Analyzing the Characteristics of the Hubristic Motivation of Adolescent Athletes

Liudmyla Zhdaniuk^1*, Svitlana Lukova², Nataliia Beseda³, Tetiana Synytsya⁴ and Tetiana Yopa⁵

^*Correspondence: Liudmyla Zhdaniuk, Department of Methods of Educational Content, Poltava Regional M. V. Ostrogradski In-Service Teacher-Trainer Institute, Ukraine, Email:

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Introduction

Modern psychological science remains open to the study of the problem of hubristic motivation in the activities of the individual, in particular, in sports. Adolescence is crucial for the career of a future athlete. The study of humor motivation at the stage of implementation of the first significant successes in sport will expand the understanding of the mechanisms of functioning of the motivational sphere of young athletes and outline further prospects for psychological and pedagogical support of adolescents' sports activities [1-15].

The problem of activity motivation is covered in numerous scientific works. However, this topic remains relevant in modern psychological research. Hubristic motivation plays one of the main roles in the regulation of leading activities and is related to motives. Scientists considered hubristic motivation through the prism of socio-psychological and biogenetic paradigm. A. Adler in his individual psychology devotes considerable attention to the problem of striving for perfection and superiority of the individual [16]. These key concepts became fundamental in Yu. Kozeletsky’s «transgressive concept», where hubristic motivation is seen as a stable human desire to reinforce and increase self-esteem and self-importance, as well as a persistent desire for superiority, perfection and expansion of their power. According to the scientist, hubristic motivation is formed under the influence of society [17]. Kuusi believed that people are constantly striving for selfaffirmation and rivalry, because each person is a unique individual not only from the standpoint of genetic information that is naturally embedded in it, but also according to cultural heritage. Fomenko defines hubristic motivation as the desire for self-affirmation, selfaggrandizement, and reinforcement of self-esteem, which is realized in two ways: through the achievement of perfection and advantage [18,19].

Materials and Methods

The aim of the study is to features of hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes. Research objectives: 1) identify gender differences in the hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes; 2) identify differences in the hubristic motivation of adolescents engaged in individual and group sports; 3) to determine the typological features of the hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes; 4) to identify the features of experiences in sports activities of adolescent athletes, depending on the type of hubristic motivation.

The research was conducted at the Municipal Institution «Poltava Gymnasium «Health» № 14 of Poltava City Council of Poltava region» and Municipal Institution «Poltava specialized boarding school of sports profile I– III degrees of Poltava regional council» in February–May 2020. The sample size is 176 people (72 female-athletes and 104 male-athletes) 13–14 years old, who regularly engage in various sports (volleyball, basketball, swimming, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, boxing, football, taekwondo) in specialized sport schools, having 4 to 10 training sessions per week. In order to study hubristic motivation we used: method «Diagnostic of hubristic motivation» by Fomenko to determine the general level of hubristic motivation, as well as its forms, namely: the desire for excellence and the pursuit of perfection [27]. We also used method of E. Osin and D. Leontiev «Diagnosis of experiences in professional activities» [20,21]. Following theoretical methods were used: study and analysis of scientific, pedagogical, philosophical, methodical literature, curricula, curricula documents; synthesis; generalization. Empirical methods include observation, method of system analysis, method of comparison, method of functional-structural analysis.

Results and Discussion

Investigating the gender differences in the hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes, we obtained data (Table 1), which confirms the existence of significant differences between adolescent boys and adolescent girls.

Table 1: Indicators of hubristic motivation in adolescents, depending on gender (groups girls/boys).

Thus, there are significant differences in indicators of hubristic motivation (t=–1.82; р<0.05). The analysis of the obtained differences allows us to determine that female athletes are characterized by a higher level of hubristic motivation than male athletes. This desire for self-affirmation, self-actualization and achievement in meaningful activities is one of the signs of adulthood, which may indicate the acceleration of girls. Acceleration of growth and the appearance of signs of puberty in girls begin 1–2 years earlier than in boys. This fact significantly affects the difference in body size, as well as the functional abilities of boys and girls [22-25]. The next task of our study was to study the features of hubristic motivation of adolescents engaged in individual and group sports. The data contained in Table 2 confirm the assumptions about the existence of statistical differences in adolescents the representatives of individual and team sports (Table 2).

Table 2: Indicators of hubristic motivation in adolescents depending on the sport (group’s individual sports/team sports).

It was found that there are significant differences in indicators: hubristic motivation (t=–2.55; p<0.01), striving for perfection (t=–2.28; p<0.01), striving for superiority (t=–2.1, p<0.01). After analyzing the obtained indicators, we determine that adolescents who play team sports have a higher level of hubristic motivation than their peers who play individual sports. They have higher scores in striving for perfection and in striving for superiority. This fact can be explained through the prism of the peculiarities of adolescence. Adolescents have two ambivalent needs: the need for independence, which is manifested in the reactions of emancipation, and the need for belonging, which is characterized by grouping with peers. The adolescents’, who are involved in team sports, need for belonging is realized through their inclusion to a group of peers united by a common cause and a common goal. An important feature of team sports is the joint success, which is the success of the team and the personal success of each of its members. The dependence of adolescents' self-esteem on the opinions of others and, as a consequence, self-doubt, can be partially offset by team membership. The team, as an environment that reflects the personal manifestations of its members, allows us to assume that it acts as a supporting factor in the socialization of the adolescent and in his desire for self-affirmation. Thus, the feeling of belonging to a group (team) in adolescence affects the formation of hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes.

The next task of our study was to determine the typological features of hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes. For this purpose, the clustering of indicators of striving for perfection and striving for superiority was carried out and three cluster profiles were identified, presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Cluster profiles of hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes.

According to the obtained cluster profiles, three groups of subjects were identified: Cluster 1–average indicators of striving for perfection and high indicators of striving for superiority–Dominance of striving for superiority (n=62, 35.2 % of subjects); cluster 2–high indicators of striving for perfection and average indicators of striving for superiority–Dominance of striving for perfection (n=58, 33 % of subjects); cluster 3–average indicators of striving for perfection and low for superiority–Reduced level of hubristic motivation (n=56, 31,8 % of subjects).

The study of experiences in sports activities of adolescent athletes with different typological profiles of hubristic motivation allowed us to obtain the data presented in (Table 3).

Table 3: Mean values of indicators of experiences in sports activities of groups of studied adolescent athletes with different typological profiles of hubristic motivation.

It was found that there are significant differences in the effort parameter (t=2.49; p<0.01) between groups of adolescent athletes with a predominance of striving for superiority and with a reduced level of hubristic motivation. Significant differences in following parameters were found: satisfaction (t=2.64; p<0.001), meaning (t=2.57; p<0.01), effort (t=2.55; p<0.01) between groups of adolescent athletes with a predominance of striving for perfection and group with reduced level of hubristic motivation.

Thus, adolescent athletes with a predominant striving for superiority in sports have a subjective impression that their activities are accompanied by effort. In contrast, adolescent athletes with low levels of hubristic motivation do not have such a pronounced experience. It can be assumed that motivated young athletes make more effort in sports than their peers with reduced hubristic motivation. Sports activities of adolescents, with a predominant striving for perfection, in contrast to adolescents with low hubristic motivation, are characterized by a full range of optimal experiences that combine satisfaction, meaning and effort.

Describing the combinatorial model of optimal experience in activity, D. Leontiev proposes to consider not only its components, but also all their possible combinations [20,21]. The combination of satisfaction with meaning forms a complex experience of joy, the combination of meaning with effort forms a complex experience of responsibility and the combination of pleasure with effort forms a complex experience of pleasure (flow). The combination of all three components of effort, satisfaction and meaning form a truly optimal experience, namely the experience of enthusiasm, described by J. Nakamura and M. Csikszentmihalyi [24,26,].

Investigating the features of optimal experience in sports activities of adolescents, we obtained data (Table 4), indicating the existence of statistical differences between groups of adolescent athletes with different typological profiles of hubristic motivation. Significant differences were found between groups of adolescent athletes with a dominant striving for superiority and adolescents with low levels of hubristic motivation by satisfaction parameter (t=2.19; р<0.01) and between groups of adolescent athletes with a dominant striving for perfection and low levels of hubristic motivation by the following parameters: joy (t=2.79; р<0.001) and pleasure (t=3.17; р<0.001). Thus, in sports, adolescents, motivated mostly by superiority, tend to experience a complex experience of pleasure, which is associated with pleasure from their own efforts. Adolescents who are mostly striving for perfection also have a complex experience of pleasure in the process of sports activities. In addition, they experience a complex experience of joy, which is due to the satisfaction of the process of sports activities and the meaning they give to this activity. In contrast to the two groups of adolescent athletes described above, adolescents with low levels of hubristic motivation experience such complex experiences in sports significantly less.

Table 4: Mean values of indicators of experiences in sports activities of groups of studied adolescent athletes with different typological profiles of hubristic motivation.

Thus, the experience of enthusiasm in sports is more pronounced in adolescents who strive for perfection, in contrast to adolescents with low levels of hubristic motivation.

The study of all three components of the optimal experience in sports activities allowed determining the degree of manifestation of the experience of enthusiasm in sports activities of the studied adolescents, which is optimal in the opinion of D. Leontiev [10]. The data contained in Table 5 indicate a significant difference in the indicator of the experience of enthusiasm (t=2.79; p<0.01) between the groups of studied adolescent athletes with a dominant striving for perfection in the structure of hubristic motivation and adolescents with low level of hubristic motivation.

Table 5: Mean values of the indicator of optimal experience in sports activities of groups of studied adolescents-athletes with different typological profiles of hubristic motivation.

Thus, the analysis of significant differences between the groups of studied adolescent athletes allowed to establish the difference in the range of experiences in sports activities of adolescents with a pronounced profile of hubristic motivation (dominance of striving for superiority, dominance of striving for perfection) and adolescents with low levels of hubristic motivation. No significant differences in experiences between groups of adolescents with a predominance of striving for perfection and with the dominance of striving for superiority were not detected. The presence of a high level of provincial motivation in any of the two ways of its implementation (to perfection or to superiority) determines the presence of individual components of the optimal experience (effort in adolescent athletes with a predominance of striving for superiority; pleasure, meaning and effort – in adolescent athletes with a predominance of striving for perfection) and allows them to live a comprehensive experience of pleasure (flow) in sports activities. Adolescents with low levels of hubristic motivation are much less likely to experience a similar condition in sports.

High level of hubristic motivation in adolescence, according to which sports activities are perceived by adolescents as chosen by them in accordance with their desires and goals, is associated with a complex experience of pleasure in its process. The probability of achieving optimal experience (experience of enthusiasm) in sports is much higher in adolescents with a high level of striving for perfection. In adolescence, the presence of a high level of striving for superiority does not provide the experience of passion for sports.

Conclusion

Hubristic motivation of sports activities in adolescence has a number of features. In the course of our study, differences in hubristic motivation in respondents by gender were established. Female athletes are characterized by a higher level of hubristic motivation than male athletes. Adolescents, who play team sports, have a higher level of hubristic motivation than their peers, who play individual sports. Belonging to a team meets the needs of adolescence and increases the motivation for self-affirmation in adolescents engaged in sports. The predominant desire for superiority and the desire for self-affirmation in the structure of humor motivation determines the range of certain experiences in the process of sports activities of adolescents. Adolescent athletes with a dominant striving for superiority tend to focus more on their efforts and give them importance in the process of activity. The dominance of striving for perfection in the structure of the profile of hubristic motivation of adolescents is associated with experiencing a full range of components of optimal experience (satisfaction, meaning and effort), which makes it possible to feel optimal experience (experience of enthusiasm) in sports. The presence of a high level of hubristic motivation in adolescent athletes determines the complex experience of pleasure (flow) in sports.

We see the prospect of further research in the study of the peculiarities of the hubristic motivation of adolescent athletes, depending on the content of the leading motives of sports activities.

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