AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
ENJOYMENT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PERCEPTION OF SUCCESS IN SPORTS HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS
a
MARTINA ROMANOVÁ,
b
TOMÁŠ SOLLÁR
Institute of Applied Psychology, Constantine the Philosopher,
University in Nitra, Kraskova 1, Nitra, Slovak Republic
a
mromanova@ukf.sk,
b
tsollar@ukf.sk
Abstract: Enjoyment as a regulator of intrinsic motivation represents an effective tool
in fostering desired and positive attitudes towards physical activity. The main purpose
of the study was to explore the relationship between enjoyment of physical
activity and perceived success in students of sports high school students. The study
was cross-sectional and we collected data from a random research sample of 111
participants (55 boys and 56 girls) aged 11-14 years. Two self-report questionnaires
were used. To identify the enjoyment of physical activity, we used the Slovak version
of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). Perception of success was
measured by the Slovak version of the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ).
We revealed a weak but significant correlation between the age of the participants and
their level of enjoyment of physical activity. We also identified higher perception of
success in the team sports athletes.
Keywords: Enjoyment of physical activity, perception of success, individual sports
athletes, team sports athletes.
1 Introduction
Enjoyment of physical activity is one of the important intrinsic
motivation regulators especially from the perspective of the self-
determination theory proposed by Deci and Ryan. Intrinsic
motivation and enjoyment of physical activity were perceived as
synonyms for a long time. Later on, the term enjoyment of
physical activity was defined as a positive affective reaction to a
specific sporting experience reflecting particular emotions as
fun, affection or joy (Ryska, 2003). Experiencing an enjoyment
of physical activity or sport is viewed as an irreplaceable
condition when engaging in any type of physical activity or
professional sport. If the person does not experience enjoyment
of physical activity, the interest in the particular activity will
probably decline (Slepička, Hošek and Hátlová, 2011). Younes-
Alhourani (2015) defines enjoyment of physical activity as an
internal emotional factor closely connected to motivation and
observed while performing a physical activity. Enjoyment is
often perceived as a broader term that includes internal and
external factors. Both can to a certain degree affect the level of
enjoyment in people. We can assume that by increasing
enjoyment of physical activity among children we could reduce
the attractiveness of sedentary activities, among which the most
frequent are watching television, playing video games, excessive
internet use or excessive online chatting. In the period of
adolescence the relationship between enjoyment of physical
activity and one’s own success perception has been identified. A
higher level of enjoyment is positively associated with self-
esteem that naturally helps increase perception of success
(Younes-Alhourani, 2015). Perception of success is going to be
discussed from the perspective of achievement motivation.
Motivation in general carries a strong metacognitive potential,
claims Baňasová (2018), and it is important to explore what kind
of motives can be found behind our activities. As for the
achievement motivation, its sources are closely related to a
developmental aspect, to situational influences and social roles.
From the developmental perspective, achievement motivation
relates to the process of social learning, when an individual can
learn something just by watching other people behave in a
certain way. In the theory of social learning Bandura defined that
not only external factors have an impact on behavior and
learning. He emphasized the importance of intrinsic factors after
displaying certain behavior where we can include self-
confidence or satisfaction and some more. For children at young
age it is important to have a training of independence, autonomy
and the family environment which has a potential to stimulate
achievement motivation and help children become autonomous
individuals (Slepička et al. 2011). Achievement motivation can
be viewed as a direction in which the individuals perceive their
ability to succeed in the context of goal attainment. There are
two basic orientations within achievement motivation: ego
orientation and task orientation (Hagger, Chatzisarantis, 2005).
Task orientation defines success in terms of an effort to succeed,
which is associated with hard work. Ego orientation defines
success in terms of winning and outperforming others
(McCarthy, Jones, Clark-Carter, 2007). Deci and Ryan (2000)
carried out 128 studies and they revealed positive effect of
verbal praise and appreciation on intrinsic motivation. Hagger
and Chatzisarantis (2005) propose that extrinsic motivation
reaches higher level in athletes who were not exposed to
pressure to beat others, but they were told to do their best.
Various studies revealed that optimal focus and sport
concentration in terms of performance rather than winning have
a positive effect on intrinsic motivation. Ryan and Deci (2000)
claim that positive feedback increases intrinsic motivation and
vice versa negative feedback reduces intrinsic motivation. Gao,
Podlog and Huang (2012) state that empirical studies revealed a
positive impact of intrinsic motivation on enjoyment of physical
activity. Another important finding from the studies indicates
that if sport participants or athletes experience failure they
typically report lower intrinsic motivation when comparing them
with those who experience a win and success (Hagger,
Chatzisarantis, 2005). In his research, Brunel (1999) came to the
finding that high and positive task orientation and high negative
ego orientation are positively associated with effort, enjoyment
and interest. Also DeLong (DeLong, 2006) admits that
individuals who perceive a low level of success and do not find
themselves successful, tend to be less active in their lives and do
not experience enjoyment of physical activity. Individuals who
are ego oriented are less intrinsically motivated and do not report
enjoyment of physical activity as a key motivator (Ruiz-Juan,
Gómez-López, Pappous, Cárceles, & Allende, 2010). A lot of
studies demonstrate that among boys and girls between the age
of 11 and 16, perception of success and intrinsic motivation are
the most significant motivators for physical activities
participation (Labbrozzi, Robazza, Bertollo, Bucci, and Bortili,
2013). The study revealed that girls usually report a lower level
of enjoyment of physical activity, which is attributed to weaker
perception of success based on previous negative experiences.
2 Methods
The research sample consisted of students from the Sports High
School in Trenčín (a specialized institution for young athletes
providing education for pupils, can be either eight-year high
school or four-year high school). The total number of students
was 111 (56 girls and 55 boys). All participants were from the
age of 11 to the age of 14. Two measurement tools were
administered. The first variable enjoyment of physical activity
was measured by the self-report questionnaire PACES,
originally developed by Kendziersky and DeCarlo (Kendzierski
& DeCarlo, 1991). The first version consisted of 18 statements
(bipolar) and the participants replied on a 7 point continuum. We
used the Slovak version of the PACES (Sollár, Romanová,
2015), which consists of 16 statements (“When I am physically
active …”). The participants replied using a 5-point Likert scale.
A total score is computing by calculating the average of all 16
items (Motl, Dishman, Saunders, Dowda, Felton, and Pate,
2001). The results of a study conducted by Moore, Yin, Hanes,
Duda, Gutin, and Barbeau (2009) support for the validity of the
PACES and indicate a good internal consistency and item-total
correlations.
The second variable perception of success was measured by the
Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ). This measurement
tool consists of two subscales, each containing six items
assessing task and ego orientation (mastery and competitive goal
orientation). The questionnaire demonstrates the stable factor
structure and acceptable internal consistency for adolescent
population (Treasure and Roberts, 1994). We used the Slovak
version of the POSQ – Children’s Version (Roberts, Treasure
and Balague, 1998). All items begin with the stem “When
playing sport, I feel most successful when:” and each item is
assessed on a 5-point scale.
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