Regulatory fit in the interactive sports of badminton and volleyball : A closer look at task framing applications

Abstract

According to regulatory focus theory, two basic regulatory foci can be identified. In a promotion focus, athletes direct attention to accomplishments and positive task performance. In a prevention focus, athletes concentrate on safety, the fulfillment of duties, and avoiding negative performance. Previous research has shown that athletic performance benefits from a fit between athletes’ chronic regulatory focus and instructions as provided by the situational framings of sports. The present research investigates the performance effects of nonverbalized sports task framings with two studies. In an experiment with volleyball players (Study 1, N 40), we tested the performance effects of the Task Framing (prevention: service return, promotion: smash return) Verbal Instructions (control, prevention, promotion) Chronic Regulatory Focus (prevention, promotion) interaction. Study 2 investigated the effects of the relationship between two badminton competitors’ national rankings on the athletes’ performances in a real badminton competition (N 34). The results of Study 1 illustrate that task framing which fits athletes’ chronic regulatory focus benefits performances independent of verbal instructions. In Study 2, ranking relation interacted with athletes’ regulatory focus: prevention-oriented athletes’ performance benefited from their better ranking positions. From these two studies, the results respectively underline the importance of task framing for sports performance, and offer a new perspective on how a common task framing, such as ranking position, may affect performance.