Effect of motivational climate profiles on motivational indices in team sport

Contemporary perspectives of achievement motivation have been based on soci al cognitive theories which give motivational climate a central place in th e regulation of subsequent affective states? cognitions and behaviour in ac hievement contexts. This study examined the relationship between different profiles of the motivational climate in teamsport and achievement, and soci ally related cognitions among Norwegian team sport athletes. Players (N=148 ) assessed their perception of the motivational climate using the Norwegian version of the Motivational climate in sport questionnaire, sources of sat isfaction in team sport, achievement strategies, perceived purposes of spor t, and conceptions of ability. Multivariate analysis of variance (2x2) show ed both main effects for profiles of the motivational climate and an intera ction effect. Athletes perceiving the climate as high in mastery and high i n performance oriented criteria reported psychological responses that were more adapative than those perceiving the climate as low in mastery and high in performance criteria. With one exception, the findings showed that thos e high in mastery and low in performance were more likely to emphasise self -referenced criteria when judging perceived ability in team sport. For both social responsibility and lifetime skills as purposes in sport, it was the high performance and low mastery athletes who were least likely to endorse these purposes. And importantly, the high mastery climate seemed to modera te the impact of being in a high performance climate. The pattern of findin gs suggests that perceiving the motivational climate as performance oriente d may not be motivationally maladaptive when accompanied by mastery oriente d situational cues.