Organizational stressors and basic psychological needs: The mediating role of athletes' appraisal mechanisms

Abstract

This article reports the first study to quantitatively examine the relationships between the demands encountered by athletes that are associated with the organization within which they are operating, cognitive appraisals, and basic psychological need experiences. Three hundred and fifteen high-level British athletes completed a multisection questionnaire which assessed each of the aforementioned constructs. A series of path analyses provided valuable insight into the way in which the three dimensions (ie, frequency, intensity, and duration) of five organizational stressor categories were evaluated by athletes and, in turn, how such threat or challenge appraisals predicted feelings of need satisfaction and need frustration. Moreover, cognitive stress appraisals were found to mediate the relationship between organizational stressors and psychological need experiences. The role of secondary control appraisals was also explored and found to mediate the relationship between primary cognitive appraisals and basic psychological need experiences. Study limitations, proposed future research directions, and the implications of the findings for applied practitioners are discussed.

Change in basic need frustration in relation to perfectionism, anxiety, and performance in elite junior performers

“…6,11,[30][31][32] Additionally, PS have been found to relate to behavioral approach tendencies (ie, approach goals and problem-focused coping strategies) and psychological adjustment 20,27,30 that are proposed to be a sign of self-determined and growth-oriented behavior. 5,13,20,35 Based on past research, PS and EC therefore seem to represent distinct relations to basic need frustration. 6,11,35…”

“…Hence, when elite junior performers experience basic need frustration and, thus, lack a growth-oriented behavior to encounter the stressful and pressurized performance situation, increased anxiety, and hampered performance development are more likely to occur. 13,29,42…”

“…These findings are in line with previous research, which has supported the notion that people who are externally driven, experiencing conditional self-worth, and social isolation, interpret their situations as less controllable, more stressful, and more threatening. 13,29,42 Additionally, the vulnerability associated with a mixed perfectionism profile 58,66 is likely to be triggered within performance-oriented TDEs (ie, high expectations, competitive, and external feedback). 12,67,68 Furthermore, when experiencing basic need frustration, a heightened need to be resilient in order to encounter the maladaptive situation appears.…”

“…Both personal and contextual factors are found to influence the motivational functioning of elite junior performers . Yet, few studies based on self‐determination theory (SDT) have investigated personal factors, even though they are likely to influence the perception of and reaction to environmental requests and demands, thereby influencing the satisfaction or frustration of the three basic psychological needs . Hence, the purpose of the present longitudinal cohort study was to examine the role of perfectionism and basic need frustration in the development of maladaptive motivational processes over time.…”

“…Hence, how elite junior performers perceive their performance status within TDEs that compare, scrutinize, and assess performance on a daily basis is indeed of psychological importance. Hence, when elite junior performers experience basic need frustration and, thus, lack a growth‐oriented behavior to encounter the stressful and pressurized performance situation, increased anxiety, and hampered performance development are more likely to occur …”