Linking exercise and causality orientations to change in well‐being among older adults: does change in motivational variables play a role?

A self‐determination theory process model of change in well‐being was tested among older adults in a 16‐week randomized exercise‐trial (n = 118, M = 74.3 years, SD = 4.6, 68% females). The exercise intervention increased participants' autonomous motivation and perceived competence over the first 7 weeks. Moreover, autonomous orientation gave rise to perceived competence, while impersonal orientation was related to increased controlled motivation. Changes in motivational variables were positively related to changes in vitality over the trial, while change in controlled motivation was negatively related to changes in vitality and subjective well‐being. Bootstrapping analyses supported an indirect exercise–vitality path through autonomous motivation and perceived competence, and an indirect autonomous orientation–vitality path through perceived competence.     

An Exploration of Some Antecedents and Consequences of Creative Self‐Efficacy among College Students

Two studies examined the role of task‐, self‐, and other‐approach achievement goals, trait curiosity, and enjoyment as antecedents of creative self‐efficacy and the influence of creative self‐efficacy on grade point average and perceived performance/effort exerted among college business students from Mexico. To test our research hypotheses, we used Structural Equation Modeling treating the variables as latent. Results from study 1 showed that task/self‐approach goal was a significant antecedent of creative self‐efficacy and enjoyment a marginally significant antecedent. Results from study 2 showed a positive, significant influence of trait curiosity on creative self‐efficacy. Similarly, creative self‐efficacy had a positive, direct influence on perceived performance/effort exerted and an indirect influence on students' grade point average. The implications of our results were discussed.     

Effort in the face of difference: Feeling like a non‐prototypical group member motivates effort

Three studies examined the relationship between individuals' perceived “prototypicality” in a group, their subsequent self‐presentation goals, and individual effort in that group. Consistent with the finding that feelings of marginal ingroup membership status elicit a desire to seek stronger social connections within ingroups, we predicted that non‐prototypical group members will have more salient self‐presentation goals than prototypical members, and as such will exert more individual effort to exhibit the value of their membership to the group. Correlational Study 1 confirmed that non‐prototypical group members may be more likely than prototypical members to volunteer for activities that would benefit their group. Two experimental studies were then conducted to test the causal influence of feelings of prototypicality while also identifying theoretically relevant moderating conditions of perceived task efficacy (Study 2) and public versus private task performance (Study 3). These findings suggest that effortful performance in groups is partly motivated by the desire to foster social ties. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived competence and impression management: Testing the mediating and moderating mechanisms

Using a diverse and unique sample of triads (N = 191 self, peer, and supervisor reports) from a field survey of two service sector organisations, this study examined the effects of perceived competence (self‐reported) and supervisor‐rated performance ratings on peer‐rated impression management. The study also tested the mediating role of performance in competence–impression management relationships and the moderating role of job satisfaction (self‐reported) in performance–impression management relationships using bootstrapping techniques. The study further examined the conditional indirect effects (i.e., moderated mediation) of perceived competence on impression management. The sample consisted of white collar employees from a government organisation and a leading cellular company in a developing country (i.e., Pakistan). Employees with low perceived competence were more likely to use impression management tactics than were those with high perceived competence. Similarly, poor performance ratings produced high impression management. Moreover, performance mediated the relationship between competence and impression management. The findings also suggest that perceived competence has a negative indirect effect on impression management for those with high levels of job satisfaction. Finally, impression management was highest when performance and satisfaction were low.     

Understanding enjoyment in youth sport: A developmental perspective

ObjectivesHistorically, the youth sport emotional response literature focused mainly on stress and enjoyment. Although research on these emotional responses has been significant, no systematic examination of these responses from a developmental perspective has been undertaken and therefore, developmental influence and implications for competitive youth sport are largely unknown. To begin to address this issue, the present study examined the developmental progression of sources of enjoyment among youth sport participants.DesignA multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine the developmental differences in sources of enjoyment among younger (under 11 years) and older (over 11 years) children participating in individual and team sports.MethodsParticipants (n=152) aged 8–15 years were categorized into groups of younger and older children based on underlying cognitive-developmental criteria. Self-report measures of enjoyment, sources of enjoyment, perceived sport competence, and task and ego goal orientation were recorded.ResultsOlder children reported significantly greater enjoyment and other-referenced competency and recognition than younger children. Although all sources of enjoyment predicted enjoyment among younger children, no single source added a unique proportion of variance to the model. Competitive excitement (CE) and other-referenced competency and recognition significantly predicted enjoyment among older children. Team sport participants reported significantly greater self-referenced competency (SRC), affiliation with peers (AP), competitive excitement (CE), positive parental involvement (PPI) and enjoyment compared with individual sport participants. Finally, aligned with previous research, task orientation and perceived competence significantly predicted enjoyment.ConclusionsThe results of the present study underline the importance of understanding the developmental progression of sources of enjoyment among children and adolescents in sport. Furthermore, consideration should also be given to the nature of the sport (team or individual) children participate in for long-term enjoyment and commitment to sport.     

Achievement goal orientations and motivational outcomes in youth sport: The role of social orientations

ObjectivesSocial goal orientations, which reflect ways of conceptualizing competence in terms of social relationships with others, have been researched minimally in the physical domain. While the relationship between task and ego orientations and motivational outcomes has been well-studied, the link of friendship, group acceptance, and coach praise orientations with enjoyment, perceived physical competence, and intrinsic motivation warrants further study.MethodMale and female middle-school students (N = 303) completed questionnaires assessing task, ego, coach praise, friendship, and group acceptance orientations; enjoyment; perceived physical competence; and motivation. Two approaches to data analysis (variable-centered, person-centered) examined whether social orientations were significantly related to motivational outcomes among adolescents.ResultsVariable-centered analysis (i.e., canonical correlation) showed that social orientations were related to enjoyment, perceived physical competence, and intrinsic motivation. Person-centered analyses (i.e., cluster analysis, MANOVA) classified participants with similar patterns of goal orientations and then compared the emergent groups on motivational outcomes. Participants who defined success using either higher task, ego, and social goal orientations or higher friendship and lower ego orientations reported the most adaptive responses (higher perceived competence, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation).ConclusionsSocial orientations in sport are important to consider alongside task and ego orientations in research stemming from achievement goal theory. Defining success or competence in terms of social relationships can have positive motivational benefits in sport.     

The change in perceived motor competence and motor task values during elementary school: A longitudinal cohort study

Participation in motor activities is essential for social interaction and life satisfaction in children. Self‐perceptions and task values have a central position in why children do or do not participate in (motor) activities. Investigating developmental changes in motor self‐perceptions and motor task values in elementary school children would provide vital information about their participation in motor activities. We therefore examined the change in, and associations between, self‐perceptions and task values of fine motor competence, ball competence, and athletic competence in 292 children from kindergarten to grade 4. We also investigated differences between boys and girls, and between children with motor problems and typically developing children. Results indicated that self‐perceptions and task values are domain specific and differ between boys and girls, but not between children with motor problems and typically developing children. Self‐perceptions were not associated with task values. Educators should address specific self‐perceptions to enhance participation into the corresponding motor activities in children between kindergarten and grade 4, and differences in self‐perceptions and task values between boys and girls should be taken into account.     

Exploring Domain‐Specific Perfectionism

ABSTRACT The main objective of this research was to explore the extent to which perfectionism is a general personality trait across areas of functioning rather than a context‐specific trait. The study also explored the degree to which domain‐specific contingent self‐worth, perceived competence, and task value were associated with domain‐specific perfectionism. In a sample of 187 academically talented youth, a comparison of perfectionistic tendencies and cognitive appraisal processes in the school versus sports domain revealed significantly higher levels of perfectionism, perceptions of competence, task value, and contingent self‐worth in the school domain. Hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant main effect for contingencies of self‐worth on perfectionistic tendencies in both the school and sports domains. The results argue for the centrality of contingent self‐worth to the understanding of perfectionism.     

Ingroup vitality and intergroup attitudes in a linguistic minority

In this study we argue that predictions of the impact of group status, status stability and status legitimacy on intergroup attitudes can be refined using the subjective perceptions of various dimensions of ingroup vitality. We tested the main and moderating effects of perceived present, future and the legitimacy of present ingroup vitality and perceived discrimination on intergroup attitudes in a nation-wide probability sample (N= 1,411) of Swedish-speaking Finns, controlling for ingroup identification. We found that those who perceived the legitimacy of present ingroup vitality to be low had more negative intergroup attitudes than those who perceived the legitimacy to be high. Perceived present and future ingroup vitality had no main effects on the dependent variable. Instead, perceived future ingroup vitality moderated the effect of perceived discrimination on intergroup attitudes. In addition, the perceived legitimacy of present ingroup vitality mediated the effect of perceived present ingroup vitality on intergroup attitudes.     

Role clarity,role conflict,and vitality at work: The role of the basic needs

This study aimed to provide new information on the relationships between vitality at work and role clarity, role conflict, and psychological basic need satisfaction. Participants of the cross‐sectional study were 110 employees in a preventive intervention program. Associations between the focal constructs were examined with regression and bootstrapping analyses. The results suggest that the role clarity is associated with subjective vitality at work through higher autonomy and higher competence, and that role conflict is negatively associated with subjective vitality at work through lower autonomy and lower relatedness. Additionally, an interaction between the role characteristics was observed, suggesting that the strength of the association between role clarity and competence, and the strength of the indirect association between role clarity and vitality through competence may vary depending on the level of role conflict. The findings are consistent with the notion that that managers and co‐workers may affect the opportunities of individuals to achieve need satisfaction and feel energized by delineating and negotiating role‐related factors at work. Need satisfaction, in turn, is an antecedent of well‐being and motivation. Employees should feel able to clarify role ambiguities with their supervisor or co‐workers and thus reduce the role conflicts imposed by the expectations of various stakeholders. Limitations of the study include the self‐rating methodology, cross‐sectional design, and properties of the sample restricting generalizability.     

Effects of Perceived Organizational Support on Objective and Subjective Career Success via Need Satisfaction: A Study Among French Psychologists

The authors examined potential links between perceived organizational support (POS) and objective and subjective career success through the satisfaction of the 3 basic psychological needs (BPNs) posited in self‐determination theory. The inclusion of BPN satisfaction as a mediator provides an interesting route, suggesting it is a condition for POS to lead to career success. The authors submitted an online questionnaire to 379 French counseling psychologists and examined the responses using a cross‐sectional design with only 1 measurement. The results indicated the indirect effects of POS on objective career success via the satisfaction of the 3 BPNs and on subjective career success via satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and competence.     

The relationship between greater mindfulness and less subjective experience of chronic pain: Mediating functions of pain management self‐efficacy and emotional intelligence

Previous research shows a connection between greater mindfulness and less subjective experience of pain. The present study examined whether pain management self‐efficacy and emotional intelligence mediate this relationship in individuals experiencing chronic pain. Two hundred participants experiencing chronic pain completed measures of mindfulness, experience of pain, pain management self‐efficacy, and emotional intelligence. Greater mindfulness was associated with less subjective experience of pain, greater pain management self‐efficacy, and more emotional intelligence. More pain management self‐efficacy and higher emotional intelligence were associated with less subjective experience of pain. Emotional intelligence and pain management self‐efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and pain. The connection between greater mindfulness and less subjective experience of pain may be due to mindfulness providing a foundation for emotional functioning and behavioural regulation that result in reductions in the experience of pain.     

Self‐Regulation: Relations with Theory of Mind and Social Behaviour

It is argued that self‐regulation skill is necessary both for displaying constructive behaviour and for controlling negative social behaviour, and self‐regulation might affect social behaviours by increasing the ability to understand others' minds. In this research, in order to examine different aspects of self‐regulation and their similarities and differences in terms of their relations with other constructs, we focused on both effortful control and executive function and investigated their concurrent associations with socially competent and aggressive behaviours and theory of mind (ToM). The participants were 212 preschool children in Turkey. We assessed executive functions with behavioural measures and effortful control with mother reports. We used six tasks for comprehensive assessment of mental state understanding. Children's social competency and aggressive behaviour were assessed with teacher reports. Structural equation modelling results showed that when age and receptive language were controlled, ToM was significantly associated with social competence but not aggressive behaviour. Both effortful control and executive functions were significantly related to social competency and ToM; the pathways from each self‐regulation skill were similar in strength. ToM was linked with social competence, but it did not have a mediating role in the relations of self‐regulation with social competence. The findings highlighted the importance of self‐regulation for socio‐cognitive and social development in the preschool years. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation to Use Computers in the Workplace1

Previous research indicates that perceived usefulness is a major determinant and predictor of intentions to use computers in the workplace. In contrast, the impact of enjoyment on usage intentions has not been examined. Two studies are reported concerning the relative effects of usefulness and enjoyment on intentions to use, and usage of, computers in the workplace. Usefulness had a strong effect on usage intentions in both Study 1, regarding word processing software (β=.68), and Study 2, regarding business graphics programs (β=.79). As hypothesized, enjoyment also had a significant effect on intentions in both studies, controlling for perceived usefulness (β=.16 and 0.15 for Studies 1 and 2, respectively). Study 1 found that intentions correlated 0.63 with system usage and that usefulness and enjoyment influenced usage behavior entirely indirectly through their effects on intentions. In both studies, a positive interaction between usefulness and enjoyment was observed. Together, usefulness and enjoyment explained 62% (Study 1) and 75% (Study 2) of the variance in usage intentions. Moreover, usefulness and enjoyment were found to mediate fully the effects on usage intentions of perceived output quality and perceived ease of use. As hypothesized, a measure of task importance moderated the effects of ease of use and output quality on usefulness but not on enjoyment. Several implications are drawn for how to design computer programs to be both more useful and more enjoyable in order to increase their acceptability among potential users.     

Deciphering Subjective Trajectories for Life Satisfaction Using Self‐versus‐Normative Other Discrepancies,Self‐esteem and Hope

Drawing on temporal and social comparison perspectives, we examined sources of the widespread belief that life gets better and better over time by determining how young adults evaluate their past, present and anticipated future life satisfaction (LS) relative to beliefs about normative others. We assessed whether patterns of subjective LS trajectories based on self‐versus‐normative other discrepancies varied as a function of self‐esteem and whether such patterns were accounted for by hope, encompassing goal‐related cognitions and motivations. University participants (n = 394) completed measures of their own and normative others' past, present and anticipated future LS, as well as self‐esteem and hope scales. Results from latent growth curve analyses demonstrated that high‐self‐esteem and low‐self‐esteem individuals perceived normative others' LS as progressing on a similar upward subjective temporal trajectory; however, high‐self‐esteem individuals perceived self‐improvement from past to present LS and self‐consistency from present to future LS relative to others. Low‐self‐esteem individuals perceived self‐consistency from past to present LS and self‐improvement from present to future LS relative to others. These associations were accounted for by hope. This research highlights the utility of combining temporal and social comparison perspectives for understanding how people envision their LS unfolding over time. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of music on time perception and performance of a driving game

Cassidy, G.G. & MacDonald, R.A.R. (2010). The effects of music on time perception and performance of a driving game. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 455–464. There is an established and growing body of evidence highlighting that music can influence behavior across a range of diverse domains ( Miell, MacDonald, & Hargreaves 2005 ). One area of interest is the monitoring of “internal timing mechanisms”, with features such as tempo, liking, perceived affective nature and everyday listening contexts implicated as important ( North & Hargreaves, 2008 ). The current study addresses these issues by comparing the effects of self‐selected and experimenter‐selected music (fast and slow) on actual and perceived performance of a driving game activity. Seventy participants completed three laps of a driving game in seven sound conditions: (1) silence; (2) car sounds; (3) car sounds with self‐selected music, and car sounds with experimenter‐selected music; (4) high‐arousal (70 bpm); (5) high‐arousal (130 bpm); (6) low‐arousal (70 bpm); and (7) low‐arousal (130 bpm) music. Six performance measures (time, accuracy, speed, and retrospective perception of these), and four experience measures (perceived distraction, liking, appropriateness and enjoyment) were taken. Exposure to self‐selected music resulted in overestimation of elapsed time and inaccuracy, while benefiting accuracy and experience. In contrast, exposure to experimenter‐selected music resulted in poorest performance and experience. Increasing the tempo of experimenter‐selected music resulted in faster performance and increased inaccuracy for high‐arousal music, but did not impact experience. It is suggested that personal meaning and subjective associations connected to self‐selected music promoted increased engagement with the activity, overriding detrimental effects attributed to unfamiliar, less liked and less appropriate experimenter‐selected music.     

How effortful decisions get enacted: the motivating role of decision processes,desires, and anticipated emotions

Building on recent research examining the influence of decision making on subsequent goal striving and decision enactment, we consider and elaborate on the mechanisms through which effortful decisions are made, maintained, and enacted. Our proposed framework builds on the Dholakia and Bagozzi ( 2002 ) model, distinguishes between two important types of intentions and desires, and shows that the motivation‐mustering function of the decision process is mediated by goal and implementation desires. In addition to decision processes, the roles of goal feasibility, anticipated emotions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are also elaborated on. Through a two‐wave field study tracking real decisions and their pursuit by participants, we find empirical support for our model of effortful decision making and enactment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

General self‐efficacy in various domains of human functioning: Evidence from five countries

Based on social‐cognitive theory ( 1 Bandura, 1997), this paper examined whether perceived self‐efficacy is a universal psychological construct that accounts for variance within various domains of human functioning. Perceived self‐efficacy is not only of a task‐specific nature, but it can also be identified at a more general level of functioning. General self‐efficacy (GSE) is the belief in one's competence to tackle novel tasks and to cope with adversity in a broad range of stressful or challenging encounters, as opposed to specific self‐efficacy, which is constrained to a particular task at hand. The study aimed at exploring the relations between GSE and a variety of other psychological constructs across several countries. Relations between general self‐efficacy and personality, well‐being, stress appraisals, social relations, and achievements were examined among 8796 participants from Costa Rica, Germany, Poland, Turkey, and the USA. Across countries, the findings provide evidence for associations between perceived general self‐efficacy and the selected variables. The highest positive associations were with optimism, self‐regulation, and self‐esteem, whereas the highest negative associations emerged with depression and anxiety. Academic performance is also associated with self‐efficacy as hypothesized. The replication across languages or cultures adds significance to these findings. The relations between self‐efficacy and other personality measures remained stable across cultures and samples. Thus, perceived general self‐efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.     

Sometimes less is more: the role of subjective task experience in self-generated value interventions

Interventions that prompt learners to generate their own ideas about how material is valuable are promising for inspiring engagement. Drawing from research on the availability bias, we investigated how the learners’ subjective experience of generating ideas about the value of a domain (i.e., ease of coming up with ideas) affects perceptions of the content. In both studies, we manipulated the number of value statements participants generated, and then measured subjective task experience and perceived value of the content. Both studies’ results showed that the relationship between the number of value statements and perceived value became stronger when subjective task experience was added as an intervening variable. This pattern is suggestive of a positive direct effect of value statements on perceived value as well as a negative indirect effect of subjective task experience. Implications are discussed.     

How formulating implementation plans and remembering past actions facilitate the enactment of effortful decisions

Building on prior research studying effortful decision making and enactment processes (Bagozzi, Dholakia, & Basuroy, 2003; BDB), we identify and provide an in‐depth understanding of two specific self‐regulatory strategies: (1) formulating an implementation plan, and (2) remembering past actions, that decision makers can use in facilitating enactment of effortful decisions. The results of three experiments, in which the decision maker's goal and self‐regulatory strategy were manipulated, showed that for goals that decision makers chose volitionally, the motivational effects of both these strategies lay in increasing levels of proximal implementation‐related variables (implementation intentions, plan completeness, plan enactment, and goal realization) significantly. In contrast, for goals that were assigned to participants, these strategies' motivational effects additionally extended to significantly increasing distal goal‐related variables (goal desire, goal intentions, perceived self‐efficacy, and implementation desires). The theoretical implications of our findings are discussed, and future research opportunities are explored. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.