Analysis of the Effect of Extrinsic Motivation on Cycle Time Trial Performance Study by Hulleman - Assignment Example

DESIGN What is/are the research question/s? The have questions about observable phenomena regarding the human body, and have a subset of athletes who are willing to have their performance monitored. Therefore, the questions the authors have are very specific and related to psychological factors, regarding the performance of an athletic activity. The authors hope “to determine whether the presence of a lesser level of extrinsic motivation, applied immediately before exercise, might influence either the pacing strategy or the ultimate performance during cycling time trials. To our knowledge, no data have been published regarding this subject” (Hulleman et al., 2007). Looking at extrinsic motivation, this motivation comes from the outside. In the next stage, they are more internal about their motivation, and this relates more to themes of self-efficacy and self-esteem that comes from inside the individual instead of coming from outside. Having intrinsic motivation is not necessarily the same thing as having self-esteem, although it may be related to this concept. Valuing health and a fitness atmosphere is also a big part of cultivating self-esteem and positive self-image in this environment of research questions into athletic performance, and decreasing potential conflicts and problems in life. Overall, the plan focuses on both self-esteem and motivation. Motivation shows a mind-body connection, so whether or not a positive and motivated mind can lead to a better body for the subjects, is another major question in regards to the researchers. This points towards a holistic definition of fitness as is shown in motivation itself, of which this is part of internal or intrinsic motivation to increase the fitness level of the athlete, who is measured cycling in the study. What are the hypotheses? The authors make educated guesses about whether or not athletes would respond positively or negatively to motivational factors. “Athletes occasionally follow pacing patterns that seem unreasonably aggressive compared with those of prerace performances, potentially because of the motivation provided by competition. This study evaluated the effect of extrinsic motivation on cyclists` time trial performance” (Hulleman et al., 2007). Extrinsic motivation may be true, but uses levers to encourage a certain way of thinking. Dealing with issues of motivation and planning means that the athlete would be hypothesized to need to have definite goals and at the same time still be flexible. That is, the effective motivated pro will have a master plan going but at the same time they will not be so absolutely dedicated to this plan that they will not consider straying from it when the opportunity presents itself, which it often does, and they will not be afraid of changing the plan to fit the situation. The athlete can plan in many different ways and can provide him/herself with many different types of fitness work, and these should be based on creating a warm and supportive atmosphere in which they can feel that work is valued through strong motivational strategy. There is also more of an explicit note on athletic measurement based interventions having an effect found in one particular study. What are the independent and dependent variables, and constants? Consider operational definitions, and validity and reliability issues DV: The response of the athlete The efficiency of the athlete’s cycling The length of time the athlete can remain cycling The intensity of the cycling itself IV: Motivational techniques Monetary reward techniques Constant: Participants; 1500-m distance In this study, the participants underwent a process, “including a practice trial, two self-paced trials, and a trial where a monetary reward was offered. Time, total power output, power output attributable to aerobic and anaerobic metabolic sources,V˙O2, and HR were measured” (Hulleman et al., 2007). The researchers found that extrinsic motivation did not change the time trial performance on the level of 1500 m distances, using the reward of money as a motivational factor for the cyclists to try to achieve this power output. In terms of reliability and validity, there does not seem to be any misinformation or disinformation in the article, or otherwise referred to untruths. In terms of intention neutrality, the article seems to be strong, especially because of its quantitative grounding. This also raises the potential that the information will not be simply wrong, deliberately or not, or mistaken. In other words, the study does not seem to perpetuate disbelief. What are the most important confounding variables? There are many possible extraneous or confounding variables that may come up under any research condition. The fact of their extraneous nature often makes them difficult to detect. In terms of what these authors themselves were worried about regarding confounding results, “Whether this (result) is attributable to greater preexercise substrate concentrations, better tolerance of accumulated metabolites, faster V˙O2 kinetics, or other factors remains to be determined” (Hulleman et al., 2007). This point of the article seems to be lacking point of interaction with the validity of the statistics. For example, anyone can say something like, nine out of ten Americans prefer wearing t-shirts, and not reference it. Just because it is a ratio does not make it a fact. Also, someone might also say something like, Americans who wear t-shirts are ten times more likely to be eaten by an alligator. But the real reason could be that alligators are found in warm climates, and have nothing to do with t-shirts. Which design has been used? To what extent does it allow the researchers to answer their research question? The authors used pre and post test measurements under controlled conditions to conduct a quantitative, experimental study. “Seven well-trained male cyclists were the subjects for this study. All subjects provided informed consent before participation, and the protocol had been approved by the institutional review board for the protection of human subjects at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse” (Hulleman et al., 2007). This was a fixed design. Flexible and fixed research designs can exist together and there does not really have to be one that is better than the other generally. Sometimes these designs are even used within the same study. In terms of disadvantages, however, there are disadvantages to both approaches. For example, if someone can’t decide on the problem, then no research is going to be done in the first place. Another disadvantage in reference to flexible designs could be their lack of scientific credibility when compared to fixed designs. An author with a lot of qualitative information behind them in the literature on the subject it might be an indication that they are not as effective. Then again, this could just be the result of a dearth of interest in researchers regarding this subject, or could be a projection of individual authors. Generally flexible designs offer benefits to research that is willing to change as new variables come up throughout the research process, whereas fixed designs offer benefits to research that is about stabilizing and controlling a certain state of variables or predictions. Therefore, the overall method chosen for Hulleman et al.’s research was fixed. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the design of the study? Fixed designs are more rigid, but they also offer researchers results that are often more solid and considered to be more scientifically credible. In some cases as mentioned above researchers using flexible designs even want to be considered part of the scientific process. Research design defined generally is the form or framework the experimenter uses to get the results of the study. There are many different kinds of research designs, both qualitative and quantitative, and flexible designs represent qualitative for the most part, whereas fixed designs represent quantitative type studies. The research found this section of the response particularly informative. It was interesting to me as well that the author was able to make connections between the real world and some of the issues in the theoretical world of motivation. This article is articulate and literate, and answers all aspects of the research questions in concise terms while paraphrasing main ideas of the study. It is interesting to read as a whole, with the one drawback being not enough length allotted to explain some more details. One other comment that can be made is that terms such as rationalism and empiricism are general concepts, and therefore should not be mandated exclusively. If minor and perhaps naïve comments like these are the only criticism, the article is very good overall in terms of its holistic design. How well does the design control for threats to internal validity? A fixed design controls better than a flexible design for internal validity. Legitimate sources of sex research can often be substantiated according to where they have been published. Overall, one can never completely believe anything one reads, however, because there are many variables, including the sponsorship of the study, where it is published, etc. which may affect results. However, as well as it can, this design seems to not cross the boundaries defining information counterfeiting in the three general and useful categories: propaganda, misinformation, or disinformation. I would have questions about the results, however. One issue to consider in validity of observations is the number of people being observed, which was rather low in Hulleman et al.’s study. Another is whether they were asked leading questions, or ignoring some information in favor of highlighting other information. Another issue is whether the researchers counted the participants’ responses in a transparent way. Another is if the researchers were biased. Yea another would be to look for extraneous variables not considered by the researchers. Is the statistical analysis and its interpretation correct? It would appear that Hulleman et al.’s statistical figures work out. Quantitative studies tend to rely on hard data and statistics that can provide generalizable results about a population, whereas qualitative studies could be more of a case example or subjective viewpoint. Fixed research designs are much less difficult to pin down through an apprenticeship model than flexible designs. REFERENCE Hulleman M, De Koning JJ, Hettinga FJ, Foster C. (2007) The effect of extrinsic motivation on cycle time trial performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.; 39: 709-17. 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