•  
  •  
 

A COMPARISON OF EFFICACY OF NEED SUPPORTIVE AND THWARTING INSTRUCTION ON ENJOYMENT AND STATE ANXIETY

Abstract

Yongju Hwang, Yangyang Deng, Taewoo Kim, Sami R. Yli-Piipari. University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

BACKGROUND: Grounded in the positive psychology and Self-Determination Theory framework, need-supportive instruction (NSI) has shown to positively impact participants’ enjoyment while learning new motors skills by supporting the three basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Need-thwarting instruction (NTI), on the other hand, has been found to be associated with maladaptive outcomes, e.g. state anxiety. However, there is very little experimental evidence examining the effects of NSI and NTI. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of NSI and NTI on participants’ enjoyment and state anxiety during a novel motor skill course. METHODS: A sample of 105 undergraduate students (Mage 20.56±5.41; 69 females, 40 males) with no previous experience in juggling were recruited. Participants were allocated to two different arms: NSI and NTI taught by an experienced instructor. The intervention consisted of five 45 min juggling motor skill lessons, which were identical in the dose, frequency, and content. Baseline and posttest data were collected. The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to measure the enjoyment and state and trait anxiety. RESULTS: Analysis of covariance test results showed a significant intervention effect on enjoyment (F[2,107] = 14.22, p<.001, ηp2=.48) and state anxiety (F[2,107] = 3.18, p = .020, ηp2= .05) when the level of trait anxiety was controlled. The pairwise comparisons with the estimated means showed that NSI group participants’ enjoyment increased (t[54]=-4.53, p<.001, d=.61) (Mpre=4.73± 1.08; Mpost=5.29± .99) while there were no change in NTI group participants’ enjoyment (t[56]=.53, p=.598) (Mpre= 4.98±1.16; Mpost=4.93±1.26). NSI group’s state anxiety decreased (t[54]=3.12, p<.003, d=.3) (Mpre=3.14± .82; Mpost=2.80± .94) while NTI group’s state anxiety increased (t[56]=2.10, p=.041, d=.063) (Mpre=2.78±.86; Mpost=2.49±1.05). Finally, participants with higher levels of trait anxiety experienced more posttest anxiety compared to the participants with lower trait anxiety (F[2,107]=6.95, p<.001, ηp2=.23). CONCLUSIONS: NSI elicited positive affective outcomes while NTI increased participants’ state anxiety. NSI is recommended over NTI when learning new motors skills. Keywords: self-determination theory, motivation, intrinsic, motor skill, motor competence

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS