group main effect was significant, Wilks’ l ¼ .80, F(12,768) ¼ 5.57, p < .001. The effect size (eta-squared, 1  l) indicated that 20% of the variance in dependent variables was attributable to cluster group differences. Follow-up discriminant function coefficients (.30 criterion) and univariate F-values (p < .05) were used to determine which variables maximized group differences, indicating that all four variables were important.3 Scheffe´ post-hoc tests (p < .05) were used to determine significant group differences on the dependent variables (see Table 3). Cluster 2 (lower on all goal orientations) scored significantly lower than both Cluster 1 (versatile) and Cluster 4 (more friendship- and less ego-oriented) on preference for challenge, perceived competence, and enjoyment. Cluster 3 (more ego-oriented) reported levels of challenge motivation, perceived competence, and enjoyment that were significantly lower than Cluster 1 and higher than Cluster 2. Cluster 1 and Cluster 4 both showed similar high levels on preference for challenge, perceived competence, and enjoyment. Because the univariate follow-up for independent mastery motivation did not reach significance, means did not reveal perceptible differences between cluster groups on this variable. These results suggest that participants who use a broad variety of ways to conceptualize success in sport generally report adaptive outcomes. Similarly, individuals who report higher levels of close friendship orientation in combination with less focus on comparisons with others also show adaptive outcomes. In contrast, individuals who were more likely than peers to define success in terms of comparisons with others showed less adaptive outcomes. Out of the four profiles compared, participants who scored low across all five ways of conceptualizing success experienced the least adaptive outcomes. Discussion The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among various sport-related goal orientations, enjoyment, selfperceptions, and intrinsic motivation in adolescent participants by using multiple approaches to data analysis. Using a variablecentered approach (canonical correlation), social goal orientations

3 For enjoyment, perceived physical competence, preference for challenge, and independent mastery, the univariate F’s were 17.25, p < .001; 5.17, p < .005; 13.75, p < .001; and 0.59, p ¼ .62, respectively, and the discriminant coefficients were .82, .38, .58, and .30, respectively.

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Table 3 Means and standard deviations by cluster group on motivational variables Dependent variables

Cluster 1: versatile (n ¼ 74)

Cluster 2: lower on all goal orientations (n ¼ 53)

Cluster 3: more ego-oriented (n ¼ 86)

Cluster 4: more friendship- and less ego-oriented (n ¼ 84)

Enjoyment

M SD

4.73a 0.51

3.87c 1.07

4.28b 0.85

4.63a 0.52

Perceived physical competence

M SD

3.07a 0.63

2.67b 0.61

2.87a,b 0.65

2.99a 0.52

Preference for challenge (intrinsic motivation)

M SD

3.30a 0.54

2.63c 0.72

2.99b 0.66

3.18a,b 0.56

Mastery motivation (intrinsic motivation)

M SD

2.67a 0.70

2.70a 0.65

2.64a 0.55

2.57a 0.61

Note. Within a row, groups that share a letter are not significantly different from one another.

emerged as being significantly related to motivational outcomes. As hypothesized, greater tendencies towards defining success in terms of friendships, being accepted by a peer group, and receiving praise from a coach (alongside learning, mastery, and improvement) predicted greater perceived physical competence, enjoyment, and preference for optimally challenging tasks. The person-centered approach to data analysis imparted complementary information. The cluster analysis identified groups of adolescents with different patterns across the five goal orientations. These included a group who scored relatively higher across all five goal orientations (versatile), a group who was more likely to use close friendships and less likely to use outperforming others as ways to feel successful, a group who was more likely to value outperforming others as ways to conceptualize success, and a group who scored lower on all five goal orientations (lower on all goal orientations). Among these four groups, the versatile and the more friendshipand less ego-oriented groups reported higher enjoyment, perceived competence, and challenge motivation than the lower on all goal orientations group. Being able to define success in a broad variety of different ways may benefit these adolescents by enabling them to feel competent and successful in a large range of circumstances or situations. In addition, deemphasizing comparisons with others while valuing strong social relationships with peers appears beneficial. These emergent groups resembled several of the clusters found by Solmon (2006). Although the Solmon study and the current study differed in terms of participants’ age (high school, middle school), ethnicity (primarily African-American, primarily White), chosen physical activity (physical education, specific sport), and the number of social orientations considered (one, three), there were similarities in the emergent cluster groups. Both samples contained a group that was relatively high on task, ego, and social orientation(s); a group that was relatively low across all orientations; a group that was relatively low on ego orientation while high on social orientation, and a group that was higher on ego orientation. The similarities in clusters using diverse samples and methodologies suggest that findings may generalize to a variety of physical activity populations. Both the person-centered cluster results and the variablecentered regression results showed that task orientation is related to enjoyment, perceived competence, and intrinsic motivation in sport and supported past research also demonstrating task orientation as a correlate of adaptive motivational outcomes (see Roberts et al., 2007). For example, task orientation, or tending to define success and feel competent when improving, learning, and mastering skills, has been consistently linked with enjoyment, intrinsic motivation, and believing that hard work and persistence lead to success. However, a look at the person-centered analyses suggests that higher task orientation appears to be most adaptive

when combined with higher levels of social orientations. These findings provide new information above and beyond that shown by the variable-centered analyses. In addition, similar to past research, the relationship between ego orientation and motivational outcomes are not always consistently demonstrated (see Roberts et al., 2007). Despite ego orientation not emerging as a predictor of motivation in the variable-centered analyses, the person-centered analyses showed that individuals who combined lower levels of ego orientation with higher levels of close friendship orientations reported adaptive motivational outcomes. How ego orientation combines with other goal orientations in individuals is more informative for predicting motivation than simply knowing the level of ego orientation in isolation. Clearly, considering the combination of goal orientations (including social orientations) is important, and our findings emphasize the need to include person-centered analyses in future research to better understand these real-world combinations. This notion that social facets of life are positively associated with adaptive outcomes is well supported in the literature. For example, having stronger peer relationships (such as friendship and acceptance) relates to positive self-perceptions, altruism, social perspective-taking, emotional stability, and academic adjustment and success (e.g., see Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998). Quality relationships and interactions with coaches likewise influence selfperceptions, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation (e.g., Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2007; Black & Weiss, 1992; Smith et al., 1979; Smoll et al., 1993). Our study findings including social orientations, or being able to define competence or success in terms of social relationships, suggest that it is not just the social relationships themselves that matter but how individuals interpret and internalize those relationships that impact beliefs and behaviors. Rather than focusing on how goal orientations alone relate to outcomes, future research should examine how goal orientations interact with other social indicators to predict beliefs and behaviors. The interaction between social orientations and perceived social competence for each relationship could be examined as predictors of motivational outcomes. For example, if an individual defines success in terms of having strong friendships, his/her actual levels of enjoyment, physical self-perceptions, and intrinsic motivation might depend upon whether or not he/she perceives having a close friend. If this friendship-oriented individual perceives having a strong close sport friendship, he/she might find sport more enjoyable, be more intrinsically motivated, and feel more confident. In contrast, if that friendship-oriented individual does not perceive a close friendship, he/she might find sport less enjoyable, be less intrinsically motivated, and feel less confident in sport. This example highlights the need to specifically target the end goal of each social orientation (e.g., coach praise orientation and positive coach feedback, friendship orientation and friendship

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quality, group acceptance orientation and peer acceptance). For example, for an individual who is coach praise-oriented, using a general measure of peer acceptance would not be able to assess whether or not that individual receives adequate feedback from her coach. Thus, perhaps it is not the social orientations alone that predict motivational outcomesdinstead, the interaction between specific perceived social competencies and social orientations may need to be considered to understand motivational patterns and to provide useful practical strategies. Future research also needs to more fully examine the relationship among task and ego orientations and social orientations. The correlations and cluster analysis in the current study clearly showed that task, ego, and social orientations are relateddhowever, the conceptual links between these five ways of defining success remain unexplored. Harwood and Swain (2002) and Wilson, Hardy, and Harwood (2006) suggested a potential mechanism regarding how these different types of goal orientations are linked. For example, a task-oriented individual may define success in terms of improving because her relationship with her coach is enhanced when she improves (i.e., at first glance this individual may appear to be primarily task-oriented when in fact coach approval may be driving how she defines success). Harwood and colleagues’ work emphasizes the difference between self-directed task and ego orientations (which focus on improving or outperforming others as the individual’s way of defining success) and social approval task and ego orientations (which emphasize improving or outperforming others in order to garner social approval from significant othersdsocial approval is a primary goal of the physical actions). However, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, considering the specific social target of the actions (e.g., friend, parent, coach, teammates, spectators) will be an important task for future research examining the conceptual associations among social, task, and ego orientations. The findings of this study suggest important practical applications. The versatile group that used many distinct ways to define success in sport and physical activity generally scored high on enjoyment, self-perceptions, and challenge motivation. This suggests that adolescent sport participants should expand how they define success and competence in sport. Coaches may be advised to encourage their athletes to define success and competence using diverse criteria. By being able to use a broad variety of different ways to define competence in sport, athletes and coaches will be provided with more opportunities to feel successful, even if physical performance may not be superior. Encouraging adolescents to feel successful and competent when being accepted by teammates, having a close friendship in sport, and getting along well with coaches may enhance sport enjoyment and help them feel more intrinsically motivated and confident in sport. Similarly, as suggested by the more friendship- and less ego-oriented group’s findings, another mechanism for enhancing motivation may be to de-emphasize comparisons with others while fostering close relationships between teammates. This study provides support for considering the importance of social orientations in achievement goal and other theories. Social orientations are distinct from task and ego orientations. Nicholls (Duda & Nicholls, 1992; Jarvinen & Nicholls, 1996; Maehr & Nicholls, 1980) clearly suggested that although his work focused on task and ego orientations, he believed that other ways of conceptualizing achievement or success exist and he explicitly included social orientations among these alternatives. The findings of the current study and others (e.g., Allen, 2003; Solmon, 2006; Stuntz & Weiss, 2003) show that social orientations are related to motivational and moral variables. Social orientations can be useful constructs for enhancing the sport experiences of adolescents. Together, the results of the current study reveal that social orientations, in combination with task and ego orientations, positively relate to

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