Perceived Effort in Football Athletes: The Role of Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory

Abstract

This study examined the motivational determinants of athletes perceived effort in football considering the four-stage motivational sequence at the contextual level proposed by Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: task-involving climate, basic psychological needs, self-determined motivation (SDM), and perceived effort. Additionally, SEM multi-group analysis across different age-groups (U15, U17, U19, and U21 years) and serial mediation of basic psychological needs (BPNs) and SDM on the task-involving motivational climate and the perceived effort were also analyzed. Two independent samples of male football athletes (N = 403, N = 403), aged 13–20 years were enrolled in this study. The results support the adequacy of the structural model in explaining the perceived effort of football atheltes in all samples under analysis, and was invariant across U17, U19, and U21. However, it was not invariant across U15 and U17, U19 and U21. Furthermore, results from the serial mediation showed significant indirect effects in all samples, supporting self-determination theoretical assumptions, reinforcing the importance of BPNs satisfaction and behavioral regulation in the relation in analysis. The results show that when coaches promote a task-involving climate, the BPNs satisfaction of athletes improves. This climate will facilitate the regulation of their behaviors toward more autonomous forms of motivation, with positive outcomes in the athletes perceived effort.

The bright and dark sides of motivation as predictors of enjoyment, intention, and exercise persistence

“…In serial mediation models, the bright side motivational model presented a full mediation (β = 0.45 [0. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]; P M = 0.90), which reinforces this study's previous findings regarding similar model testing and mediators' influence on persistence. In this model, only the enjoyment mediator presented significant positive indirect effects on persistence (β = 0.30 [0.22-0.39]).…”

“…As a complementary sample size analysis, G*Power v3.1 software was used to calculate the minimum required sample size. Past studies have used this program as a way of determining sample size when the number of participants did not adhere to the recommended 10:1 ratio or the minimum 5:1 ratio. Thus, as a complementary analysis, G*Power 3.1 was used to calculate the required sample size, including the following parameters: anticipated effect size of f 2 = 0.01, α = 0.05, and statistical power = 0.95, suggesting a minimum of 287 participants, which was respected in this study.…”

Motivational climate, need satisfaction, self-determined motivation, and physical activity of students in secondary school physical education in China

“…Students felt more autonomous, competent, and related when they perceived that PE teachers emphasised their effort and self-reference on success or progress. These ndings were aligned with previous study in the context of PE [35] and sports [57]. However, unlike the third hypothesis, the results showed that ego-involving climate was positively associated with competence and not signi cantly related to autonomy and relatedness.…”

Motivational climate, need satisfaction, self-determined motivation, and accelerometer-measured physical activity among secondary school students in China

“…Students felt more autonomous, competent, and related when they perceived that PE teachers emphasized their effort and self-reference on success or progress. These ndings were aligned with previous study in the context of PE [35] and sport context [57]. However, unlike the third hypothesis, the results showed that ego-involving climate was positively associated with competence and not signi cantly related to autonomy and relatedness.…”