Summary of: Van Yperen, N.W. (in press, 2020). Achievement goals and self-regulation in the sport
context. In: P.A.M. Van Lange, E.T. Higgins, & A.W. Kruglanski (Eds.). Social
Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles (third edition). New York: The Guilford
Press.
Achievement Goals and Self-Regulation in the Sport Context
10 basic social psychological principles of high performance and effective self-regulation → by
following the principles, coaches and their athletes are likely to increase the athletes’ chances to
develop a successful sports career
1. Enhance performance and self-regulation through goal setting
2. Structure the multifaceted nature of achievement goal pursuit into a hierarchical goal
system
3. Differentiate achievement goals on the basis of evaluative standard and valence
4. Set approach goals rather than avoidance goals
5. Develop interventions that focus on self-based and task-based approach goals
6. Delineate athletes’ idiosyncratic development trajectories to better understand the process
of goal attainment and self-regulation
7. Work on strengths and weaknesses simultaneously
8. Distinguish between high pressure situations and athletes’ psychological reactions to
pressure
9. Accept fluctuating internal states and focus on goal-relevant cues and contingencies
10. Control the controllables
1. Enhance performance and self-regulation through goal setting
setting goals (cognitive representations of a desired endpoint that impacts evaluations,
emotions, and behaviors) is most effective performance enhancement strategy
◦ specific, difficult goals lead to higher performance → determine direction of individual’s
behavior, level of intensity or effort and level of persistence
◦ goal setting appears to be less effective in the sports compared to a business context
▪ because business is work for living and one does sport by a choice (intrinsic
motivation) & in sports task intrinsic task feedback is provided to the performer so
that spontaneous goal setting is likely → when controlling for it, goal setting equality
effective as in non-sport setting (study not with high-level athletes → although goal
setting may be more valuable when goals become harder and take longer to attain)
2. Structure the multifaceted nature of achievement goal pursuit into a hierarchical goal
system
self-regulation: process by whereby individuals activate and sustain behaviors, cognitions,
and affects that are systematically oriented toward the attainment of their goals
self-regulation challenge → how to cope with failures and losses
three types of achievement goals: outcome goals, performance goals, process goals
◦ outcome goals rely on social comparison (e.g. winning a match) → represents why of
motivational processes
▪ athletes lack control over the outcome of a match because relies on multiple factors
like own talent but also game conditions, opponent etc → interpersonal (represents a
dream)
▪ shifts attention away from taks through task-irrelevant interfering thoughts which
might lead to e.g. chronic fear of failure, HOWEVER the goal to win can also
inspire, energize, and direct → for sport enjoyment, self-confidence, and long-term,
sustainable development better to focus on performance and process goals
◦ performance goals represents what athletes are aiming to achieve
▪ intra-personal→ referring to former version of oneself
▪ temporal comparison (which is something largely under own control) refers to time,
distance or height, technique or effort
, TDC – Van Yperen (lecture 2)
◦ process goals: task-based goals referring to how athletes can achieve their performance
▪ breaking performance down into manageable chunks and creating a plan to achieve it
▪ task itself is evolved, therefore, athlete receives direct, immediate and ongoing
feedback during performance which facilitated learning and skill acquisition
(outcome and performance goals require ability to cognitively represent two
outcomes simultaneously (other or own previous performance) which be distracting)
▪ more numerous, context-specific, short-term and substitutable
goal system: mental representation of motivational networks compose of interconnected
goals and means
◦ hierarchical goal system: outcome goals should be used to flexible organize performance
goals and their means of attainment, or process goals
◦ when resources are limited, goal hierarchies may help athletes to deactivate or inhibit
less important goals
◦ successful goal pursuit entails commitment to focal goals, more likely with high self-
control (capacity to regulate attention, emotion, and behavior in presence of temptation
→ attain short-term process goals) and grit (tenacious pursuit of a dominant
superordinate goal despite setbacks → attain long-term outcome goals) → both
especially important when pursuing a negative subordinate proximal goal (e.g. training
in wet and cold weather) which is required as stepping stone for attaining a positive
superordinate distal goal (e.g. world champion)
3. Differentiate achievement goals on the basis of evaluative standard and valence
achievement goal approach (different to goal-setting!) → outcome goals are referred to as
performance goals, self-based goals are called mastery goals; dichotomy of other-based ego
goals vs self-based or task-based task goals (can be achieved independently)
→ goals are operationalized as either goal state, goal orientation or perceived
motivational climate
1. other-based standards: other who are concrete and present in achievement situation
(face-to-face competition) or aggregated normative information
2. self-based standards: one’s personal performance trajectory
3. task-based standards: absolute demands of task (e.g. lifting knee when running)
achievements goals differ in how competence is valenced (desired level of competence,
undesired level of incompetence)→ 3x2 achievement goal model: individuals may be forced
on ...
Doing better than others 1a Not doing worse than others 1b
Doing better than before 2a Not doing worse than before 2b
Doing the task correctly 3a Not ding task incorrectly 3b
4. Set approach goals rather than avoidance goals
the valence of achievement goals is important for performance attainment → across
achievement domains (e.g. sport) approach goals are positively related to performance
attainment whereas avoidance goals are negatively related to it
approach goals enhance performance attainment
◦ self-regulation processes (e.g. feedback seeking) may explain positive effect
avoidance goals evoke negative outcomes
◦ low self-efficacy and performance, through negative thoughts and worrying
◦ other-based avoidance goal might undermine individuals mental focus on a task through
worrying or intruding thoughts, however not always has to have negative consequences
(e.g. draw perceived as positive when other team is much stronger)
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