Ability like motivation is broken down into two components, these two components are psychomotor ability and gross motor ability. Psychomotor ability being able to process information regarding movement and then to put our decisions into action. Psychomotor ability include reaction time and limb coordination. Gross motor ability is ability involving actual movement – strength, flexibility and speed. The difference between ability and motivation is that our abilities are innate or natural so for those who hope to get better at sport if they have not inherited the ability regardless of how hard they try they will be unable to extend past what their body allows them to do. Ability is often mixed up with skill because people are unaware that skills are learned, however to carry out theses skills we firstly need the ability to begin with.
The key differences between abilities and skills are:
What the researchers say on motivation:
“Major areas of interest which help in the accomplishment of these athletic goals include issues related to anxiety, arousal and performance, motivation, aggression in sports, group dynamics and exercise and psychological well being. Motivation is a key factor in successful athletic competition. Both external rewards and internal motivation are important considerations in achieving athletic goals. Realistic goal setting in itself may be an important motivational factor.” (Silva & Weinberg, 1984)
“A diverse range of human motivations can't be forced into these categories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Psychologists say intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within – doing something because you want to – while extrinsic motivations mean people are seeking a reward, such as money, a good grade in class, or a trophy at a sporting event.”
“They are taking many diverse human needs and motivations, putting them into just two categories, and then saying one type of motivation is better than another,”
“But there is no real evidence that intrinsic motivation even exists.”
“Individuals differ enormously in what makes them happy – for some competition, winning and wealth are the greatest sources of happiness, but for others, feeling competent or socializing may be more satisfying. The point is that you can't say some motivations, like money, are inherently inferior.” (Steven Reiss)
What the researchers say on Ability:
“On all achievement measures, this group of children with learning difficulties gain(ed) more than their age peers without difficulties– a remarkable finding." –
“Significant improvements were found in coordination, fine motor abilities, and gross motor skills. The risk of dyslexia was significantly reduced to no risk or borderline risk in all pupils.”
“The children reported having longer attention spans, improved concentration, better self-esteem, and greater sporting ability during the treatment. (Professor David Reynolds)”
“Many of them have a range of associated deficits, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, poor handwriting and drawing skills, and emotional immaturity. Associated problems magnify with time, and as teenagers, these children have higher rates of educational, social, and emotional problems. Diagnosis is determined by taking a careful history that includes a review of fine motor, visual, adaptive, and gross motor milestones, and performing a physical examination.” (S. Sutton Hamilton)
After reading through this argument I hope you have come to the same conclusion as myself and that is that neither motivation or ability is more important then the other. My reasons for saying this are because they are both dependent on each other to create a successful competitive performer,
For example if we have 4 persons, Person A, Person B, Person C and Person D
- Person A - Has no motivation or ability to do well in physical activities, therefore, in most cases they wont attempt to do any sport, or if they do then they don’t feel any need to try and improve.
- Person B - Is highly motivated when it comes to sport, both intrinsically and extrinsically, they practice on a regular basis, with their sole aim to get better at what it is that they are practicing for, the only problem is they have no ability, and because of this they have no way of getting better regardless as to how much they practice, therefore because of this they are unable to achieve maximum success.
- Person C - Isn’t motivated at all and is one of the people who are unwilling to put the effort in to better themselves or to achieve success, however they have outstanding ability if they would only try. So because of unwillingness to improve, all of the talent they have becomes useless.
- Person D – On the other hand is someone who has great motivation and ability, they love the competition, the thrill of a new challenge, and achieving goals, but not just that they also find themselves able to learn new things much quicker because they have much more underlying abilities, enabling them too do so.
From these four examples it is clear to see which one would be best for a competitive successful performance, with Person A we have someone unwilling to try sport, Person B although enthusiastic to do well they are unable to improve, Person C although would be excellent at whatever they attempted to do, they aren’t willing to do it, this leaves us with Person D, because they are highly motivated and good at what they do they are able to successfully perform at a competitive standard of sport.
Advanced Physical Education Sport For A-level
