C.3 Motivation: The Engine of Performance

Welcome to the chapter on Motivation! This is one of the most practical and fascinating parts of Sports Psychology.
Understanding motivation is like finding the switch that controls an athlete's effort, direction, and persistence. Whether you are aiming for the Olympics or just trying to stick to a morning jog, the psychological principles of motivation apply.

What is Motivation?

Simply put, motivation is the driving force that determines our behaviour. In a sporting context, we define it using two core components:

  • Direction of Effort: This refers to what the individual seeks out, approaches, or is attracted to.
    Example: Choosing to attend basketball practice instead of watching a movie.
  • Intensity of Effort: This refers to how much effort the individual puts into a particular situation.
    Example: Training at maximum effort during that basketball practice versus just going through the motions.

Quick Tip: Motivation isn't a fixed trait; it can be learned, influenced, and changed by both the environment and the individual’s thought patterns.

1. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation generally falls into two main categories, based on where the reward or drive originates.

Intrinsic Motivation (Internal Drive)

This comes from within the athlete. The activity itself is rewarding. The individual engages because they love the process, the feeling of accomplishment, or the personal challenge.

  • Source: Internal satisfaction, enjoyment, feeling of competence, mastery.
  • Rewards: Feeling happy after achieving a personal best; the satisfaction of learning a new skill.
  • Durability: Generally, more stable and sustainable over the long term.
  • Analogy: A marathon runner training 30 km in the rain because they genuinely enjoy the mental and physical challenge.
Extrinsic Motivation (External Drive)

This is driven by external rewards or pressures. The individual engages in the activity to gain something tangible or avoid punishment.

  • Source: Material or social rewards, avoidance of punishment, public recognition.
  • Rewards: Trophies, medals, prize money, social approval, praise from a coach, fear of being cut from the team.
  • Durability: Can be very effective in the short term, but if the external reward disappears, motivation often drops quickly.
  • Analogy: A professional footballer playing well specifically to earn a new, higher-paying contract.
The Interaction: Danger of the Overjustification Effect (HL Extension)

It is important to remember that most athletes are driven by a mix of both types. However, coaches must be careful when introducing extrinsic rewards to a deeply intrinsically motivated athlete.

The Overjustification Effect states that if we provide large extrinsic rewards for a behaviour that was already intrinsically rewarding, the person might shift their focus to the external reward, causing their intrinsic motivation to decrease. They start asking, "Am I doing this for fun, or for the prize?"

  • To Avoid This: Extrinsic rewards (like praise or small bonuses) should be used to provide informational feedback (confirming competence) rather than controlling the behaviour.

Key Takeaway: Intrinsic motivation is the goal for long-term athlete development. Extrinsic rewards should supplement, not replace, the internal joy of participation.


2. Attribution Theory (Weiner)

Don't worry if this sounds complex! Attribution theory is simply about how athletes explain their own success and failure. These explanations (or "attributions") directly impact future motivation.

Weiner proposed that people typically attribute performance outcomes to factors based on three dimensions:

Dimension 1: Locus of Causality (Internal vs. External)


Where is the cause located? Inside or outside the athlete?

  • Internal: The cause is related to the individual (e.g., effort, ability).
  • External: The cause is related to the environment (e.g., luck, task difficulty, referee decisions).

Example: Losing a match. Internal attribution: "I lost because I wasn't skilled enough." External attribution: "I lost because the wind was too strong."

Dimension 2: Stability (Stable vs. Unstable)


Is the cause permanent or temporary?

  • Stable: The cause is relatively fixed and unlikely to change in the near future (e.g., natural talent, quality of opponent).
  • Unstable: The cause can change from moment to moment or game to game (e.g., luck, momentary effort, mood).

Example: Winning a gold medal. Stable attribution: "I won because I have naturally high endurance." Unstable attribution: "I won because I was feeling particularly energized today."

Dimension 3: Locus of Control (Controllable vs. Uncontrollable)


Can the athlete change the cause?

  • Controllable: Factors the athlete can influence (e.g., training intensity, strategy, effort).
  • Uncontrollable: Factors outside the athlete's influence (e.g., weather, opponent's natural ability, luck).
The Self-Serving Bias and Attribution Retraining

Highly motivated athletes tend to use a pattern called the self-serving bias to maintain self-esteem and confidence:

  1. Success is attributed to internal and stable factors (e.g., "I won because I am talented and trained hard"). This maximizes pride.
  2. Failure is attributed to external or unstable/controllable factors (e.g., "I lost because of bad luck, but next time I will put in more effort"). This protects self-esteem and encourages future improvement.

Coaches use Attribution Retraining to teach athletes (especially those who consistently blame themselves for failures) to shift their explanations towards controllable and unstable factors.

Key Takeaway: Attributing failure to controllable, unstable factors (like "lack of effort") allows the athlete to believe they can succeed next time by changing their behaviour, thereby maintaining motivation.


3. Achievement Goal Theory (Nicholls)

Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) focuses on how an individual judges their competence and defines what "success" means to them in an achievement environment like sport.

Goal Orientation 1: Task (Mastery) Orientation

Athletes who are Task-Oriented define success based on personal improvement, effort, and mastery of the skill.

  • Definition of Success: Showing personal competence; learning new things; putting in maximum effort.
  • Focus: Internal, comparing performance against their own previous standard (self-reference).
  • Result: High motivation, persistence in the face of failure, choosing challenging tasks.
  • Think of it: An athlete is happy if they improve their serve technique, even if they lose the match.
Goal Orientation 2: Ego (Performance) Orientation

Athletes who are Ego-Oriented define success based on outperforming others, proving superior ability, and achieving victory with minimal apparent effort.

  • Definition of Success: Demonstrating superior ability compared to others; winning; social comparison.
  • Focus: External, comparing performance against others (other-reference).
  • Result: Motivation is fragile. If they think they cannot win (low perceived competence), they may give up or choose easy tasks to guarantee success.
  • Think of it: An athlete is only happy if they win the championship, regardless of whether they personally improved.
Creating a Motivational Climate: TARGET

Coaches should try to foster a Task-Involving Motivational Climate. The acronym TARGET is often used to guide this process:

Task (design): Focus activities on learning and personal challenge.
Authority: Allow athletes to be involved in decision-making.
Reward: Reward effort and improvement, not just outcome.
Grouping: Encourage cooperative learning over competitive grouping.
Evaluation: Evaluate based on effort, improvement, and strategy.
Timing: Provide timely feedback, focusing on improvement pathways.

Key Takeaway: Task orientation is strongly linked to sustained motivation, lower anxiety, and better sportspersonship because success is always controllable (you can always control your effort, but you can't always control the opponent).


Quick Review: Motivational Principles

This chapter is all about creating the right environment for long-term engagement.

To Increase Motivation:
  • Foster Intrinsic Drive: Make activities fun and varied. Focus on the joy of movement.
  • Use Positive Attributions: Encourage athletes to link success to internal, stable factors and failure to controllable, unstable factors (e.g., "I need to put in more focused practice").
  • Set Task Goals: Use the SMART principle to set goals focused on improvement, not just winning (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound).
  • Provide Feedback: Ensure feedback is supportive and informational, focusing on competence and progress, not just external rewards.