Achievement Goals in Sport: A Critique of Conceptual and Measurement Issues

This article presents a critical analysis of the conceptualization and measurement of achievement goals in sport. It highlights conceptual and measurement inconsistencies of Nicholls’s (1984) achievement-goal theory in education with respect to its applicability to sport. It proposes that differenti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sport & exercise psychology 2000-09, Vol.22 (3), p.235-255
Main Authors: Harwood, Chris, Hardy, Lew, Swain, Austin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Objectives
Self image
Sports psychology
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Summary:This article presents a critical analysis of the conceptualization and measurement of achievement goals in sport. It highlights conceptual and measurement inconsistencies of Nicholls’s (1984) achievement-goal theory in education with respect to its applicability to sport. It proposes that differentiation between ability and effort does not underpin the activation of task and ego goal perspectives in a sport performance context and that the definitions of task and ego involvement in the classroom might not generalize to sport. It offers an alternative conceptual approach incorporating three goal perspectives, as both a theoretical and a practical solution. It addresses goal involvement in sport performance contexts by emphasizing the value of assessing self-referent and normative conceptions of achievement at different time frames. Overall, this critique attempts to advance our understanding of both achievement goals and individual performers in the competitive sport domain.
ISSN:0895-2779
1543-2904
DOI:10.1123/jsep.22.3.235