Idrott och hälsa är ett omdiskuterat ämne som eleverna tycker olika om. Det är ett obligatoriskt ämne som gör att alla måste delta, men man kan också välja att ha specialidrott inom en specifik idrott. Syftet med undersökningen är att studera om när gymnasieelever känner sig som mest framgångsrika på idrottslektionerna utifrån ett Task och Ego perspektiv, som är ett perspektiv inom Achievement Goal Theory. Fokuset ligger på att jämföra mellan specialidrottselever och elever som går idrott och hälsa, pojkar och flickor, och slutligen mellan de i åldern 16–17 och 18–19. Undersökningsgruppen var på 58 elever jämnt fördelat i de olika kategorierna. För att få fram resultatet användes en kvantitativ metod där det genomfördes en enkät. Det framkom att specialidrottselever kände sig mer framgångsrika utifrån ett Ego perspektiv än vad de vanliga idrotteleverna gjorde. Men från ett Task perspektiv blev det tvärtom. Mellan pojkar och flickor var resultaten jämna och det skilde sig inte mycket alls. Mellan de yngre och äldre visade det sig att de yngre kände sig tydligt mer framgångsrika både från ett Task perspektiv och Ego perspektiv.

This thesis aimed to develop a measure to investigate the perceived motivational climate in individual sports. In particular, it aimed to address some of the knowledge gaps in the current literature examining motivational climates: by developing a measure whose intended population participate in individual sports; that incorporates the perceived motivational climate created by multiple significant others; and that incorporates the 'impact' or salience of each of these perceptions of the motivational climate. In order to achieve this, the thesis is comprised of four studies.

This study examined how task and ego involvement affected 12-and-under girls’ motivations to play competitive club volleyball. Participants included 25 girls under the age of 12, as well as 31 parents including those of the 25 girls. Parents and players completed the Achievement Goal Scale for Youth Survey (AGSYS), and open ended questions regarding their intention to continue playing and their motivations for trying out for club volleyball. After conducting a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, findings suggested that the parents and the players both identified as task involved individuals, implying that their motivations lie in improving skills relative to the sport instead of becoming the best athlete relative to others on the court. The study results indicated that parents and daughters ego involvement was positively correlated demonstrating that parental motivations were reflected in player motivations confirming the impact of parental involvement in their daughter’s sport decisions. A second segment included a discussion on the girls’ parents and their reasons for allowing their daughter to play in club volleyball as reflected in a task and ego involvement framework. Previously conducted studies have been completed in an attempt to discover parental motivations for allowing their child to try out for a competitive team. Research has examined specific youth motivations. Most prominent results from youth focused research include the opportunity to build social relations and boost self-efficacy regarding playing competitive sports (Allen, 2003). Minimal research has focused on understanding the relationship between parent and child motivations for youth participation in competitive sports. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parent and youth motivation for trying out for club volleyball using a task and ego involvement framework. The information collected will be on display for youth development practitioners who assist in programs involving youth, parents and competitive sports. The findings assist in establishing research that provides information to competitive youth club managers so they can establish their club based on research based findings from both the parents and players perspectives.

The strength model of self-control predicts that when people exert self-control, they should show performance decrements on subsequent self-control tasks. However, it is possible that this pattern of behaviour is confined to specific experimental procedures, which amplifies the effect. The aims of this thesis are to; 1) test the strength model predictions in sport; and 2) examine emotion as a mediator of self-control performance effects. Study 1 consisted of two experiments. Experiment 1 set out to demonstrate a pattern of resource depletion. Forty-three sport and exercise students performed either an incongruent (self-control depletion) or congruent (control) Stroop task before and after performing a virtual reality cycling task on an indoor cycling ergometer. Findings showed the depletion group performed worse on the second Stroop task than on their first task or than the control group. Experiment 2 sought to address some of the methodological concerns in Experiment 1, and examine emotion as a factor explaining performance. Forty-eight physically active participants followed the same experimental protocol, but with an additional iteration of both tasks. Results demonstrated that both cycling and Stroop task performance improved across time. In addition, participants reported feeling happier and more motivated during the second cycling task. Study 2 provided a conceptual replication of Study 1, using different tests of self-control. Twenty-six university-level male soccer players either performed the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT) with (self-control depletion) or without (control) an audio file simulating crowd noise, and then performed the wall squat muscle endurance test. The self-control depletion group reported feeling more anxious during the LSPT and performed worse than the controls on the wall squat. III Next, in Study 3, nineteen well-trained competitive endurance runners performed a self-paced 1600 m running trial and then ran a second trial either self-paced or with a pacemaker. The pacemaker had no significant effect on actual performance time but participants reported feeling more anxious beforehand and adopted a fast start strategy, whereas the self-paced group had a conservative pacing pattern. Study 4 showed that, for females, consuming a sports drink—as opposed to plain water—associated with better physical (high-intensity track running) and cognitive self-control (Stroop) performance. In addition, they appeared to be happier drinking water, and more anxious drinking the sports drink—an effect that diverged over the six weeks. Study 5 examined the effects of three strategies—designed to increase or decrease the intensity of emotions—on emotion, pacing strategy and 1600 m performance. Results showed the intervention designed to decrease unpleasant emotions was associated with lower anxiety, higher calmness, a slower first 400 m, and more overall consistent pacing strategy. Study 6 examined the effects of imagery training on swimming tumble-turn performance. Findings showed no significant intervention effect, a result that goes against the proposed benefits of psychological skills training and runs counter to the predictions of the strength model. Collectively, the evidence in the thesis provides limited support for the strength model. It is concluded that self-control performance does not inevitably deteriorate across self-control tasks where the individual is well-versed with the task demands, or where tasks are not physically strenuous enough to tax mental resources. In contrast, the explanation for performance deterioration across a series of novel tasks is likely to extend beyond that of a self-control resources perspective. Future research might profitably test this proposal.