Competence motivation theory

 

Competence Motivation Theory

Competence motivation theory is a conceptual framework designed to explain individuals' motivation to participate, persist, and work hard in any particular achievement context. The theory's central thesis is that individuals are attracted to participate in activities they feel competent or capable. The approach can be used by researchers and practitioners in sport and exercise psychology fields to identify why and how children, adolescents, and adults can be encouraged to participate and to exert effort in these achievement contexts.

In the following entry, the research and theory on competence motivation within the physical domain are reviewed. This begins with a brief historical overview of the theory and its constructs. Following that, the results of the research on the following segments are summarized: (a) correlates of competence motivation, (b) developmental trends in perceived competence, and (c) the impact of significant others on competence motivation.

Historical Overview

Most scholars identify Robert White's classic paper on motivation reconsidered as the forerunner of competence motivation theory. In this 1959 publication, White coined the term effecting and defined it as a tendency to explore and influence one's environment. White argued that organisms are intrinsically motivated to engage in interactions with their physical and social environments. If such attempts result in success (production of an observable effect on the ground), that individual receives intrinsic rewards like feelings of efficacy and pleasure and is motivated to continue effecting efforts. White's theory of competence motivation was considered a novel approach. It differed significantly from the traditional drive theories of human behavior and the psychoanalytic instinct theory proposed and popularized by Sigmund Freud.

In the late 1970s, Susan Harter extended White's theory to develop a complete framework that she initially identified as effecting motivation theory but was later more commonly referred to as competence motivation theory. Consistent with White, Harter also centered enjoyment as the reason why individuals are motivated to interact with their environment, but she added several other components. First, she introduced the idea that individuals' effecting or competence motivation can vary across achievement domains (e.g., cognitive, physical, social). Within each part, individuals are motivated to engage in mastery attempts for developing or demonstrating competence. If their mastery attempts result in success at an optimally challenging task and if they receive socio-emotional support from significant individuals for such task success, then they will experience perceptions of competence (belief in their abilities in that domain) along with perceptions of performance control (confidence in their ability to control their performance). High perceptions of competence and power, in turn, result in feelings of pleasure that lead to the maintenance of or increases in reflectance (competence) motivation. In contrast to White, Harter also proposed a negatively oriented path that specified that individuals who engage in mastery attempts but meet with failure at optimally challenging tasks or lack of reinforcement or disapproval from significant social agents would experience decreased perceptions of competence and control in that achievement domain, along with anxiety and shame. This combination of events will lead to reduced, affecting motivation in that particular domain.

Harter also added a developmental dimension to her theoretical framework by suggesting that children who are successful in their initial mastery attempts and who get positive and effective reinforcement from significant adults will (with sufficient cognitive maturation) internalize both a self-reward system and a set of mastery goals. Due to this internalization of standards for an optimal challenge in that domain, such adolescents will no longer be dependent on social agents to evaluate their performance or motivate them to continue their mastery attempts. Correspondingly, children who are either continually unsuccessful in their early mastery attempts or who get disapproving or no feedback from significant adults will not only develop low perceptions of competence and control in that achievement domain but will continue, as adolescents and adults, to be dependent on external sources both to evaluate their performance and to motivate them to continue their participation in that domain.

The publication of Harter's early work stimulated much research during the next 2 decades in the academic, social, and physical domains. More recently, interest in competence motivation theory has waned somewhat, likely because the construct of competence has been subsumed within other theories of motivation, such as achievement goal and self-determination. However, in 2005, Andrew J. Elliot and Carol Dweck proposed a more central role for competence and recommended that the term achievement motivation be changed to competence motivation. Their arguments were based on the idea that competence motivation (a) is broadly present in daily life activities, (b) has a large and influential effect on individuals' emotional and psychosocial well-being, (c) is operative across the lifespan (from infancy through older age), and (d) has relevance across cultures.

Research on Competence Motivation Theory in the Physical Achievement Domain

Correlates of Competence Motivation

The initial studies by researchers in sport psychology provided support for the model itself and the importance of competence as a motivational construct. Specifically, individuals who perceive themselves as having high competence in any particular sport or physical activity context exhibit higher intrinsic motivation to participate in that activity and experience more positive affective reactions (e.g., pleasure, satisfaction, enjoyment) when participating than do their peers who hold lower perceptions of competence.

Correspondingly, perceived competence levels can also affect or predict individuals' behavior. Children and adolescents in a variety of physical contexts (e.g., physical education classes, sports teams) who perceive themselves as having high competence are more apt to continue their participation and to exhibit higher levels of effort, persistence, and preference for more challenging tasks, whereas their peers who perceive low levels of competence exhibit lower levels of such task-oriented behaviors and are, subsequently, at greater risk of discontinuation. More recent studies have indicated that perceptions of competence are also tied to physical activity behaviors; children with high perceived physical competence exhibit higher frequency and intensity of daily physical activity levels. Such connections have also been demonstrated in intervention studies; children who successfully engage in physical activity programs show increases in perceived physical competence, which, in turn, increases both their motivation to be physically active and their actual physical activity levels. Interestingly, perceptions of physical competence have also been shown to be relevant for older adults, as those who have high perceptions of physical competence are more physically active and also exhibit higher perceived quality-of-life attitudes than do their peers who have lower perceptions of physical competence. Finally, high perceptions of competence in individuals across the lifespan have been consistently linked to higher levels of global self-worth or self-esteem. These results, again, point to the importance of individuals possessing high perceptions of ability or competence in at least one valued achievement domain to have an overall high regard for the self.

Developmental Trends concerning Perceived Competence

Two lifespan changes are particularly relevant to the physical domain. First, the number of fields in which individuals evaluate their competence appears to increase with age. Young children (4–7 years) tend to perceive competence in only two domains (general competence and social competence). However, older children (8–13 years) exhibit a somewhat more diversified perception of competence that spans five different achievement domains (academic, athletic, social, physical appearance, and behavioral). During the adolescent years, the number increases to include three additional ones (close friendship, romantic relationships, and job competence). Other, smaller, developmental changes continue to occur across the adult years.

Second, research in both the cognitive and physical domains has indicated that the sources of information that individuals use to evaluate their competence change with increased maturation. For younger children (4–7 years), the primary sources of information are few in number and very concrete, for example, feedback from significant adults and simple task accomplishment. Thus, such a child might say, "I am really good at throwing because I can throw this ball all the way to that wall," or "I know that I am a perfect thrower because my teacher says so." During the middle to late childhood years (7–12 years), the number of sources children use to evaluate their competence increases somewhat, but the seeds remain quite concrete. During this period, peer comparison and performance outcomes (winning or losing) become more relevant. During the adolescent years (13–18 years), the number of sources again increases, and most adolescents have the cognitive capacity to use a broader range of sources that include both internal (e.g., the achievement of self-set goals) and external (e.g., feedback from others, performance outcomes, peer comparison) references. Going back again to the early Harter model, it may be necessary for adolescents to reach a stage where they do use multiple sources and where they can use more internalized sources like personal satisfaction rather than remaining dependent on single sources like peer comparison or externally available seeds such as coaches' evaluation of their performance.

The Impact of Significant Others on Competence Motivation

As indicated in the original Harter model, significant others, such as parents, teachers, coaches, and peers, play a significant role in developing individuals' perceptions of physical competence and affecting motivation. In particular, parents may serve as the first critical social agents. For example, they can affect their children's perceptions of competence through modeling (children observing their parents' own engagement in and enjoyment of mastery attempts). However, an equally important role that parents may play is in the feedback they provide in response to their child's early engagement in mastery attempts. Obviously, positive feedback like "Good work, Maria!" is better than negative or no feedback. But, it is also the content of parents' feedback that appears essential. Specifically, a child who participates for the first time in a tee-ball league will learn from the parents' feedback, whether mastery attempts in such a domain are valued and how the performance should be evaluated. That is, does the parent provide feedback that assesses the child's performance based on (a) the performance outcome ("Good job, Susan. You got to first base again."), (b) peer comparison ("You have to work harder in practice. You let Chase beat you again today."), or (c) personal mastery of a skill ("Good work in practice today, Joshua. I see that you learned how to catch the ball.")?

The second group of adults who can significantly impact individuals' perceptions of competence and affecting motivation in the physical domain are coaches, physical education teachers, and physical activity directors. Although positive feedback from such individuals is more facilitative of high perceived competence in students and athletes, teachers and coaches also need to ensure that such positive feedback is appropriate. That is, for very young children (4–7 years), positive and general feedback ("Good job, Enrico!") may be useful. But for older children and adolescents (12 years and up), coaches and teachers should be sure that their praise is appropriate. That is if a coach provides a 12-year-old player who just got to first base on a pitcher's error with exaggerated praise ("Wow, Robert, that was truly just excellent performance."), the athlete's competence may not be enhanced as he may realize that the praise is not consistent with the performance. In such a situation, the receiver of that inappropriate praise may actually perceive low competence. He assumes that the coach thinks he is evil at batting if that is the rewarded level of performance. Thus, the coach could better respond by providing more contingent praise ("Robert, you really did a good job in not swinging at those bad pitches.")

Also, coaches and teachers who provide skill-relevant, informational, and corrective feedback to athletes in response to their performance attempts ("That was a good hit, Samantha. But next time, you should extend your elbow a little bit more. That will give you even more power.") will do more to enhance young athletes' perceptions of competence and control than will feedback statements that are evaluative only and which provide no corrective information ("That was a good play, Samantha," or "You struck out again, Domingo!") Another social group that may be particularly important regarding children's and adolescents' perceptions of competence in particular achievement domains is peers (friends, classmates and teammates). Research studies have demonstrated that peer acceptance (the degree to which children and adolescents feel accepted and valued by their peers) and the number and quality of friendships can enhance perceptions of competence and result in continued motivation to participate in that achievement activity. Correspondingly, the type of feedback that peers provide has also been shown to affect individuals' levels of competitive anxiety, sport motivation, and enjoyment.

Conclusion

The central thesis of competence motivation theory is that individuals are attracted to participate in activities they feel competent or capable. In physical activity domains, if the goal is for people to be motivated to be physically active or strive for performance excellence, it will be necessary to design environments that will enhance their competence perceptions. Based on the research and theory, improved perceptions of competence can be achieved when individuals experience success at optimally challenging tasks and receive positive, encouraging, consistent, and information-based feedback from significant others within that environment.

Motivation

Early ideas of motivation simply suggested that you either have it (you are motivated) or don't (you are not encouraged, or unmotivated). However, more than 40 years of research has shown that motivation is much more complicated than this.

When people are motivated around a given behavior, and the behavior is not essential to them, they don't believe they can carry out the action, and/or they can't produce the desired outcome.

When people don't believe they can carry out the behavior (e.g., I don't have knowledge about good nutrition and how to eat healthier) and/or they can't produce the desired outcome (e.g., Even when I eat healthier I don't lose weight), they often feel frustrated and give up. In this case, they need more assistance in understanding their own goals, identifying barriers, and gathering the knowledge, skills, and support to re-engage in the behavior.

Motivated behavior can be driven by rewards, punishments, and internalized pressures from others. It can also be fueled by deeply held values or interest and enjoyment of the action itself. In simple terms, people can feel more pressured or controlled to behave in a certain way, or they can feel they have a choice in how to behave. For example, people can be driven by:

• Reward: People might try to lose weight because their employer will pay them to lose weight.
• Punishment: People might try to lose weight because their insurance company will raise the cost of their health insurance if they don't lose weight.
• Internal Pressure: People might try to lose weight because others have told them they should lose weight, or they will be upset with them.
• Value: People might lose weight because they want to be healthier and be a positive role model for their kids.
• Interest/Enjoyment: People might try to lose weight because they really like exercising and eating healthily.

When people are mainly motivated by rewards, punishments, and internal pressure, they have a more challenging time initiating and maintaining their behaviors over the long term. However, when people are more autonomous—that is, when people are motivated more by their value for the action, or by their interest and enjoyment of the behavior—they tend to be more persistent in their behavior, feel more satisfied, and have higher well-being overall.

Psychological Needs

Motivation theory suggests that all humans have three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—that underlie growth and development.

• Autonomy refers to feeling one has a choice and willingly endorsing one's behavior. The opposite experience is handling compelled or controlled in one's behavior.
• Competence refers to the experience of mastery and being effective in one's activity.
• Finally, relatedness refers to the need to feel connected and belongingness with others.

The social environment (e.g., family, friends, co-workers, doctors, culture, etc.) can promote or get in the way of people's strivings by the extent to which they support a person's basic psychological needs.

• Autonomy is supported by attempting to grasp and acknowledge the person's wishes, preferences, and perspectives, conveying an understanding of their point of view, providing a rationale for engaging in a behavior, and providing choice in how to behave. Supporting someone's autonomy also means refraining from trying to control or pressure them to act in a certain way.
• Competence is supported by providing the person with optimal challenges and opportunities (specific goals that are challenging enough, but not overwhelming), encouraging their sense of initiation (try it out!), providing structure to mobilize and organize behavior, providing consistent and clear expectations, rules, and consequences, and providing relevant feedback.
• Finally, relatedness is supported when others are involved and show interest in the person's activities, are empathic in responding to their feelings, and convey that the person is significant, cared for, and loved.

When these needs are optimally supported, evidence suggests that people are more autonomous in their behaviors, they are more likely to persist at their actions and feel better overall.

Here at the Center for Community Health & Prevention, our approach is focused on helping you discover what works for you on your journey to making healthy changes in your life.