International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Self-control is a burgeoning research topic within sport and motivational psychology. Following e... more Self-control is a burgeoning research topic within sport and motivational psychology. Following efforts to define and contextualize self-control, characteristics of self-control are considered that have important implications for sport performance. We describe and evaluate various theoretical perspectives on self-control, including limited resources, shifting priorities, and opportunity-costs. The research described includes sport-specific research but also studies that focus on general motivational principles that look beyond sport-specific phenomena. We propose that attentional, rather than limited resource, explanations of selfcontrol have more value for athletic performance. Moreover, we integrate self-control ideas with descriptions of motivational phenomena to derive novel hypotheses concerning how self-control can be optimized during sport performance. We explain how minimizing desiregoal conflicts by fusing self-control processes and performance goals can delay aversive consequences of self-control that may impede performance. We also suggest that autonomous performance goals are an important motivational input that enhances the effectiveness of selfcontrol processes by a) reducing the salience of the desire to reduce performance-related discomfort, b) increasing attentional resources towards optimal performance, and c) optimizing monitoring and modification of self-control processes. These extensions to knowledge help map out empirical agenda which may drive theoretical advances and deepen understanding of how to improve self-control during performance.
Introduction:
Mass-media campaigns such as, “Change4Life’ in the UK and “get active America” in ... more Introduction:
Mass-media campaigns such as, “Change4Life’ in the UK and “get active America” in the US, promote physical activity (PA) recommendations of at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). We investigated whether different messages used in MVPA campaigns were associated with intention to engage in more MVPA.
Materials and Methods:
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs; subjective norms, affective attitudes, instrumental attitudes and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were applied to explain the associations between campaign messages and intentions to engage in more MVPA.
Results:
A total of 1412 UK adults completed an online survey on MVPA and TPB. The sample was 70% female and 93% white with 23% reporting meeting PA guidelines. Participants received one of three messages: A walking message either with or without the 150 min/week threshold (WalkT; WalkNT); a physiological description of MVPA with the 150 min/week threshold (PhysT). ANCOVA examined group differences in intention. Path analysis evaluated mediation by TPB variables. ANCOVA identified lower intentions to increase MVPA in group PhysT relative to WalkT and WalkNT (P < 0.001). PBC mediated this relationship in WalkT (β = 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.004–0.028) whereas affective attitudes mediated this relationship in WalkNT (β = 0.059, 95% CI = 0.006–0.113).
Conclusions:
Campaigns promoting MVPA guidelines need to choose their messages carefully. Messages which exemplified MVPA through walking were associated with higher intentions to increase MVPA than messages using a physiological description. Further, PBC was enhanced when the 150 min/week threshold was promoted alongside the walking exemplar. Future exemplars should be investigated to inform adults how to meet MVPA guidelines.
Background: Mass-media campaigns such as Change4Life use messaging to promote physical activity g... more Background: Mass-media campaigns such as Change4Life use messaging to promote physical activity guidelines. Raising knowledge of MVPA guidelines within UK adults is a main goal of current mass media campaigns aimed at increasing engagement in MVPA. As this may help to inform accurate perceptions of adults’ own MVPA level it is an important area of investigation. Subjective norms, health status and normal walking intensity may also influence adult’s awareness of their own MVPA behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that greater knowledge of MVPA guidelines, supportive subjective norms, lower self-reported health status and intensity of typical walking pace are associated with accurate awareness of MVPA engagement within a sample of UK adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study of UK adults was conducted. UK adults who subscribed to the National Academic Mailing List Service (JISCMail) were sent an invitation to complete an online survey. 1,724 UK adults completed the online survey which included items on minutes spent in MVPA, awareness of MVPA using constructs highlighted by the precaution adoption process model, subjective norms, knowledge of guidelines, health status and demographics.
Results: The sample was 70% female, 57% aged under 45, 93% White and 69% in full-time employment. 62% reported their health to be above average, while 62% demonstrated accurate awareness of their own physical activity level, only 18% correctly reported the MVPA guidelines and 51% reported high subjective norms towards MVPA. Logistic regression analyses identified high subjective norms (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.29, 2.63, p = .001), average or below average health status (OR = .71, CI: .53 .97, p = .001), and a self-reported regular walking pace of moderate-to-vigorous (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.05, 1.63, p = .02) to be associated with accurate MVPA awareness. Knowledge of MVPA guidelines was not associated with MVPA awareness.
Conclusions: Mass media campaigns, such as Change4Life, inform the general public of MVPA guidelines. Campaign messages may be more influential targeting subjective norms instead of knowledge of guidelines, thereby raising awareness of personal MVPA behaviour amongst inactive adults and increasing motivation to engage in more MVPA.
Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational s... more Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational strategies that they use. The current study examined how teachers' reported use of three motivational strategies (providing a meaningful rationale, providing instrumental help and support, and gaining an understanding of the students) were predicted by perceived job pressure, perceptions of student selfdetermination, the teachers' autonomous orientation, psychological need satisfaction, and self-determination to teach. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which perceived job pressure, perceptions of student self-determination, and teacher autonomous orientation predicted teacher psychological need satisfaction, which, in turn positively influenced teacher self-determination. The last positively predicted the use of all three strategies. Direct positive effects of teachers' psychological need satisfaction on the strategies of gaining an understanding of students and instrumental help and support were also found. In summary, factors that influence teacher motivation may also indirectly affect their motivational strategies toward students.
The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how Physical Education (PE) teach... more The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how Physical Education (PE) teachers perceive the social context to influence the motivational strategies that they use towards students. Semi-structured interviews of 22 PE teachers were examined using categorical content analysis. The teachers perceived that an emphasis on student assessment and the time constraints associated with PE lessons influenced their motivational strategies towards students; however, these strategies often conflicted with the teachers' beliefs about the most appropriate motivational strategies. The teachers' own performance evaluations and pressure to conform to other teachers' methods also influenced the teachers' motivational strategies, but these influences were often congruent with their teaching beliefs. Additionally, the teachers discussed how perceived cultural norms associated with the teacher-student relationship impacted upon their chosen motivational strategies. These cultural norms were reported by different teachers as either in line, or in conflict with their teaching beliefs.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how the Physical Educ... more OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how the Physical Education (PE) teaching context influences teachers' motivational strategies towards students. DESIGN: Qualitative semi-structured interviews METHODS: Using Self-determination theory (Deci, EL, & Ryan, RM (2000). Psychological Enquiry, 11, 227-268) as a guiding framework, semi-structured interviews of 22 PE teachers were examined using categorical content analysis.
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine social-contextual correlates of players' developmental experience... more OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine social-contextual correlates of players' developmental experiences in an elite youth soccer context. Specifically, we hypothesized that player perceptions of team cohesion and coach rapport would be positively associated with psychological need fulfillment.
Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), the current study explored whethe... more Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), the current study explored whether physical education (PE) students' psychological needs and their motivational regulations toward PE predicted mean differences and changes in effort in PE, exercise intentions, and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over the course of one UK school trimester.
Abstract 1. Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the mo... more Abstract 1. Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational strategies they use. In this study, the authors examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of class average self-determination, the teachers' self-determination, and their reported use of 3 motivational strategies: autonomy support, structure, and involvement.
Abstract 1. Embedded in achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992; Meece, Anderman, & Anderman, 2006), ... more Abstract 1. Embedded in achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992; Meece, Anderman, & Anderman, 2006), this study examined how perceptions of coach and peer motivational climate in youth sport predicted moral attitudes, emotional well-being, and indices of behavioral investment in a sample of British adolescents competing in regional leagues. We adopted a longitudinal perspective, taking measures at the middle and the end of a sport season, as well as at the beginning of the following season.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, within a cross-cultural context, the psych... more OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, within a cross-cultural context, the psychometric properties of scores derived from the Perceived Locus of Causality Questionnaire (PLOCQ) and the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). Both questionnaires are grounded in self-determination theory and are commonly employed in physical education research.
Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational s... more Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational strategies that they use. The current study examined how teachers' reported use of three motivational strategies (providing a meaningful rationale, providing instrumental help and support, and gaining an understanding of the students) were predicted by perceived job pressure, perceptions of student self-determination, the teachers' autonomous orientation, psychological need satisfaction, and self-determination to teach.
International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Self-control is a burgeoning research topic within sport and motivational psychology. Following e... more Self-control is a burgeoning research topic within sport and motivational psychology. Following efforts to define and contextualize self-control, characteristics of self-control are considered that have important implications for sport performance. We describe and evaluate various theoretical perspectives on self-control, including limited resources, shifting priorities, and opportunity-costs. The research described includes sport-specific research but also studies that focus on general motivational principles that look beyond sport-specific phenomena. We propose that attentional, rather than limited resource, explanations of selfcontrol have more value for athletic performance. Moreover, we integrate self-control ideas with descriptions of motivational phenomena to derive novel hypotheses concerning how self-control can be optimized during sport performance. We explain how minimizing desiregoal conflicts by fusing self-control processes and performance goals can delay aversive consequences of self-control that may impede performance. We also suggest that autonomous performance goals are an important motivational input that enhances the effectiveness of selfcontrol processes by a) reducing the salience of the desire to reduce performance-related discomfort, b) increasing attentional resources towards optimal performance, and c) optimizing monitoring and modification of self-control processes. These extensions to knowledge help map out empirical agenda which may drive theoretical advances and deepen understanding of how to improve self-control during performance.
Introduction:
Mass-media campaigns such as, “Change4Life’ in the UK and “get active America” in ... more Introduction:
Mass-media campaigns such as, “Change4Life’ in the UK and “get active America” in the US, promote physical activity (PA) recommendations of at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). We investigated whether different messages used in MVPA campaigns were associated with intention to engage in more MVPA.
Materials and Methods:
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs; subjective norms, affective attitudes, instrumental attitudes and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were applied to explain the associations between campaign messages and intentions to engage in more MVPA.
Results:
A total of 1412 UK adults completed an online survey on MVPA and TPB. The sample was 70% female and 93% white with 23% reporting meeting PA guidelines. Participants received one of three messages: A walking message either with or without the 150 min/week threshold (WalkT; WalkNT); a physiological description of MVPA with the 150 min/week threshold (PhysT). ANCOVA examined group differences in intention. Path analysis evaluated mediation by TPB variables. ANCOVA identified lower intentions to increase MVPA in group PhysT relative to WalkT and WalkNT (P < 0.001). PBC mediated this relationship in WalkT (β = 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.004–0.028) whereas affective attitudes mediated this relationship in WalkNT (β = 0.059, 95% CI = 0.006–0.113).
Conclusions:
Campaigns promoting MVPA guidelines need to choose their messages carefully. Messages which exemplified MVPA through walking were associated with higher intentions to increase MVPA than messages using a physiological description. Further, PBC was enhanced when the 150 min/week threshold was promoted alongside the walking exemplar. Future exemplars should be investigated to inform adults how to meet MVPA guidelines.
Background: Mass-media campaigns such as Change4Life use messaging to promote physical activity g... more Background: Mass-media campaigns such as Change4Life use messaging to promote physical activity guidelines. Raising knowledge of MVPA guidelines within UK adults is a main goal of current mass media campaigns aimed at increasing engagement in MVPA. As this may help to inform accurate perceptions of adults’ own MVPA level it is an important area of investigation. Subjective norms, health status and normal walking intensity may also influence adult’s awareness of their own MVPA behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that greater knowledge of MVPA guidelines, supportive subjective norms, lower self-reported health status and intensity of typical walking pace are associated with accurate awareness of MVPA engagement within a sample of UK adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study of UK adults was conducted. UK adults who subscribed to the National Academic Mailing List Service (JISCMail) were sent an invitation to complete an online survey. 1,724 UK adults completed the online survey which included items on minutes spent in MVPA, awareness of MVPA using constructs highlighted by the precaution adoption process model, subjective norms, knowledge of guidelines, health status and demographics.
Results: The sample was 70% female, 57% aged under 45, 93% White and 69% in full-time employment. 62% reported their health to be above average, while 62% demonstrated accurate awareness of their own physical activity level, only 18% correctly reported the MVPA guidelines and 51% reported high subjective norms towards MVPA. Logistic regression analyses identified high subjective norms (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.29, 2.63, p = .001), average or below average health status (OR = .71, CI: .53 .97, p = .001), and a self-reported regular walking pace of moderate-to-vigorous (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.05, 1.63, p = .02) to be associated with accurate MVPA awareness. Knowledge of MVPA guidelines was not associated with MVPA awareness.
Conclusions: Mass media campaigns, such as Change4Life, inform the general public of MVPA guidelines. Campaign messages may be more influential targeting subjective norms instead of knowledge of guidelines, thereby raising awareness of personal MVPA behaviour amongst inactive adults and increasing motivation to engage in more MVPA.
Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational s... more Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational strategies that they use. The current study examined how teachers' reported use of three motivational strategies (providing a meaningful rationale, providing instrumental help and support, and gaining an understanding of the students) were predicted by perceived job pressure, perceptions of student selfdetermination, the teachers' autonomous orientation, psychological need satisfaction, and self-determination to teach. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which perceived job pressure, perceptions of student self-determination, and teacher autonomous orientation predicted teacher psychological need satisfaction, which, in turn positively influenced teacher self-determination. The last positively predicted the use of all three strategies. Direct positive effects of teachers' psychological need satisfaction on the strategies of gaining an understanding of students and instrumental help and support were also found. In summary, factors that influence teacher motivation may also indirectly affect their motivational strategies toward students.
The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how Physical Education (PE) teach... more The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how Physical Education (PE) teachers perceive the social context to influence the motivational strategies that they use towards students. Semi-structured interviews of 22 PE teachers were examined using categorical content analysis. The teachers perceived that an emphasis on student assessment and the time constraints associated with PE lessons influenced their motivational strategies towards students; however, these strategies often conflicted with the teachers' beliefs about the most appropriate motivational strategies. The teachers' own performance evaluations and pressure to conform to other teachers' methods also influenced the teachers' motivational strategies, but these influences were often congruent with their teaching beliefs. Additionally, the teachers discussed how perceived cultural norms associated with the teacher-student relationship impacted upon their chosen motivational strategies. These cultural norms were reported by different teachers as either in line, or in conflict with their teaching beliefs.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how the Physical Educ... more OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth analysis of how the Physical Education (PE) teaching context influences teachers' motivational strategies towards students. DESIGN: Qualitative semi-structured interviews METHODS: Using Self-determination theory (Deci, EL, & Ryan, RM (2000). Psychological Enquiry, 11, 227-268) as a guiding framework, semi-structured interviews of 22 PE teachers were examined using categorical content analysis.
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine social-contextual correlates of players' developmental experience... more OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine social-contextual correlates of players' developmental experiences in an elite youth soccer context. Specifically, we hypothesized that player perceptions of team cohesion and coach rapport would be positively associated with psychological need fulfillment.
Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), the current study explored whethe... more Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), the current study explored whether physical education (PE) students' psychological needs and their motivational regulations toward PE predicted mean differences and changes in effort in PE, exercise intentions, and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over the course of one UK school trimester.
Abstract 1. Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the mo... more Abstract 1. Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational strategies they use. In this study, the authors examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of class average self-determination, the teachers' self-determination, and their reported use of 3 motivational strategies: autonomy support, structure, and involvement.
Abstract 1. Embedded in achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992; Meece, Anderman, & Anderman, 2006), ... more Abstract 1. Embedded in achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992; Meece, Anderman, & Anderman, 2006), this study examined how perceptions of coach and peer motivational climate in youth sport predicted moral attitudes, emotional well-being, and indices of behavioral investment in a sample of British adolescents competing in regional leagues. We adopted a longitudinal perspective, taking measures at the middle and the end of a sport season, as well as at the beginning of the following season.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, within a cross-cultural context, the psych... more OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, within a cross-cultural context, the psychometric properties of scores derived from the Perceived Locus of Causality Questionnaire (PLOCQ) and the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). Both questionnaires are grounded in self-determination theory and are commonly employed in physical education research.
Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational s... more Physical education teachers can influence students' self-determination through the motivational strategies that they use. The current study examined how teachers' reported use of three motivational strategies (providing a meaningful rationale, providing instrumental help and support, and gaining an understanding of the students) were predicted by perceived job pressure, perceptions of student self-determination, the teachers' autonomous orientation, psychological need satisfaction, and self-determination to teach.
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Papers by Ian Taylor
Mass-media campaigns such as, “Change4Life’ in the UK and “get active America” in the US, promote physical activity (PA) recommendations of at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). We investigated whether different messages used in MVPA campaigns were associated with intention to engage in more MVPA.
Materials and Methods:
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs; subjective norms, affective attitudes, instrumental attitudes and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were applied to explain the associations between campaign messages and intentions to engage in more MVPA.
Results:
A total of 1412 UK adults completed an online survey on MVPA and TPB. The sample was 70% female and 93% white with 23% reporting meeting PA guidelines. Participants received one of three messages: A walking message either with or without the 150 min/week threshold (WalkT; WalkNT); a physiological description of MVPA with the 150 min/week threshold (PhysT). ANCOVA examined group differences in intention. Path analysis evaluated mediation by TPB variables. ANCOVA identified lower intentions to increase MVPA in group PhysT relative to WalkT and WalkNT (P < 0.001). PBC mediated this relationship in WalkT (β = 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.004–0.028) whereas affective attitudes mediated this relationship in WalkNT (β = 0.059, 95% CI = 0.006–0.113).
Conclusions:
Campaigns promoting MVPA guidelines need to choose their messages carefully. Messages which exemplified MVPA through walking were associated with higher intentions to increase MVPA than messages using a physiological description. Further, PBC was enhanced when the 150 min/week threshold was promoted alongside the walking exemplar. Future exemplars should be investigated to inform adults how to meet MVPA guidelines.
Results: The sample was 70% female, 57% aged under 45, 93% White and 69% in full-time employment. 62% reported their health to be above average, while 62% demonstrated accurate awareness of their own physical activity level, only 18% correctly reported the MVPA guidelines and 51% reported high subjective norms towards MVPA. Logistic regression analyses identified high subjective norms (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.29, 2.63, p = .001), average or below average health status (OR = .71, CI: .53 .97, p = .001), and a self-reported regular walking pace of moderate-to-vigorous (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.05, 1.63, p = .02) to be associated with accurate MVPA awareness. Knowledge of MVPA guidelines was not associated with MVPA awareness.
Conclusions: Mass media campaigns, such as Change4Life, inform the general public of MVPA guidelines. Campaign messages may be more influential targeting subjective norms instead of knowledge of guidelines, thereby raising awareness of personal MVPA behaviour amongst inactive adults and increasing motivation to engage in more MVPA.
Mass-media campaigns such as, “Change4Life’ in the UK and “get active America” in the US, promote physical activity (PA) recommendations of at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). We investigated whether different messages used in MVPA campaigns were associated with intention to engage in more MVPA.
Materials and Methods:
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs; subjective norms, affective attitudes, instrumental attitudes and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were applied to explain the associations between campaign messages and intentions to engage in more MVPA.
Results:
A total of 1412 UK adults completed an online survey on MVPA and TPB. The sample was 70% female and 93% white with 23% reporting meeting PA guidelines. Participants received one of three messages: A walking message either with or without the 150 min/week threshold (WalkT; WalkNT); a physiological description of MVPA with the 150 min/week threshold (PhysT). ANCOVA examined group differences in intention. Path analysis evaluated mediation by TPB variables. ANCOVA identified lower intentions to increase MVPA in group PhysT relative to WalkT and WalkNT (P < 0.001). PBC mediated this relationship in WalkT (β = 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.004–0.028) whereas affective attitudes mediated this relationship in WalkNT (β = 0.059, 95% CI = 0.006–0.113).
Conclusions:
Campaigns promoting MVPA guidelines need to choose their messages carefully. Messages which exemplified MVPA through walking were associated with higher intentions to increase MVPA than messages using a physiological description. Further, PBC was enhanced when the 150 min/week threshold was promoted alongside the walking exemplar. Future exemplars should be investigated to inform adults how to meet MVPA guidelines.
Results: The sample was 70% female, 57% aged under 45, 93% White and 69% in full-time employment. 62% reported their health to be above average, while 62% demonstrated accurate awareness of their own physical activity level, only 18% correctly reported the MVPA guidelines and 51% reported high subjective norms towards MVPA. Logistic regression analyses identified high subjective norms (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.29, 2.63, p = .001), average or below average health status (OR = .71, CI: .53 .97, p = .001), and a self-reported regular walking pace of moderate-to-vigorous (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.05, 1.63, p = .02) to be associated with accurate MVPA awareness. Knowledge of MVPA guidelines was not associated with MVPA awareness.
Conclusions: Mass media campaigns, such as Change4Life, inform the general public of MVPA guidelines. Campaign messages may be more influential targeting subjective norms instead of knowledge of guidelines, thereby raising awareness of personal MVPA behaviour amongst inactive adults and increasing motivation to engage in more MVPA.