Assessing the Impact of Coaching Feedback Strategies on the Motivation and Performance of Elite Athletes

Mastrich, Zachary

Assessing the Impact of Coaching Feedback Strategies on the Motivation and Performance of Elite Athletes

dc.contributor.author	Mastrich, Zachary	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Geller, E. Scott	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Hauenstein, Neil M. A.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Hernandez, J. Ivan	en
dc.contributor.department	Psychology	en
dc.date.accessioned	2019-11-01T12:19:06Z	en
dc.date.available	2019-11-01T12:19:06Z	en
dc.date.issued	2019-10	en
dc.description.abstract	Research has consistently found that the type of feedback coaches provide their players with has a substantial impact on both the motivation and the performance of these athletes. Further, several studies have found that athletes’ motivation predicts sport performance. In order to optimize the performance of their athletes, coaches need to understand how various feedback strategies impact motivation and performance. The present study examined the relationship between coaching feedback, athletes’ motivation, and athletic performance from the perspective of self-determination theory. Feedback style was conceptualized in four categories: behavior-based corrective feedback, behavior-based supportive feedback, person-based corrective feedback, and person-based supportive feedback. Athlete motivation was conceptualized as intrinsic and extrinsic. Participants included 169 NCAA athletes (56.2% male) from Division I and III colleges and universities in the United States. This sample includes 35 golfers, 50 basketball players, and 84 baseball/softball players. All participants completed a survey reporting their perception of their coaches’ feedback style and their motivation. The commonly recorded individual performance statistics were used as the outcome measure. A factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the perceived feedback scale and structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between feedback, motivation, and performance. The results revealed that athletes perceive a) more supportive than corrective feedback, b) that corrective feedback was more behavior-based than person-based, and c) that supportive feedback was more person-based than behavior-based. Additionally, Supportive person-based (β = -.22) and corrective person-based feedback (β = .18) were linked with intrinsic motivation. Both intrinsic (β = .13) and extrinsic motivation (β = .82) were related to athletic performance. Corrective person-based feedback had a significant indirect effect on performance through the mediation of intrinsic motivation (β = -.10). The findings from this study can inform coaches to use more supportive and less corrective person-based feedback to increase motivation and performance.	en
dc.description.abstractgeneral	Research has consistently found that the type of feedback coaches provide their players with has a substantial impact on both the motivation and the performance of these athletes. Further, several studies have found that athletes’ motivation predicts sport performance. In order to optimize the performance of their athletes, coaches need to understand how various feedback strategies impact motivation and performance. This study examined the relationship between coaching feedback, athletes’ motivation, and athletic performance. Feedback style was conceptualized in four categories: behavior-based corrective feedback which is delivered after a negative performance and focuses on behavior, behavior-based supportive feedback which is delivered after a positive performance and focuses on specific behavior, person-based corrective feedback which is delivered after an undesirable performance and targets the individual, and person-based supportive feedback which is delivered after a negative performance and focuses on the individual. Participants included 169 NCAA athletes (56.2% male) from Division I and III colleges and universities in the United States. This sample includes 35 golfers, 50 basketball players, and 84 baseball/softball players. All participants completed a survey reporting their perception of their coaches’ feedback style and their motivation. The commonly recorded individual performance statistics were used as the outcome measure. The results revealed that athletes perceive a) more supportive than corrective feedback, b) that corrective feedback was more behavior-based than person-based, and c) that supportive feedback was more person-based than behavior-based. Additionally, Supportive person-based and corrective person-based feedback were linked with intrinsic motivation. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were related to athletic performance. Corrective person-based feedback had a significant indirect effect on performance through the mediation of intrinsic. The findings from this study can inform coaches to use more supportive and less corrective person-based feedback to increase motivation and performance.	en
dc.format.medium	ETD	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/95228	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Sport Psychology	en
dc.subject	Feedback	en
dc.subject	Motivation	en
dc.subject	Athletes	en
dc.subject	Performance	en
dc.title	Assessing the Impact of Coaching Feedback Strategies on the Motivation and Performance of Elite Athletes	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Industrial / Organizational	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	M. S.	en