The effect of implicit and explicit achievement motive incongruence on flow experience in sports

Abstract

Numerous studies in the growing field of motive incongruence research have shown that discrepancies between implicit and explicit motives (e.g., achievement motive) are associated with impairments in health and well-being. The present chapter suggests that motive incongruence also unfolds its negative effects on motivation. We have therefore analyzed flow experience, which is an optimal form of motivation, in sports and hypothesize that achievement motive incongruence impairs the experience of flow. This hypothesis has been tested in a field study involving 676 subjects participating in different sports, who rated their experience of flow in connection with their sport activity. As expected, people with incongruent implicit and explicit achievement motives reported an impairment of the flow experience. These results are discussed in terms of their practical implications in a range of achievement motivation domains.