Aggressiveness, Goal orientations and Intrinsic Motivation in Physical Education Classes

Nikolaos Digelidis, Anna Boyatzi, Antonis Chatzigeorgiadis, & Athanasios Papaioannou

Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Hellas

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the connection between aggressiveness, goal orientations and in-

trinsic -extrinsic motivation to junior students as well as gender and grade differences. One hundred and seventy six junior students (84 boys and 92 girls) aged 12-15 years (M=13.53 ± 1.06) participated in this survey which was held through questionnaires.All scales had acceptable levels of internal consistency and two way analysis of variance was used in order to examine differences concerning gender and grade.

There were statistical differences between boys and girls in the following scales: non physical aggression, physical aggression, enjoyment and amotivation. Boys had higher scores than girls. Non physical aggression was positively correlated with physical aggression, extrinsic motivation and amotivation, but it was negatively correlated with lesson satisfaction. Also,physical aggression was positively correlated with amotivation.

Key words: aggressiveness,task orientation,ego orientation,intrinsic-extrinsic motivation,physical education.