SPORT & SOCIETY
The Summer Olympics and Paralympics through the lens of social
science
Aspects of sport motivation, an analytical bibliography of British Library resources
Jade McKenzie
Sports are ‘institutionalized competitive activities that involve rigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively
complex physical skills by participants motivated by internal or external rewards’ (Coakley, 2007). This definition
highlights the institutionalization of rules and regulations which characterises modern sports and also the complex
components of the physical and psychic skills of participants.
The role that sports play in society and the reasons why individuals engage in them has changed over time. The
first records of sports date from 3200BC (Lee, 1983) and show that previous sports involved numerous physical
activities such as running, leaping, chasing, throwing, climbing, wrestling and swimming. Crowther argued that
these activities were a result of instinctual drives such as those for hunting and surviving, rather than for
entertainment (Crowther, 2007).
This changed in 776BC, when the first recorded Olympic Games were held in Greece, presenting sport not only
as entertainment but as an instrument for life enrichment and an enhanced spirituality. We can see an echo of
this in the ‘muscular Christianity’ of the Victorian period with its emphasis on the purity of physical endeavour
when allied to team spirit and noble and selfless leadership.
What motivates the sportsman or woman in the modern era? Are there any differences in motivation between
elites and amateurs? To answer these questions we need to understand how ‘motivation’ has been defined.
Originating from the Latin word ‘movere’, motivation literally means ‘to move’ (Cox, 2002). Hull also explains it as
a drive to do something, and suggests that motivation is related to a desire to reduce or satisfy internal drives
(Hull, 1984).
Maslow’s argument is that not all drives are innate, and postulates a ‘hierarchy of needs’ in which some needs
are less imperative for survival than others (Gratton, 1981). The satisfaction of primary physiological needs gives
rise to higher level needs, and drives such feelings as self esteem and self fulfilment (Cox, 2002). Both of these
are therefore fundamental motivating factors in sports.
People are motivated to participate in physical activity for both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Intrinsic motivation
has been defined as behaviour engaged in for itself and for the pleasure and satisfaction derived from it
(Vallerand, Chapter 8; Roberts, 2001). Shirley Berry, a British long jumper who competed in the 1953 European
championships, talks of how she was motivated to participate in sport because of how much she really enjoyed it
(Berry, 2002); British high jumper Stephen Smith comments that “If you enjoy something, you learn so much
faster” adding “I enjoyed it so much I learnt a lot faster and improved a lot quicker” (Smith, 1996, 1997). Both
these athletes had strong intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation comes from external sources, such as the lure of awards, trophies, money, fame, praise and
social approval (Cox, 2002). Interestingly, it has been found that although extrinsic motivation is a strong
motivator, it can undermine intrinsic motivation. For example in 1971, Deci gave Carnegie Mellon University
students an extrinsic motivation of a reward of one dollar for each puzzle they solved. He observed the time the
students spent on the puzzles and found that when the experimenter appeared to have left the laboratory and
there was no longer a monetary motivator, students spent less time with the puzzles, compared to the control
group who had not received payments. As Sansone and Harackiewicz suggest, “using an extrinsic reward to
motivate someone to do something that the person would have done anyway could have detrimental effects on
the quality and creativity of the person’s performance” (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 2000).
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Sport and Society: the Summer Olympics through the lens of social science
In addition to intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, operant conditioning is used to motivate individuals performing
physical activity. Operant conditioning involves positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment to
help motivate, and to change behaviour (Gill & Williams, 2008).
Coaches employ a variety of such techniques in motivating their athletes. An observational study by Tharp and
Gallimore (cited in Gill & Williams, 2008) assessed the coaching behaviour of John Wooden, a successful
basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles. The authors observed his teaching and motivational
style and noted that detailed skill training, positive reinforcement and constant re-evaluation of players were key
features of his success.
De-motivating factors have also been studied. In 2002, Weiss and Caja-Ferrer (cited in Gill & Williams, 2008)
found that primary motives for withdrawing from youth sport included negative coaching experiences and
overemphasis on winning. However, withdrawal from one sport does not necessarily result in a lack of motivation
for engaging in others. In 1982, Gould, Feltz, Horn and Weiss found that 68% of young people who withdrew from
swimming continued to be involved in other sports, and some even planned to return to it (cited in Gill and
William, 2008). Individuals clearly differ in their responses, some responding to intrinsic motivations rather than to
extrinsic motivations, and vice versa. Atkinson (1964, 1973) proposed an achievement motivation model which
highlights these personality differences, and which postulates two types of personality: one with the motive to
approach success; and the other with the motive to avoid failure (cited by Gill & Williams, 2008). Individuals who
are motivated to avoid failure are much less likely to participate in a difficult game, as they feel they are more
likely to fail.
Other motivations for participating in physical activities have been proposed by Gill, Gross and Huddleston (1983)
who assessed young athletes using their Participation Motivation Questionnaire and found that the most
important reasons for participation in sports were to improve skills, have fun, to socialise, be challenged and
become physically fit (Gill and Williams, 2008). These appear to be mostly intrinsic motivators and support the
argument that the majority of people are intrinsically motivated to participate in physical activity (Hagger &
Chatzisarantis, 2007).
Warren (1983) sums up by suggesting the main elements of motivation include: motivation towards winning,
motivation for individual excellence, and motivation toward team goals. This researcher also proposed a variety of
other motivations such as favourable self esteem, the challenge of competition, and the fear of failing, rejection,
and injury.
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