Do Different Practice Approaches Affect Intrinsic Motivation Based on a Goal-Directed Behavior?

Optimizing motivation leads to enhanced motor performance and improved psychological health in human performers. However, the influence of the type of practice approach on intrinsic motivation among softball pitchers when they learn new pitches is less clear. PURPOSE: To compare intrinsic motivation in adolescent softball pitchers following a practice session using two different practice approaches. METHODS: Fifty adolescent-aged softball pitchers seeking to obtain a breaking pitch (drop ball) were randomly assigned into two practice designs, each with the same goal-directed behavior of “creating as much downward vertical break on the ball as possible.” One group practiced using a mechanical prescription e.g., cueing (Traditional: n = 25; 14.53 ± 1.01 y; 1.68 ± 0.06 m, 65.40 ± 11.41 kg), the other group practiced using a manipulated task constraint (horizontal ropes across the plane of the pitch) designed to guide the achievement of vertical break without prescriptions (Constraints-led approach (CLA): n = 25; 14.94 ± 1.21y; 1.70 ± 0.06m; 65.81 ± 11.06 kg). Pitchers practiced individually in each approach’s practice session that consisted of a total of five blocks of 15 pitches with three minutes rest between blocks. Following practice, athletes independently completed the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), consisting of five subscales to measure athletes’ post-practice motivation levels. A one-way MANOVA was used to assess whether motivation differed between practice approaches (α < .05). A descriptive discriminant analysis served as the multivariate follow-up to aid interpretation of the combined dependent variables. RESULTS: The IMI subscales were moderately correlated (𝑟 = .29 - .58). A statistically significant multivariate effect for practice approach was observed (Pillai’s V = .231, F (1,43) = 2.58, 𝑝 = .039). The fitted discriminant function separated groups, with centroids of +0.55 for the CLA and -0.53 for the Traditional approach. Structure coefficients indicated that ‘interest/enjoyment’ (𝑟𝑠 = .37) and ‘value/usefulness’ (𝑟𝑠 = .33) made the greatest contribution to group separation, and perceived choice (𝑟𝑠 = .28) played a smaller role. The CLA group had observably higher means on subscales that contributed most to the discriminant function. CONCLUSION: The CLA augmented certain subscales that attributed to group differences on the overall psychological construct. To enhance goal-directed behaviors, sports pedagogues could design practice sessions/drills that meet a pitcher’s psychological needs associated with intrinsic motivation that could, in turn, aid motor learning.