Psychological profiles of elite school sports players in Singapore

• Published in: Psychology of sport and exercise 2005, Vol.6 (1), p.117-128
• Main Authors: McNeill, M.C., Wang, C.K.John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Achievement goals; Psychological profiles; Purposes of sport; Self-determination; Sport-stream players
• ISSN: 1469-0292
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2003.10.004

Objectives. Sport has become such a powerful global phenomenon that a country like Singapore has set its sights on becoming one of the top ten sporting nations in Asia. A full ‘Sport School’ will commence in 2004 to achieve these aims and to further entice the commitment of potential young stars, a significant reward system has been created. This study examined the motivational types, achievement goals and beliefs about various aspects of sport in a Singapore secondary school that classified students into sport- and non-sport streams. Method. This study cluster analysed the profile of motivational types and achievement goals in 121 Grade 9 pupils ( n=52 sport stream, n=69 non-sport stream) aged between 14 and 15 yrs ( M=14.18 yr, SD=0.48) and examined the differences in their beliefs about the purposes of sport. Results. Results revealed three-distinct clusters with 33% of the sample with an ‘amotivated’ profile, 48% in a ‘highly motivated’ cluster and 19% in a ‘high task-mastery’ cluster. These three clusters differed significantly in their beliefs about the purposes of sport. Also, ‘amotivated’ students were less likely to endorse ‘mastery and physically active lifestyle’ and ‘being a good citizen’ as purposes of sport compared to the other two clusters (both Ps