Ib Psychology Essay On Sports Psychology

1038 Words5 Pages
Evaluate the achievement goal theory and the need achievement theory of motivation in sports There are two theories that can explain the behavior and attitude of athletes in sports. One theory that explains the behavior and attitude of athletes is the need achievement theory of motivation in sports which states a link between the wish to achieve and success. It differentiates athletes by stating two types of achievers in sports; high and low achievers. Another theory that explains the behavior and attitude of athletes is the achievement goal theory of motivation in sports which is based on a social-cognitive approach to explain striving for competence. This theory differentiates athletes by the type of goals they have; the task-oriented goals (related to mastery) and ego-oriented goals (related to social comparison). The two theories will be evaluated in terms of strengths and weaknesses. The need achievement theory is a theory that integrally links the wish to achieve with success. McClelland and Atkinson (1961) stated that human motivation is the balance between motivation to succeed and fear of failure. Some athletes are motivated to participate because they want to succeed, but others are motivated to avoid participating in order to avoid failure. According to McClelland et al. (1953), athletes with high motivation to achieve are more likely to show high levels of performance, persist longer, and value feedback from coaches, as well as attributing failure to internal (dispositional) factors such as effort. On the other hand, athletes with a high motive to avoid failure will tend to avoid tasks that involve evaluation or the risk to fail, and they tend to attribute failure to external (situational) factors such as luck. The need achievement theory is important in understanding athletes because it deals with how dispositional factors and situational factors
Open Document