Do motivational Iactors diIIer between ages and gender were the activity stays constant?

I.e. does motivation differ between 19-13 year olds or 14-18 year olds

Any sports psychologist would tell you that sports psychology is about getting the mindset oI the
athlete into a Iocused state oI mind Ior the challenges and events which lie ahead, such as wining
an important game or achieving your best at an Olympic event (Lane 2008). Sports
psychology has Iocused much research on the area oI competitive anxiety - anxiety which may
hinder the athlete perIormance oI individuals. In an attempt to overcome this competitive
anxiety and thus increase motivation Iour main psychological Iactors have been identiIied.
These psychological Iactors described as the 4C`s are concentration, conIidence, control and
consistency. Without these Iour attributes the athlete would Iail to succeed. (source) Motivation
plays an enormous part in the success oI these psychological Iactors because it`s the athlete`s
motivation to achieve their goal which will determine the success oI these Iactors in the
achievement oI that goal. David Hemery a 400m hurdle Olympic Champion is emphatic on the
importance oI recognising the role oI sports psychology in relation to motivation. In a Iamous
speech he said '%ere were individuals in tat race wo were stronger, faster and more
experienced, added to wic I was te slowest on paper, going into tat final tere ad to be
oter factors oter tan pysical ability tat produced te end result`. (source also need page
no. Because its a direct quote)

They are Iive types oI motivation that drives a person to an overall goal these are:

!rimary basic motivation:- the need Ior selI preservation

Secondary motivation:- Knowing in psychology as 'learned motivation. This type oI
motivation is consisted around the behaviour oI a person who is striving to a particular goal.

Extrinsic motivation:- most likely to involve the concept oI a reward. This involves people who
are motivated by the end result oI re-saving a trophy, prize money or some sort oI object Ior
wining or participation.

Intrinsic motivation:- this type oI motivation is not driving on external rewards or objects but
more on internal and psychological things. The achievement oI competing a marathon or betting
a previous personal best is the reward.

Successful motivational behaviour:- more commonly knowing as cognitive motivation
combining two types oI motivation that drives the athlete to overall success.

The two most commonly used terms when reIerring to motivation are intrinsic
motivation- (internal desire to achieve success) and extrinsic motivation- (rewards, money
external rewards). The most undisputed intrinsic motivator beyond question or argument is Iood
and water which is the Iirst stage in Maslow`s hierarchy oI needs. According to Maslow, the
need and will power Ior survival is so great that humans will go to great lengths to Iind Iood and
water. (source)

Maslow`s hierarchy oI needs is set in a pyramid that shows the basics oI progression oI
motivation Irom the basic Iood and water cycle.

As showing within the pyramid (appendix 1) humans cannot progress without IulIilling each
stage. The stages are:

!sychological needs:- basics oI air, Iood, water and sleep.
Safety and emotional needs:- shelter, security and Iinances.
Love and belonging needs:- acceptance, Iriendship, to give and reserve love.
Self-esteem needs:- selI respect, status, recognition and achievement.
Self- actualisation needs:- personal development and accomplishments.

The last two parts oI the pyramid is where athletes perIorm at their best however iI
anything below the pyramids Ioundations hinder the athlete must resolve and rebuild the pyramid
Irom that stage again.

Terry Orlick (1990) identiIied the Iollowing aspects as important Iactors when looking at
motivation:-

sense of achievement:- with executing a skill accomplishment

search for perfection:- to excel, perIorm constantly, attain high standards.
!utting yourself to the test:- meeting a challenge, struggle to over come the odds, testing your
nerves.
Draw on reserves- to dig in, stretch yourselI to the limit, give it all you have.

This shows that athletes that are intrinsically motivated will pursue their chosen activity
Ior their own enjoyment and achievement despite what others might think oI their eIIorts.

Athletes who are extrinsically motivated aim Ior rewards through their perIormance these
rewards can be a certiIicate, money or a Iirst place trophy in a race. These rewards can be linked
to Maslow`s second stage in his hierarchy - that oI saIety. The consequences oI competing may
provided necessary resources to ensure saIety needs are met through the awards received Irom
competing. However research has showing in some circumstances by adding external rewards to
a individual who is already intrinsically motivated can actually 'decrease the intrinsic
motivation and in time may eventually replace it Deci (1971) and Lepper, Green and Nisbett
(1973).

Goal settings are a means by with we can maintain and enhance motivation. There are
three types oI goals:

!erformance goals:- perIormance goals is guided towards an individual goal such as lowering
the time oI a 400m run Irom 1min 9 seconds to 1 min 2 seconds. This can be achieved by
working on the outcome through training i.e more Iluid start out the blocks or reserving more
energy to last the 100m Iinal sprint. This is possibly the most aIIective goal because it involves
learning at a risk oI making mistakes, improves problem solving and encourages the athlete to
work harder.

!ossess goals:- possess goals is the strategy oI what the athlete is thinking through the run such
as their tactics and mental state.

Outcome goals:- outcome goals are set on an outcome oI an event such as I will come first in
tis race`, it is positive thinking but these type oI goals have little or no control over.

Goals should be out oI reach but not out oI sight. Goals that can be achieved to easily can usually
have the athlete bored and unwilling to train any Iurther, were as goals set at imposable standards
can de-motivate the athlete aIter a while. Goal settings should be set speciIic and measurable Ior
example a poor goal would be I want to run faster were a good goal would be I want to run
400m sprint in under 1min.
Example areas where athletes can set their goals is through:

Physical goals:- health and Iitness goals, being able to improve strength, power Ilexibility and
stamina.

Technical goals:- perIormance related goals such as keeping shoulders relaxed when running.

Tactical goals:- goals that are related to an understanding oI tactics

Psychological goals:- practising mental preparation such as imagery oI perIormance or selI talk.

The most commonly used possess to build a goal is to use 'SMARTER goal settings progress
this is

Specific: goals should be speciIic as possible.
Measurable: the goal must be measurable to assess the progress.
greed: goals should be agreed by the athlete and the coach.
Realistic: the goal should not be too diIIicult or too easy Ior the athlete to achieve otherwise iI
there too diIIicult they could attended to be unachievable or iI too easy will not have much
motivational beneIit.
%ime phased: goals should be set in a agreed date to achieve otherwise this could lead to
continuous postponements or not being completed.
Exiting: Ior the athlete to be motivated the goal must be exiting.
Recorded: recording the progress oI the goal can be monitored by achieving smaller targets.
(source)

When the coach and athlete is structuring a goal immediate, short and long term timescales
must be taking into consideration.

For example :

Long term goal: I want to run 400m in 58seconds

This will be then be broken down into shorter sub-goals or targets (short term goals).

Short term goals: run 400m in 109 seconds (athletes new personal best)

Immediate goals is what the athlete will do now the goal has been set.

Immediate goal: run 400m to gain time.

when working on a long term goals depending on the time scale and diIIiculty more sub- goals
will have to be set to keep motivation.



Locke and Latham (1885) discussed generalised goal settings they suggested goals had to
be prioritised Ior example the objective or task to be undertaking had to be clearly speciIied.
Measurement oI progress and the standards to be reached should be identiIied in a particular time
period. Locke and Latham state that speciIic goals are more eIIective than general goals these
goals should be diIIicult or challenging resulting in better perIormance. DiIIicult or long term
goals should be worked towards using short term or immediate goals which should be agreed by
the athlete eIIective goals should be achieved using a strategy or a plan oI action this will
encourage the athlete, according to the authors to work harder and longer while Iocusing their
attention to the goal. ReinIorcement is important according to Locke and Latham. Feedback
should always be given to encourage progress and the athlete to work towards the goals set.

Thought all humans we are naturally competitive everyone strives Ior success this is
achievement motivation . In sports this is recognised as competitiveness. Achievement
motivation looks at individuals who Iace a choice oI where they might or might not be
successIul. McClelland (1961) and Atkinson (1974) suggests there are two personality Iactors
they are:

The need to achieve success - (nach)
The need to avoid Iailure - (naI)

High NACH

Low NAF High NAF

Low NACH
Diagram 2

For some athletes the desire to succeed success Iar outweighs the Iear oI Iailure. However Ior
others the Iear oI Iailure is more important Iactor and have a low success rate unless the odds are
in there Iavour.

Other Iactors that coaches and athletes must take into consideration when dealing with
motivation is:

%he performance accomplishments: the success and Iailures oI previous races this can have a
very high inIluence on athletes. 'success bread`s success
atching others: having a role model can bring inspiration.
!ersuasion: learning techniques such as:

SelI talk
Mental rehearsals
AIIirmative statements
Emotional states: previous experiences between a competitor or track positive or negative can
aIIect the athletes motivation.

Subjects that have helped the author to gain a greater insight into motivation and the research
where:

Psychology DD2N 35 at Motherwell college
Psychology DD35 34 at Glasgow Metropolitan college
Working with children DD3A 34 at Glasgow Metropolitan college
Managing volunteers DP27 35 at Motherwell college
Research and investigation DD2P 35 at Motherwell college