Sport And Exercise Psychology: A Critical Introduction

mine). Interestingly, according to Martens and Webber (2002), intrinsic motivation is
associated with increased enjoyment of an activity, stronger sportspersonship (see also
Chapter 7) and a reduced likelihood of dropping out from sport.
Extrinsic motivation applies whenever a person is involved in a task largely as a result
of external factors or constraints. More specifically, this term refers to “engaging in an
activity as a means to an end and not for its own sake” (Vallerand and Rousseau, 2001, p.
391). Typical extrinsic factors held to motivate athletes include money, trophies, praise
and/or other forms of social approval from others. For example, a golfer would be
regarded as extrinsically motivated if s/he joined a golf-club because s/he wanted to make
new business contacts—not because s/he actually enjoyed the game of golf. In summary,
extrinsic motivators are factors which influence a person to do something either because
they provide a reward for such behaviour or because they provide some punishment or
sanction for not doing it. In general, research shows that extrinsic motivation is
associated with increased anxiety in, and increased likelihood of dropping out from,
sporting activities (see Martens and Webber, 2002).
Theoretically, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be differentiated on at least three
criteria (Vallerand and Fortier, 1998). First, consider the purpose of the activity. As
indicated earlier, whereas intrinsically motivated activities are undertaken for their own
sake, extrinsically motivated tasks are typically conducted for some perceived
instrumental benefit. Second, although people who are intrinsically motivated tend to
seek experiential rewards, those who are extrinsically motivated tend to be influenced
more by social and/or objective rewards (e.g., money). Finally, Vallerand and Fortier
(1998) proposed that intrinsically motivated performers tend to experience less pressure
than extrinsically motivated counterparts when competing because the former people are
largely concerned with the experience of participation itself.
Despite these theoretical distinctions, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation often overlap
in real life. Indeed, as Box 2.2 shows, extrinsic rewards can affect intrinsic motivation
under certain circumstances.

Box 2.2 Thinking critically about...how rewards can change people’s

motivation

The National Coaching Foundation (1996) presented an apocryphal tale which has a long
history in psychology. This story portrays the principle that the withdrawal of rewards
can change people’s motivation in surprising ways.
An old man was plagued by teenagers playing football and making noise on the street
outside his house. No matter what he said to them, they ignored him. In fact, the more he
pleaded with them to stop, the more they persisted and the more obnoxiously they
behaved. He was at his wits’ end. Then one day, following a chat with a psychologist
friend, he decided to try a new approach to the problem. Briefly, instead of scolding the
boys, he decided to give them a reward (two euros each) for playing noisily outside his
house, Of course, the boys were delighted with this decision. Imagine getting paid for
doing something which they really enjoyed—making the old man’s life miserable! When
the boys returned the following evening, they received the same reward again—another
two euros each This practice pulled the boys but they continued to wreak havoc on the

Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction 38