One theory or model I could use to explain a significant physical activity I experienced is Achievement Goal Theory. Achievement goal theory occurs when a person’s achievement goals, perceived ability, and achievement behavior combine to their ultimate advantage (Weinberg & Gould, 2010). When it comes to this theory, it is important to understand that in order to comprehend what motivates an individual, you have to understand what constitutes success and failure to them.
Between the ages of 12 and 18, I was an avid volleyball player. By the time I was a freshman in high school, volleyball had become one of the most important things in my life. Although our team was very good, we did have some issues with team members who were either over-competitive or under-motivated. We once played against a team which was technically not nearly as good as we were, but still lost the game simply because we just could not come together as a cohesive team. I was so frustrated with my own performance that I asked the coach to remove me from the game and let me sit out the rest of the game. I was not performing up to my regular standards, and I kept comparing myself to other girls on the team whom, although I felt were not as good at the game as I was, were in my opinion outperforming me. Some of my teammates were so interested in winning that they stopped thinking about what was best for the team, while others were just interested in the season being over. We just were not working well together.
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The following day before practice, our coach sat all of us down and individually asked us our personal reasons for playing volleyball, and what our goals were. Each player stated their goals to the rest of the team, and when it was my turn to speak, I had to really sit and think of what I wanted to say. At this point I had lost sight of what my goals were. I had become so focused on comparing myself to others and just wanting to win that I had lost sight of what was most important to me. I wanted to win not only for me, but for our team also. My own sense of self had become dependent on the outcome of each game.
I had high perceived ability when our team won and extremely low perceived ability when we lost. My coach explained to us that it is never good to compare yourself to other people. She explained that people are always going to be better than you are at something, so comparing oneself to others serves no purpose. Instead, she stressed that we should set individual goals for ourselves and work towards them, judging our performance on our own improvement. Playing volleyball helped me not only to maintain motivation, but to focus on improving myself in other areas of my life as well. Task orientation is a more effective way of trying to achieve your goals than is outcome goal orientation (Weinberg & Gould, 2010).
Achievement Goal Theory is also an effective way to decide what I want to accomplish from my physical activity, including volleyball. This is the first step in being successful in accomplishing one’s goals (Weinberg & Gould, 2010). It is important for me to think about what it is that motivates me, and be certain that I am doing the right things for the right reasons. While it might seem easier to set goals and be an outcome goal orientation person, in my opinion, being a task goal orientation person is more important to strive for. It is easy to have a feeling of low self-esteem and even to compare yourself to other people, but by focusing on personal improvement, you can achieve anything and everything.
What I have learned that I would use when working with others as a physical activity professional is that it is necessary to understand what really motivates the individuals one is working with. I believe the achievement goal theory is preferable because once you figure out what a person’s goals are, you will have a much better understanding of what motivates them. Also, by determining whether the people I am instructing are high- or low-motivated personality types, I would be able to tailor my approach to them appropriately as individuals. Once you understand another’s motivations and goals, you can help them to achieve them by showing them how to adopt task goal orientation (Weinberg & Gould, 2010). This enables a teacher or coach to help her students learn to link their performance with their personal standards and personal improvement. By showing them this, an effective coach can both teach and demonstrate a strong work ethic, persistence in the face of failure, and the importance of always working together for the good of the team (Weinberg & Gould, 2010).
