Achievement Motivation

Theory first forwarded by Murray (1938) who described 20 or so human needs - specifically identifying the 'need for achievement' as linked to the personality of a performer. Certain types of people are therefore motivated to place themselves in situations where achievement is evaluated/compared - (i.e 'achievement orientated'). Gill (1986) " A person who has high levels of achievement motivation would have a tendency to strive for success, persist in the face of failure and experience pride in accomplishments" The level of a person's 'need to achieve' (or drive for success) is a relatively stable disposition-displaying a positive approach in relation to their 'achievement orientation' as well as 'positive success tendency'-will strive to achieve a high level of performance (mastery accomplishment).

Classical Theories (Atkinson 1964&1974) and McCellandHelps explain how a person's need to achieve (n.Ach) is developed, and enables predictions of future behaviour, i.e performance.

Atkinson's theory - is the desire to achieve success for its 'own sake' and suggests
an 'interactionist' stance should be taken - where both 'personality' and 'situational' factors have to be considered to explain a person's achievement motivation fully.

Personality Components
About balancing two underlying motives that we possess intrinsically (within ourselves) (i) The need to achieve (n. Ach) - i.e the motivation to achieve success for the feelings of pride/satisfaction experienced. (ii) The need to avoid failure (n.Af) - i.e the motivation to avoid failure in order to avoid the feelings of shame/humiliation if failure occurs. Within regular sporting situations - regular opportunities to experience both success and failure. All sports people are motivated by a combination of both of these motives. Atkinson's research - indicated that: High achievers in sport - have high levels of n.Ach and low levels of n.Af Low achievers in sport - have low n.Ach levels and high n.Af levels. Low achievers do not actually fear failure, but they fear the negative evaluation associated with failure

Situational Components
A performer will assess the situation they are faced with and evaluate; (i) The probability of success (ii) The incentive value of that success Probability of success - depends on whom you are competing against & difficulty of the task - seen as an 'inverse' relationship (see graph page 587) with examples The higher the probability of success the lower the incentive value of success The lower the probability of success the higher the incentive value of success.

Tendency of a person's achievement motivation or competitiveness - can be seen with the following equation

(Ms - Maf) x ( Ps x {I - Ps} Motive to succeed - Motive to avoid failure x (Probability of success x Incentive value of success) Performer Characteristics - A simple comparison
Characteristics of a performer motivated to achieve
Seeks challenges Standards are important Persists for longer Values feedback Enjoys evaluation sessions Not afraid of failure Takes responsibility for own actions Attributes performance to internal factors/controllable Factors, e. success=effort, failure=lack of concentration Optimistic Confident (High self-efficacy) Looks to complete the task quickly and effectively Task goal orientated

Characteristics of a person motivated to avoid failure

Avoids challenging tasks/seeks easy option/extremely hard tasks Dislikes 50:50 situations Gives up easy Does not like feedback Dislikes evaluation situations (shame) Performs worse in evaluation situations Avoids personal responsibility Attributes failure to external factors (e.g luck, factors out of their control) Pessimistic Low in confidence Takes a long time over the task Outcome goal orientated

More current (up-to-date) Research

Such research has taken on a wider perspective- not a single construct, but a multidimensional one within a number of areas, focusing on factors such as; a performers perceptions of achievement goals, success and failure in relation to goals set, perceptions of own abilities, perception of task/situation in relation to own abilities, social and environmental factors. Maehr & Nicholls (1980) Dweck Levels of achievement motivation will vary between performers according to the reasons they are taking part in the activity (achievement goals) and the different meanings that success/failure has for the performer.

Achievement goal theories

Here goals can be (i) outcome orientated or (ii) task orientated

(i) Outcome goal orientation

Motivated by winning/beating the opposition-because of the enjoyment they get from competing and comparing themselves with others -'outcome oriented' Have high perceived ability - ego boosted by success -seeing their success as a result of their own ability and develop high expectations of future success. When they lose - they see their failure as a result of their own limited ability

(ii)Task goal orientation

Performers who are 'task orientated' - also want to win but are not so interested in demonstrating their own ability in comparison to others . They are motivated by developing their own technical standards/personal performance levels in relation to their own previous levels of success A more 'intrinsic' type of motivation - i.e trying to master the demands of the task are considered more effective in the long-run. - such people have high levels of perceived competence and generally do not fear failure. They see it as a part of the challenge to improve. A performer will persist, effort increased, strategies changed in order to accomplish new goals or targets, leading to improvements in personal performance. A performer focusing more on effort and personal standards - will be protected from the feelings of frustration and disappointment linked with losing/maintain motivatio n for longer. Most performers are motivated by a combination of both outcome and task mastery of performance goals. However which is most dominant? Teachers and coaches should stress 'task/mastery' (intrinsic) goals rather than 'outcome' goals.

Stages of Achievement motivation

Veroff (1969) - outlined 3 sequential stages or phases from early childhood to adulthood. A child must achieve success in each stage before moving on to the next stage. Many people may never reach the final stage. Why useful?- this will help you understand why certain types of people are always competitive, develop rivalries, and try to win everything to boost their ego's. 1. Autonomous competence stage 0-3-4 years of life. Focus on skill mastery in the environment/testing themselves. Autonomous evaluation-builds up perception of personal competence. 2. Social comparison stage 5 years +, children begin to compare themselves with others/focusing on competition. Seen as better within their peer groups. Make 'normative' comparisons - focusing on winning, others on 'informative' value of comparisons - evaluating own mastery of skills. 3. Integrated stage The most desirable stage - here there is no age limit to enter this stage. This stage involves a person in both 'autonomous competence' and 'social comparison' stages. You are able to move freely between the two according to the appropriateness of the situation. Development of Achievement Motivation - implication Teachers and coaches can greatly influence a person's perceptions of success or failure, and future motivation, by attributing certain causes/reasons for success/failure. Other significant factors that influence achievement motivation orientation; childhood experiences, social environment, cultural differences, significant others, emphasis on (direct/indirect) on task or outcome goals, expectations, attributions -those conveyed by the teacher/expressed by the performer.