Goal orientation effects on elite handball players motivation and motivational climate

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the goal orientation effects on the motivation and motivational climate perceived by elite female handball players. A sample was taken consisting of 63 players of ages ranging from 16 to 36 years. The instruments for data gathering were the Spanish versions of Perception of Success Questionnaire, Sport Motivation Scale and Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire. Data were statistically analyzed by descriptive and multivariate analyses (MANOVA 2x2). The main results show that high ego female players present a lower motivational climate for execution, and low ego ones an identified EM. On the other hand those with high task orientation show achievement as IM, stimulation as IM, identified EM and introjected EM, as well as a mastery-oriented motivational climate. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).