GOALS / 003 [DO YOU PLAY TO IMPROVE, OR TO PROVE YOU'RE BETTER?]
Question
Does it matter how you define success in sport?
Study
In this encyclopedia chapter, researchers summarised 40 years of research on Achievement Goal Theory, including large reviews such as one combining 104 studies on team climate.
Findings
Athletes judge success in two ways. Task focus: I'm successful when I improve, learn and give my best. Ego focus: I'm successful when I beat others. Task focus was linked to more enjoyment, persistence, better performance and less cheating. Ego focus was linked to more negative feelings, more cheating and motivation driven by rewards. But the two are independent, so you can score high on both, and many elite athletes do. That combination works well. The risk group is athletes with a high ego focus and a low task focus: when their confidence drops through injury, age or a step up in level, they are more likely to give up, cheat or burn out. Teams also have a climate. A climate focused on learning and effort was linked to more confidence, improvement, enjoyment and flow, and less burnout. A climate focused on rankings and comparison was linked to more negative feelings, perfectionism and cheating.
What It Means for Athletes
Wanting to win is not the problem. Making winning your only measure of success is, because that kind of confidence breaks easily. Most of this research is based on surveys, so it shows strong links rather than proof of cause.
Try this: after every match, score two things separately. First the result. Then three things you improved or did well, whatever the score.
Also read: GOALS / 004, an experiment on what this means when you lose.
Source
Roberts, G. C., & Nerstad, C. G. L. (2020). Motivation: Achievement goal theory in sport and physical activity. In D. Hackfort & R. J. Schinke (Eds.), The Routledge international encyclopedia of sport and exercise psychology (pp. 322 to 341). Routledge.
BEHIND THE SCIENCE
Translating sports science into information athletes can actually use.