Extrinsic motivation affects investment and retention in youth sport
Extrinsic motivation is an important coaching tool at the developmental level, but it must be used carefully to avoid sabotaging the athletes' ability to develop intrinsic reasons for participation.
The article below is a slightly edited version of something I wrote in 2017. It explains the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how they affect behavior in sport development. I made the video while I was working for USSA Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur — one of my first forays onto YouTube.
Understanding how extrinsic motivation works and how it can be manipulated in teaching situations is a valuable coaching tool. Used properly it can help young athletes remain engaged long enough to become invested in the sport and establish their own reasons for participation.
Investment is time dependent; the longer an athlete is involved in an activity the more likely investment will occur. Until then, retaining athletes is a primary concern, which is why cohort retention should be tracked by clubs and sport governing bodies.
Although athlete dropout can happen at any time it occurs most frequently within the first year of participation and less so during the second and subsequent years; thus, retaining athletes is key to overall development. Judicious and informed use of external motivators during early participation can shape a practice and competitive environment that is fun and attractive enough for athletes to want to return.
What does investment mean?
Athletes are invested if:
They have developed their own reasons and goals for participating in the sport. Pleasing parents and coaches becomes less important as athletes age and they start to focus on personal expectations rather than those of others.
They become passionate about the activity. They are planning weeks, months, even years ahead with their training and competition. Their coaches become resources more than teachers.
Fun is an achievable challenge. Extrinsic motivators are important In the lead up to investment. Fun occurs within the context of the sport, so it’s up to coaches to design fun environments that are also meaningful learning situations. The article below describes how external motivators can help create such an environment.
This article was originally published in 2017. It has been lightly edited.
Understanding the role that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation play in the athlete development process
When we talk about sport psychology we typically think of how it’s used in high performance and don’t see its value at the developmental level. But it is an important tool; just as important for younger, newer athletes as it is for elite performers, albeit for different reasons and to achieve different ends.
A good example of sport psychology in action at the developmental level is understanding how coaches can apply extrinsic motivators and stimulate intrinsic motivation to encourage persistence and improve performance. Performance with things like goal setting, training attendance, focusing on skill acquisition, and, in general, sticking with a sport long enough to make a difference.
The terms intrinsic and extrinsic describe motivators that exist within ourselves (intrinsic) or that come from outside sources (extrinsic). Intrinsic motivation results in behavior driven by internal rewards such as goal achievement, increased status, performance or adventure challenges, or some other kind of personally meaningful reward. Extrinsic motivation influences behavior based on external rewards like praise, grades, fame, or money.
In any situation, both types are in play to some extent but age determines which is predominant. At young ages extrinsic motivation drives most behavior. Generally, youngsters are people pleasers and earning praise or attention from significant adults, like coaches and parents, drives much of their behavior. Praise is an extrinsic motivator, so coaches who learn how and when to use it can have a positive effect on a young athlete's early sport experience.
Getting youngsters into sport programs and keeping them involved is key not only to a healthy society but also to effective sport development. This process starts with an environment that youngsters find attractive, a place or activity where they want to be. Judicious use of praise and encouragement is one tool to help create this environment.
As children age their sport participation becomes more internalized, more personally important. Motivation to participate gradually shifts from one of pleasing others to personal satisfaction, goal achievement, and passion for the sport. Intrinsic motivators eventually predominate as athletes take ownership of their sport participation. Where children once sought praise and encouragement from others, adolescents seek technical assistance and guidance. Their behavior changes from doing what others want, to doing what they want.
Athletes cannot continue to develop to the highest levels if they do not, at some point, become the owner of their participation, their training, and their goals. The degree to which this happens varies but the rewards for participation become more focused on personal goals rather than external indicators of success.
This shift from external to internal motivation is largely unnoticed because the external rewards for high performance still exist and often increase. For example, when governing bodies offer financial incentives for winning Olympic medals it's easy to believe the money is the athlete's primary motivation. Athletes however, will tell you a different story. While it's certainly nice to receive the cash the athlete's own internal goals are usually more important.
There are, of course, athletes who are primarily focused on material reward. But these are usually not consistently high performers. By focusing only on the external rewards and not ever having developed significant personal goals the athlete is hurting his future performances. What if the prize money is not enough? What if the salary the athlete receives is not enough? Will performance suffer?
Token economies interfere with development of internal motivation
This attitude—external reward is the only thing that counts—starts at a young age and can usually be traced back to ill-conceived token economies when athletes are just beginning their sport participation. Prizes and money, if offered too early, too lavishly, or too frequently can prevent the shift from extrinsic to intrinsic motivators. So much so that athletes always expect some kind of pay for play and never really internalize their participation.
An example of a token economy would be offering young athletes cash rewards, new equipment, or the latest electronics for achieving a certain level of performance. This usually begins with the athlete’s parents but it’s not uncommon for coaches, clubs, schools, and even governments to do the same thing, often with more extravagant prizes.
Extrinsic rewards are attractive to young athletes and for a while they do encourage achievement. But over-emphasizing rewards makes it hard for the athlete to ever become interested in achievement for its own sake, which is what has to happen if they are ever to reach their full potential in the sport.
Soon the effect of these rewards wears off and the athlete begins performing poorly or inconsistently. They never had the opportunity to become invested; the token economies prevented them from developing internal reasons for participation. Finally their performance suffers and the rewards disappear. They just leave the sport behind and move on.
This usually occurs at an age prior to when the athlete could have been expected to reach their peak performances. Though well intentioned, the development of promising athletes can be sabotaged by token economies, especially when they are institutionalized by sport associations and government bodies, groups that should know better.
Understanding the nature of external and internal motivation is essential for creating the environment where the shift from one to the other can take place. Psychology can be complicated but some aspects of it can be easily understood and implemented to the benefit not only of individual athletes but to the greater sport community as well.