Attibutions and goal oritnations in master athletes : performance versus outcome

ATTRIBUTIONS AND GOAL ORIENTATIONS IN MASTERS ATHLETES: PERFORMANCE VERSUS OUTCOME Stephanie J. Hanrahan*and John B. Gross** KEY WORDS: Task and Ego Orientation, Attributional Profiles, Performance, Outcome. ABSTRACT: Swimmers (N = 111) and track and field athletes (N = 77) participating in the Australian Masters Games completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire prior to their main event. Within 30 minutes of the event they rated and provided attributions for that performance. At the end of the day, when they were notified of their placing within the event, the athletes rated and provided attributions for their outcome. Participants rated their performances as more successful than their outcomes. Performances were perceived to be due to more internal and intentional causes than were outcomes. Task orientation predicted some of the attribution scores. The responses to the open ended question about the single most likely cause of their performance or outcome were qualitatively analyzed. Athletes high in task orientation and low in ego orientation tended to attribute performance to technique. Individuals who were low in both goal orientations showed signs of apathy, with little attempt made to explain the causes of performances and outcomes. Results support the practice of focusing on performance rather than outcome. Correspondence: Stephanie Hanrahan. School of Human Movement Studies. The University of Queensland. Queensland 4072, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] * Schools of Human Movement Studies and Psychology. The University of Queensland. ** School of Health Sciences. University of Canberra. — Fecha de recepción: 3 de Marzo de 2004. Fecha de aceptación: 11 de Febrero de 2005. Revista de Psicología del Deporte 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 ISSN: 1132-239X Universitat de les Illes Balears Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 43 Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 44 Introduction Masters Games (i.e., competitive sport for older people) provide unique competitive situations in which participants from all eligible age groups can compete at the same time. For example, 30 to 35 year old swimmers in a 50 meter backstroke heat may compete against individuals from any other age group. Immediately after the heat swimmers will have their performance times, but will not find out the outcome in terms of their relative placings until the end of the day. The same is true for all swimming and track and field events. Perceptions of success, therefore, may change when moving from a performance to an outcome situation. If these perceptions of success change, there may be corresponding differences in attributions. Attributions are the reasons or explanations that people give for success and failure. Early attribution research in sport has compared the attributions of successful performers to unsuccessful performers (e.g., Spink and Roberts, 1980) and between winners and losers (e.g., Bukowski and Moore, 1980). However, many researchers agree that individuals do not always perceive success and failure in terms of winning and losing (e.g., Biddle and Hanrahan, 1998). It is possible for someone to experience success without an objective win or to experience failure without an objective loss. Previous research has never measured attributions for sporting performance when outcome has not been known, and then attributions for the same event but with an outcome focus. Research has demonstrated that athletes have variable goal perspectives regarding how they define their competence (Duda and Hall, 2001). The two most frequently cited goal orientations are ego and task. A person with a predominantly ego orientation defines success as being better than someone else, whereas a person with a predominantly task orientation defines success as improving one’s own personal performance. It has been demonstrated that individuals’ goal orientations may be altered by changing the motivational climate or the goals reinforced in the person’s social context (cf., Ommundsen, Roberts, and Kavussanu, 1998; Treasure and Roberts, 1994). What is not known is whether people’s sporting attributions may also be influenced by the motivational climate. The Masters Games provide an ideal opportunity to test the attributions for the same exact event in a situation that stresses performance or mastery (personal times or distances) and then again in an outcome or social comparison environment. PALABRAS CLAVE: Motivación a la Tarea y al Ego, perfiles atribucionales, rendimiento, resultados. RESUMEN: En este estudio, 111 nadadores y 77 atletas que participaban en los Australian Master Games se evaluaron mediante el Cuestionario de Orientación a la Tarea y al Ego en el Deporte (TEOSQ) antes de su participación más importante. Dentro de los 30 mintos previos a la prueba, se les administró a los atletas el test y se les evaluaron sus atribuciones acerca de su rendimiento. Los participantes puntuaron su rendimiento más exitoso que los resultados de la prueba. Los atletas percibieron su rendimiento como más debido a causas internas e intencionales que los resultados. La orientación a la tarea predecía algunas de las puntuaciones de las atribuciones. Las respuestas al cuestionario formado por preguntas abiertas acerca de la causa más importante de su rendimiento o de su resultado se analizaron cualitativamente. Los atletas que puntuaban alto en la orientación a la tarea y bajo en la orientación al ego tendían a atribuir el rendimiento a su técnica. En cambio, las personas que puntuaban bajo en ambas orientaciones de meta mostraban signos de apatía, y llevaban a cabo pocos intentos de explicar las causas de su rendimiento o de sus resultados. Los resultados hallados apoyan la estrategia de focalización en el rendimiento más que en los resultados. Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 44 Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 45 It is clear that both achievement goal orientations and attributions are related to achievement behaviour and motivation (e.g., Elliot and Church, 1997; Vodanovich, Weddle, and Piotrowski, 1997; Ward, 1997; Young 1997). However, much less is known about how achievement goal orientations (how people define success) are related to attributions (how people explain success and failure). Preliminary investigation into the relationship between attributions and achievement goal orientations found that the level of task orientation is related to the types of attributions athletes make (Hanrahan, 2001). Therefore, in addition to knowing if attributions are different in the two situations, it is also useful to know if attributions are predicted by the individuals’ achievement goal orientations. It may be possible, for example, that task orientations predict attributions in a performance environment, but not in an outcome environment. In addition to the quantitative scores rating attributional dimensions, qualitative responses to open-ended questions about attributions can be analyzed. Multiple respondents may make the same attributional dimension ratings, yet have qualitatively different responses. For example, many athletes may rate their attributions as internal, controllable, and unstable, yet the actual attributions may include effort, activation/arousal, training preparation, or determination. Even if there are no significant differences between achievement goal orientations groups in terms of quantitative dimensions, there may be qualitative differences that could guide future attribution retraining programs. The purposes of this study were 1) to investigate if athletes make different attributions for performance and outcome for the exact same events, 2) to determine if achievement goal orientations and ratings of performance and outcome predict attributions and, 3) to consider both qualitative and quantitative differences in attributions for those scoring in the extreme ranges of task and ego orientation. Method Participants Swimmers (44 males, 61 females and 6 unspecified) and track and field competitors (35 males, 37 females and 5 unspecified) participating in the Australian Masters Games voluntarily took part in this study. Participants competed in age groups ranging from 25-29 to 80-84. The most represented age group was the 50-54 age group with 33 participants. In track and field there were 32 competitors in distance events, 15 in field events, 14 in middle distance events, 8 in sprint events and 8 multi-eventers. In swimming there were 57 sprinters, 31 middle distance competitors and 11 distance competitors. Of the 188 participants, 91 were competing in their first masters games. Measures Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ, Duda, 1989). The TEOSQ contains two scales, one containing six items measures ego orientation, and the other with seven items measures task orientation. Both scales are measured on 5- point Likert scales and have been found to have reasonable test-retest reliability (Duda, 1992) and inter-item reliability (Duda and Horn, 1993). Factorial, concurrent, and predictive validities have supported the psychometric strength of the scales (Duda and Whitehead, 1998). In a study comparing four scales that have been used to measure achievement goal orientations, the TEOSQ was found to be the better instrument psychometrically (Hanrahan and Biddle, 2002). The wording in the directions of the Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 45 TEOSQ reflected the specific sports targeted in the study (e.g., “When do you feel most successful in swimming. In other words, when do you feel a swimming even has gone really good for you?”). Sport Attributional Style Scale-Revised (SASS-R) The Sport Attributional Style Scale (SASS) (Hanrahan and Grove, 1990) uses 7-point Likert scales to measure the causal dimensions of internality, stability, globality, controllability, and intentionality for positive and negative hypothetical events. The construct validity has been verified through confirmatory factor analyses, and the scale has been shown to have reasonable test-retest reliability and good internal consistency (Hanrahan, Grove, and Hattie, 1989). In this study the dimensions of the SASS were used to have athletes rate the causal dimensions of their attributions for an actual competition. Previous research has found that attributions about actual events correlate significantly with attributions for the hypothetical events of the SASS (Hanrahan and Grove, 1990). In line with the Causal Dimension Scale II (McAuley, Duncan, and Russell, 1992), the control dimension was split into two dimensions: personal control and external control. The Causal Dimension Scale was not used because it does not contain the dimensions of globality or intentionality. The stem at the beginning of the SASS-R was worded, “Please write down what you believe was the single most likely cause of your level of performance (e.g., why did you perform well or poorly today)” for the performance attribution, and “Please write down what you believe was the single most likely cause of your success/failure” for the outcome attribution. Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 46 Ratings of performance and outcome. Participants rated their perceived performance on a 7-point Likert scale with ratings ranging from “very poor performance” to “very good performance” Outcome, or success in terms of win or loss, was rated on a 7-point Likert scale with ratings ranging from “very successful” to “very unsuccessful”. Procedure The athletes completed the TEOSQ prior to their main event. Within 30 minutes of completing their main event they rated how well they thought they performed in their main event, indicated the single most likely cause of their level of performance, and then rated that cause on six attributional dimensions of the revised SASS. At the end of the day when final results were posted participants rated how successful they were in their main event in terms of win or loss and then stated the single most likely cause of their success/failure and then rated that cause on the same six attributional dimensions. When athletes submitted their completed questionnaires, they received a raffle ticket, the winner of which received a small monetary prize. Results MANOVA’s indicated that there were no significant main effects or interactions for sex or sport on any of the dependent variables, namely TEOSQ scores, performance and outcome ratings, and attributions for both performance and outcome. As a result of these non-significant MANOVA’s, all participants were combined across sport and sex for subsequent analyses. Inter-item reliability of the TEOSQ was again confirmed with alphas of .74 for the task scale and .80 for the ego scale. The scores for ego orientation ranged from 1 to 5 with a mean of 2.53. The task orientation Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 46 Performance Outcome Dimension Mean SD Mean SD Internality 5.71 1.64 5.44 1.84 Stability 4.97 1.71 5.11 1.74 Globality 4.42 2.13 4.46 2.11 Personal Control 3.05 2.14 2.92 2.16 External Control 5.10 2.07 5.22 1.90 Intentionality 4.28 2.53 3.85 2.41 Success 4.98 1.44 3.81 1.96 Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 47 scores ranged from 3.14 to 5 with a mean of 4.26. The correlation between the two scales was -.09, confirming their independence. To determine if athletes rated their performance differently than their outcomes, a within subject T-test was calculated. Participants rated their performances as being significantly more successful than their outcomes (t (185) = 5.93, p < .001). See Table 1 for mean scores. A one way repeated measures MANOVA was then calculated to determine if there were differences in the attributions athletes made for performance and outcome. This MANOVA was significant (Wilks’ Lambda =-.927, F (6.179) = 2.33, p < .05). Follow up univariate F tests revealed only one significant effect for intentionality (F(1, 184) = 7.21, p < .01). Competitors rated the cause of their performance to be significantly more intentional than the cause of their outcome. See Table 1 for means and standard deviations of all attributional dimensions across performance and outcome situations. Table 1. Means and Standard Deviations Comparing Attributions and Ratings of Success for Performance and Outcome Situations. Because of the skewed distributions, we felt it was inappropriate to use a MANOVA to compare attributions of those high and low in task and ego orientations. Although previous studies have used a mean split to divide participants into four groups (i.e., high task/low ego, high task/high ego, low task/low ego, and low task/high ego) (e.g., White, 1998), other authors have stated that this procedure should only be used in exceptional circumstances (e.g., Duda, 2001). To avoid the problems associated with using mean splits on skewed data, we performed two-step hierarchical regressions to explain attributions. For the performance attributions, task and ego orientation scores were entered in the first step, and performance ratings entered on the second step. For the outcome attributions, task and ego orientation scores were entered in the first step and outcome ratings entered in the second step. Task and ego orientation scores were entered first as they were the same for both sets of data, and they are perceived to be characteristics inherent to the individual. Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 47 Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... 48 Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 For the performance attributions the regression analyses were significant for the dimensions of stability (F (3, 183) = 4.36, p < .01, Adjusted R2= .051), globality (F (2,184) = 3.70, p < .05, Adjusted R2= .028), and intentionality (F (3, 183) = 17.24, p < .001, Adjusted R2= .210). For stability, standardised Beta coefficients indicated that performance ratings were the only significant contributor to the regression (Β= .23, t = 3.01, p < .01). More stable attributions were predicted by higher ratings of performance. Task, but not ego, orientation scores significantly predicted globality ratings (Β= .17, t = 2.30, p < .05). Higher task scores predicted higher globality ratings. When performance ratings were added to the model, the model remained significant (F (3, 183) = 3.37, p < .05), but none of the variables contributed individual significance. For intentionality ratings, performance ratings were the only significant contributor to the regression (Β= -.50, t = -6.73, p < .001). More intentional attributions were predicted by higher ratings of performance. For the outcome attributions the regression analyses were significant for the same dimensions as for performance attributions: stability (F (2, 184) = 3.26, p < .05, Adjusted R2= .024), globality (F (3, 182) = 2.73, p < .05, Adjusted R2= .020), and intentionality (F (3, 183) = 5.76, p = .001, Adjusted R2= .071). For stability, standardised Beta coefficients indicated that task orientation scores were the only significant contributor to the regression (Β= .18, t = 2.44, p < .05). More stable attributions were predicted by higher scores in task orientation. The same was true for globality ratings, with task orientation being the only significant individual predictor (Β= .17, t = 2.37, p < .05). Higher task scores predicted higher globality ratings. For intentionality, standardised Beta coefficients indicated that outcome ratings were the only significant contributor to the regression (Β= .27, t= 3.84, p< .001). More intentional attributions were predicted by higher ratings of outcome. Qualitative Analyses The attributional measures requested respondents to write down the single most likely cause of their level of performance and their success/failure. These qualitative responses were analysed not only to determine the types of attributions masters athletes make, but also to determine if the same attributions were made for performance and outcome. Two inductive content analyses were performed separately for the performance and outcome attributions. The original responses were divided if they conveyed more than one idea in the single response. Both researchers examined all of the resulting data themes and then grouped them together under suitable headings when they had common meaning. These groupings became the higher order themes. An additional inductive analysis was done to link the higher order themes into general dimensions. The two researchers independently used this process for the performance and outcome attributions separately. The trustworthiness of the data was created by these independent analyses. The researchers then met together and compared their results. The majority of raw data themes had been classified in the same way by both researchers. The small differences in the wording of the names of higher order themes, as well as the different allocation of a few raw data themes were resolved through clarifications and the discussion of biases. See Table 2 for the resulting higher order themes and general dimensions. Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 48 General Dimension Higher Order Theme Performance1Outcome1 Psychological factors Activation/arousal 10 6 Tried to do my best 11 13 Mental approach 13 14 Determination 7 23 Performance strategy 3 3 (Total) 44 59 Preparation Training 53 61 Race preparation 9 4 (Total) 62 65 Situational Travel 3 1 Different conditions (e.g., 2 0 50m vs 25 m pool) Weather/temperature 5 0 Effect of other events 19 7 Encouragement from others 6 2 Equipment failure 2 0 Coach 0 2 (Total) 37 12 Competition Opposition 6 24 Stimulus of competition 5 2 (Total) 11 26 Physical factors Illness/injury 23 11 Ability 2 6 Technique 15 6 (Total) 40 23 Luck Luck 1 4 Personal performance Personal performance 0 3 No comment No comment 21 20 1Total number of responses. The responses from some athletes included more than one attribution for performance or outcome, so there were more attributions than there were participants. Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... 49 Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 Table 2. Themes and General Dimensions for the Attributions for Performance and Outcome. Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 49 50 Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... The qualitative responses for performance and outcome were not dramatically different. “Different conditions”, “weather/temperature”, and “equipment failure” were cited as attributions for performance, but not outcome. “Coach” and “personal performance” were listed as attributions for outcome, but not performance. Athletes made more attributions of “determination” and “opposition” for outcome than they did for performance. On the other hand, they made more attributions of “effect of other events” and “illness/injury” for performance than they did for outcome. Extreme TEOSQ Scores As mentioned earlier, there were no true low task individuals who participated in this study (lowest score = 3.14/5). Only two people were higher in ego than in task, so a high ego/low task group did not really exist. Nevertheless we were interested in investigating differences between athletes who were low and high in task and ego orientations. Following the advice of Duda (2001), we categorised participants into the four groups of low ego/low task, low ego/high task, high ego/high task, and high ego/low task using the individuals who rated at the extreme ends of the range. From the initial sample of 187 athletes, this process resulted in a subsample of 45 individuals. The responses for low ego ranged from 1 to 2.17, compared to the high ego range of 3.5 to 5. The variance in the distribution of task scores was restricted resulting in low task responses ranging from 3.14 to 3.86 and high task responses ranging from 4.71 to 5. This process resulted in 13 low ego/low task, 16 low ego/high task, 9 high ego/high task, and 7 high ego/low task athletes. We have termed this variable Extreme Motivational Orientation. Using the data from the individuals in these extreme groups, A Split Plot (4 X 2) repeated measure ANOVA with one between subjects factor and one within subjects factor was conducted to assess the possible impact of Extreme Motivational Orientation upon success following performance and outcome situations. There was a main effect for the within subjects factor of success F (1, 42) = 15.45, p < .001, where all groups reported higher success ratings for performance (M = 4.94, SD =1.36) than for outcome (M = 3.41, SD =1.85). There was no significant interaction for Extreme Motivational Orientation or Success F (3, 42) = 1.09, p > .05. Nonetheless, the main effect for Extreme Motivational Orientation approached significance F (3, 42) = 2.66, p = .06. One might predict that individuals with extreme scores high in task orientation, the high task/high ego, and high task/low ego groups should manifest higher performance ratings than the low task/high ego and low task/low ego groups. The opposite effect should hold for outcome ratings where the participants ranked as high ego should report higher success ratings than their low ego counterparts. Therefore two separate follow up F tests using planned comparisons were conducted, first for the two high task groups versus the two low task groups on performance success ratings, and then, second for the two high ego groups versus the two low ego groups on outcome success ratings. Indeed the first analysis for performance success showed a significant contrast (t(43) = -2.08, p< .05) whereby the combined means for the high task/high ego and high task/low ego group (M= 5.42, SD =1.10), was greater than that for the low task/low ego and low task/high ego groups (M= 4.43, SD =1.50). No such difference was found for outcome success (t(43) = -0.10, p> .05). Using the qualitative data from the same subsample, an additional inductive analysis Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 50 Medical/ Comp/ No Group Training Technique Psych Physical External Comment Low ego/ Actual 2 0 0 3 2 6 Low task Expected 3.6 0.8 2.2 1.9 1.9 2.5 Adj residual -1.2 -1.1 -1.9 1.0 0.1 2.9* Low ego/ Actual 5 3 5 1 3 1 High task Expected 5 1.1 3.1 2.7 2.7 3.4 Adj residual 0 2.3*1.5 -1.4 0.3 -1.9 High ego/ Actual 4 0 1 2 2 0 High task Expected 2.5 0.6 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.7 Adj residual 1.3 -0.9 -0.5 0.7 0.7 -1.6 High ego/ Actual 2 0 2 1 0 2 Low task Expected 1.9 0.4 1.2 1 1 1.3 Adj Residual 0.1 -0.7 0.9 0 -1.2 0.7 Total Actual 13 3 8 7 7 9 *p < .05 Hanrahan, S. J. and Gross, J. B. Attributions and Goal Orientations... 51 Revista de Psicología del Deporte. 2005. Vol. 14, núm. 1, pp. 43-56 There was 100% agreement between the two researchers. The chi square analyses (Likelihood Ratio) on the performance attributions ( χ 2(15) = 27.76, p < .05) and the outcome attributions ( χ 2 (18) = 34.13, p < .05) were significant (See Tables 3 and 4). Athletes in the low ego/high task group made more attributions of technique for performance than expected, and fewer “no comment” responses for outcome attributions than expected. Individuals low in both task and ego made more “no comment” responses than expected regarding the attributions for both performance and outcome. Athletes high in both task and ego made more competition/external attributions for outcome than expected. was completed. To be able to use a chi square analysis, only the first raw data theme for individuals was used if their response contained more than one idea. Their responses for performance and outcome were combined in the analysis. As roughly only one quarter of the original sample was retained, we felt it was inappropriate to use the original higher order themes. This final inductive analysis resulted in the higher order themes of “training”, “technique”, “psychological”, “medical/physical”, “competition/- external”, “personal performance” and “no comment”. The first author conducted this analysis, but another researcher served as an external checker to independently classify the raw data themes into the higher order themes. Table 3. Chi Square Results for Attributions for Performance Using Responses from Extreme Groups. Hanrahan 01.08.05 11:17 Página 51