Reliability and Factor Structure of the Achievement Motivation in Physical Education Test

JOURNAL OF SPORT & EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY, 1988, 10,418430 Reliability and Factor Structure of the Achievement Motivation in Physical Education Test Tamotsu Nishida Nagoya University To investigate the reliability of the Achievement Motivation in Physical Education Test (AMPET) and reexamine its factor structure, 10,055 elementary, junior high, and high school students in Japan were tested. The AMPET has seven &item subscales consisting of learning strategy (LS), overcoming obstacles (OO), diligence and seriousness (DS), competence of motor ability (CMA), value of learning (VL), anxiety about stress-causing situations (ASCS), and failure anxiety (FA), respectively. The ASCS and FA subscales are associated with negative aspects of the AMPET, while the other five subscales are related to positive aspects. The AMPET also contains an 8-item lie scale. The subjekwere asked to respond along 5-point Likert rating scales. Item-subscale correlations of the AMPET were sufficiently high. Alpha reliabilities ranged from.797 to.950, and test-retest reliabilities after 5 weeks were.651 to.883. Elementary school pupils showed significantly higher mean scores on the positive aspects of the AMPET than junior high and high school students. The means of female students on the negative aspects of the AMPET were significantly higher than those of male students. Seven factors were extracted from the principal components factor analysis with normal varimax rotation. Each factor was composed of the seven different subscales of the AMPET. In previous publications, Nishida (1986, 1987) has developed a multidimensional achievement motivation model for learning in physical education. The model is primarily based upon the theories of Atkinson (1964), McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, and Lowell (1953), and Weiner (1972), but Nishida has added the two dimensions of "giving directions" and "other influential factors" (see Figure 1). The relationships among the various dimensions specified in Figure 1 have been suggested by previous research and theories concerning (a) factors that constitute motivation/will to win in sport (Nishida & Inomata, 1981; Pezer & Brown, 1980; Rushall & Fox, 1980; Tutko & Tosi, 1976; Willis, 1982), and Requests for reprints should be sent to Tarnotsu Nishida, Research Center of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-01 Japan.

420 / Nishida achievement motivation (Atkinson & Feather, 1966; Hayashi, 1967; McClelland et al., 1953; Miyamoto, 1981), (b) behavioral characteristics associated with individuals at various levels of achievement motivation (Atkinson, 1964; Atkinson & Raynor, 1974; Hayashi & Yamauchi, 1978; Miyamoto, 1979; Nishida, 1985), and (c) factors included in accepted measures of achievement motivation (Herrenkahl, 1972; Mehrabian, 1969; Shimoyama, 1974). According to Nishida's model, people having general achievement motivation will be directed toward learning in physical education by emotional factors (interest in learning and intellectual curiosity), consciousness of value (sense of value of learning and necessity for learning), self-evaluation of motor ability, and past experiences (success or failure). High need-achievers for learning in physical education will manifest behaviors such as positive attitude toward learning, accepting challenges in learning, devising of learning methods, appropriate goal setting, and overcoming obstacles. Low need-achievers will feel anxiety about failure and stressful situations in physical education. Following achievement behaviors, people evaluate their performance and search for causes for their perceived success or failure. Their self-evaluations will reciprocally influence (feedback to) the dimensions of "giving directions" and "manifest behaviors." Furthermore, factors such as coolness, willingness to follow, intellectual ability, social relationship, and diligence and seriousness will have an effect on "manifest behaviors" and "self-evaluation. " As a first step in measuring achievement motivation for learning in physical education, Nishida (1987) attempted to construct a self-report test, the Achievement Motivation in Physical Education Test (AMPET), based on the structure of achievement motivation shown in Figure 1. Original items of the AMPET were developed by research and theories previously described in constructing the model in Figure 1. An item analysis and factor analysis of the original items reduced the number of items from 83 to 64. The following seven factors were extracted by the principal components factor analysis: (a) learning strategy-instrumental activities in achievement situations; (b) overcoming obstacles-effort to perform well; (c) diligence and seriousness-normative attitude toward learning; (d) competence of motor ability-sense of competence or self-confidence of motor ability; (e) value of learning-sense or consciousness of value of learning; (f) anxiety about stress-causing situations-tension or stage fright in achievement situations; and (g) failure anxiety-anxiety about failure or lack of self-confidence. It was considered that these seven were principal or essential factors in measuring achievement motivation for learning in physical education, and that they might permit the examination of individual differences in achievement motivation. It was the purpose of this study to investigate the reliability of the AMPET instrument and to reexamine the factor structure of the scale by administering the AMPET to a large group, ranging from elementary school pupils to high school students. Method Subjects Subjects were 10,055 pupils (see Table 1) ranging from the 4th to 12th grades. In the Japanese educational system, grades 1 to 6 correspond to elementary school, grades 7 to 9 to junior high school, and grades 10 to 12 to high school.

Achievement Motivation in P.E. Test / 421 Table 1 Number of Subjects Elementary Junior high Sex school school High school Total Male 1,675 1,714 1,828 5,217 Female 1,545 1,632 1,661 4,838 Total 3,220 3,346 3,489 10,055 Instrument and Procedure In order to assess achievement motivation for learning in physical education, the AMPET (see Appendix) was used. The AMPET consists of seven &item subscales and an &item lie scale. The learning strategy (LS), overcoming obstacles (OO), diligence and seriousness (DS), competence of motor ability (CMA), and value of learning (VL) subscales are related to positive aspects of the achievement motivation for learning in physical education, or tendency to achieve success. The anxiety about stress-causing situations (ASCS) and failure anxiety (FA) subscales are associated with negative aspects of the achievement motivation, or tendency to avoid failure. The lie scale of the AMPET is included in order to check response accuracy. The AMPET was administered to the students under the supervision of teachers in each school. The students were asked to respond to all items of the AMPET by using 5-point Likert rating scales with 5 representing "strongly agree" and 1 representing "strongly disagree. " After the students completed the AM- PET, the data were collected by mail. Item Analysis Results Item-subscale correlation coefficients for all subjects are shown in Table 2. Each item was correlated with all other items combined within a subscale. Most of these correlations were sufficiently high, suggesting high item homogeneity within each AMPET subscale. Reliability For each subscale, Cronbach's alpha reliabilities were computed as a function of educational level and these are summarized in Table 3. The tendency-toachieve-success score is the total of scores on the LS, 00, DS, CMA, and VL subscales. The tendency-to-avoid-failure score is the total of scores on the ASCS and FA subscales. Alpha reliabilities ranged from.797 to.950. Test-retest reliability coefficients with a 5-week interval between initial and final testing were.651 to.883 (see Table 3). These reliabilities appear to be sufficiently high to warrant use of the AMPET scores with groups and for research purposes.

422 1 Nishida Table 2 Correlation Coefficients Between Individual and Combined Items With Each Subscale (N= 10,055) Subscale Item no. Correlation coefficients 1. Learning strategy 2. Overcoming obstacles 3. Diligence and seriousness 4. Competence of motor ability 2,676 10.757 18.773 26.754 34.740 42,734 50.768 58.775 3.729 11.605 19.708 27.752 35.696 43,744 51.690 59.582 4.867 12.835 20.883 28.788 36.793 44.873 52,812 60,813 5,713 13,683 21.712 5. Value of learning 29,696 37,715 45.668 53.661 61,695 (cont.)

Achievement Motivation in P.E. Test / 423 Table 2 (cont.) Subscale Item no. Correlation coefficients 6.739 14.827 6. Anxiety about stress-causing situations 22.757 30.846 38.861 46.800 54.838 62.795 7,638 15.650 23.676 7. Failure anxiety 31,600 39.666 47.658 55.703 63.726 Mean Scores on Each Subscale Means and standard deviations for pupils classified by schools are shown in Table 4, which also shows F ratios and multiple comparisons from a one-way analysis of variance for the three groups on the AMPET subscales. All of these analyses were significant. The levels of statistical significance might have resulted, in part, from the large size of the sample. Concerning the positive aspects of achievement motivation for learning in physical education (the LS, 00, DS, CMA, VL subscales and tendency to achieve success), the means of elementary school pupils were significantly higher than those of junior high and high school students. Also, the means of junior high school pupils on the 00, CMA, VL subscales and tendency to achieve success were significantly higher than the means of high school students. Gender differences on the AMPET subscales for all subjects are presented in Table 5. According to these results, with the exception of the DS subscale, boys were significantly higher on the positive aspects of achievement motivation than girls. On the other hand, girls, in comparison to boys, show significantly higher mean scores on the negative aspects of achievement motivation (the ASCS, FA subscales and tendency to avoid failure). Similar results were obtained for elementary, junior high, and high school students. Factor Structure of the AMPET Seven factors were extracted by the principal components factor analysis from the correlation matrix of the subscales. These factors were rotated using Kaiser's normalized varimax criterion yielding the factor pattern shown in Table 6.

Table 3 Reliability Coefficients of the AMPET Subscale Split-half (Cronbach's a) Retest (5 weeks) Elementary Junior high Elementary Junior high school school High school Total school school High school Total (n = 3,220) (n = 3,346) (n = 3,489) (n = 10,055) (n = 115) (n = 120) (n = 137) (n = 372) 1. Learning strategy 2. Overcoming obstacles 3. Diligence and seriousness 4. Competence of motor ability 5. Value of learning 6. Anxiety about stress-causing situations 7. Failure anxiety Tendency to achieve success Tendency to avoid failure

Table 4 School Differences in Mean Scores on the Subscales of the AMPET Subscale Elementary school Junior high school High school Multiple (n = 3,220) (n = 3,346) (n = 3,489) F ratio comparison 1. Learning strategy 2. Overcoming obstacles 3. Diligence and seriousness 4. Competence of motor ability 5. Value of learning 6. Anxiety about stress-causing situation 7. Failure anxiety Tendency to achieve success Tendency to avoid failure c3 ES = elementary school, JHS- junior high school, HS = high school. **p<.01..

426 1 Nishida Table 5 Gender Differences in Mean Scores on the Subscales of the AMPET Subscale Male Female (n = 5,217) (n = 4,838) t value 1. Learning strategy 2. Overcoming obstacles 3. Diligence and seriousness 4. Competence of motor ability 5. Value of learning 6. Anxiety about stress-causing situations 7. Failure anxiety Tendency to achieve success Tendency to avoid failure As shown in Table 6, each factor represented one of the seven AMPET subscales. These factors were diligence and seriousness, value of learning, competence of motor ability, anxiety about stress-causing situations, learning strategy, failure anxiety, and overcoming obstacles, respectively. The factor patterns for each group (e.g., male, female, elementary school, junior high school, and high school) were almost identical to those of all subjects combined. As a result of the factor analyses, it was concluded that the AMPET had seven different subscales. Discussion In view of the data presented in this paper, it is evident that the AMPET instrument has reasonable alpha and test-retest reliabilities for each educational level. Therefore, if future research establishes validity, AMPET may then be used for assessing individual or group motive levels. Elementary school pupils showed significantly higher scores on the positive aspects of the AMPET than junior high and high school students. This result is consistent with the findings of the Motive of Academic Achievement Test (Fujiwara & Shimoyama, 1969). The higher motivation of elementary school pupils may be attributed to their higher need for activity. In comparison to boys, girls showed significantly higher scores on the negative aspects of the AMPET.

Achievement Motivation in P.E. Test 1 427 Table 6 A Rotated Factor Pattern of the AMPET for All Subjects Factor Subscale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 LS 0.297 0.254 0.207 0.009 0.858-0.013 0.261 00 0.322 0.259 0.286-0.030 0.327-0.086 0.795 DS 0.921 0.181 0.117-0.003 0.243-0.030 0.212 CM A 0.120 0.166 0.924-0.100 0.174-0.162 0.192 VL 0.178 0.932 0.162 0.030 0.205-0.006 0.173 ASCS -0.001 0.029-0.087 0.938 0.007 0.333-0.017 FA -0.033-0.009-0.164 0.377-0.016 0.909-0.063 This higher anxiety for girls supports previous studies examining anxiety (Martens, 1977; Spielberger, 1966). Factor analysis of the AMPET yielded seven factors. These seven factors were completely consistent with the seven dimensions, which were determined a priori by means of an analysis of relevant research literature (Nishida, 1987). Also, the pattern of factor loadings did not indicate any overlap among factors, suggesting that the seven different AMPET subscales are independent of each other. The seven factors/subscales of the AMPET are related to the dimensions of the model specified in Figure 1. The LS subscale, for example, is concerned with such factors as devising of learning method, appropriate goal setting, and planning in learning within the dimension of "manifest behaviors." The 00, ASCS, and FA subscales correspond to overcoming obstacles, anxiety about stresscausing situations, and failure anxiety within manifest behaviors, respectively. The CMA subscale is related to self-evaluation of motor ability, and the VL subscale to sense of value of learning within "giving directions." The DS subscale is associated with diligence and seriousness within "other influential factors." Such factors extracted by the factor analysis are very important for learning in physical education classes. It is easy for those high in the LS, 00, DS, CMA, and VL subscales, and low in the anxiety subscales, to attain learning aims or improve motor skills in physical education classes. The factor patterns for each group (male, female, elementary school, junior high school, high school) were almost identical. This suggests that applicability of the AMPET is not limited to a specific group but may be generalized to a somewhat broader heterogeneous group. The results also suggest greater economy in that groups differing in age and gender could be tested using only one scale (the AMPET), and that these groups could be compared using the same criteria. The AMPET subscales consist of two aspects of achievement motivation for learning in physical education: "tendency to achieve success" and "tendency to avoid failure." Based on the relative strength of these two tendencies, stu-

428 / Nishida dents could be classified into several types. For example, a student who has a high tendency to achieve success and a low tendency to avoid failure could be classified as "high achieving type," high and high as "conflict type," low and high as "high anxiety type," low and low as "calm type," moderate and moderate as "average type," and so forth. Future investigations are necessary to test the validity of the AMPET as well as the possible typologies that can be created with the instrument. References Atkinson, J.W. (1964). An introduction to motivation. New York: Van Nostrand. Atkinson, J.W., & Feather, N.T. (Eds.) (1966). A theory of achievement motivation. New York: Wiley. Atkinson, J.W., & Raynor, J.O. (Eds.) (1974). Motivation and achievement. Washington: Winston. Fujiwara, K., & Shirnoyama, T. (1969). Motive of Academic Achievement Test. Tokyo: Kaneko-shobo. Hayashi, T. (1967). ZEeory and practice of achievement motive. Tokyo: Seishin-shobo. Hayashi, T., & Yamauchi, H. (1978). A study on achievement motive. Tokyo: Seishinshobo. Herrenkahl, R.C. (1972). Factor-analytic and criterion study of achievement orientation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 63, 314-326. Martens, R. (1977). Sport Competition Anxiety Test. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. McClelland, D.C., Atkinson, J.W., Clark, R.A., & Lowell, E.L. (1953). The achievement motive. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Mehrabian, A. (1969). Measures of achieving tendency. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 29, 445-45 1. Miyamoto, M. (Ed.) (1979). Psychology of achievement motive. Tokyo: Kaneko-shobo. Miyamoto, M. (1981). Instrumental activity in achievement motivation. Japanese Psychological Research, 23, 79-87. Nishida, T. (1985). A pilot study of motivation for motor skill learning in physical education. Nagoya Journal of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, 8, 25-45. Nishida, T. (1986). A study on achievement motivation for learning in physical education. Nagoya Jouml of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, 9, 1-18. Nishida, T. (1987). A new test for achievement motivation for learning in physical education: Construction of a questionnaire and a preliminary study on typology of the motivation. Nagoya Journal of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, 10, 47-60. Nishida, T., & Inomata, K. (1981). A factor analytical study on achievement motives in sports. Japanese Journal of Physical Education, 26, 101-1 10. Pezer, V., & Brown, M. (1980). Will to win and athletic performance. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 11, 121-131. Rushall, B.S., & Fox, R.G. (1980). An approach-avoidance motivations scale for sports. Canadian Journal of Applied Sports Science, 5, 39-43. Shimoyama, T. (1974). A validity study of a scale to measure achievement motivation. Japanese Psychological Research, 16, 197-204. Spielberger, C.D. (Ed.) (1966). Anxiety and behavior. New York: Academic. Tutko, T., & Tosi, U. (1976). Sports psyching. Los Angeles: Tarcher. Weiner, B. (1972). Theories of motivation: From mechanism to cognition. Chicago: Rand- McNally.

Achievement Motivation in P.E. Test / 429 Willis, J.D. (1982). Three scales to measure competition-related motives in sport. Journal of Sport Psychology, 4, 338-353. Acknowledgments The author would like to express his appreciation to teachers and pupils at each school for their assistance in conducting this study. Appreciation is also extended to Dr. Daniel M. Landers for his helpful comments and suggestions. This study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 61780138) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan. Manuscript submitted: July 22, 1987 Revision received: March 3, 1988 Appendix AMPET Items 1. When I exercise in P.E. class, I think about how well or how poorly I do. 2. I try to practice many times rather than just thinking about the ways to perform well. 3. I seriously concentrate on what I have decided to practice. 4. I think that I perform better than others in all sports. 5. I think that it is very important to perform well in sports. 6. I often get nervous and my performance level drops when I participate in a sport in front of many spectators. 7. Before exercise, I become uneasy because I remember my previous failures. 8. I have never betrayed the confidence of my friends. 9. While I am training, I think over how to perform well in sports. 10. I practice over and over again to perform well in sports. 11. Without exception, I seriously follow the advice of someone who teaches me well. 12. I have been frequently praised because I have performed better in sports than other students. 13. I usually think that I have to perform well in sports. 14. In front of a large audience, I usually find that I become tense and can't perform as well as I would like to. 15. During practice, I am often more preoccupied by the thought that I will not perform well rather than that I will perform well. 16. I never put off today's workout hoping to try to make it up tomorrow. 17. Before I begin to practice, I make it a rule to think over how to perform well in sports. 18. I can practice very hard if my performance level improves. 19. When I exercise in P.E. class, I follow the rules, determined by my classmates, to the letter. 20. I think that I have better capability in sports than others. 21. Performing well in sports is as important as studying well. 22. Even if I participate in my favorite sport, my standard performance level often drops in front of a large audience. (cont.)

430 / Nishida Appendix (cont.) 23. Before a game, I am often worried about losing. 24. I have never wanted to avoid participation in P.E. class. 25. In P.E. class, I try to devise some ways to perform well like imitating the good players. 26. I try to improve during practice, even if it's a difficult sport for me. 27. I usually listen to what my teacher says. 28. Until now, I have done well in many sports without really trying. 29. I think that I have to practice hard to perform well in sports. 30. In front of others, my heart pounds, causing my performance level to drop. 31. I worry about performing well in workouts, in the way which my teacher indicated. 32. When I lose a game, I always applaud my opponent. 33. As much as possible, I try to imitate the skills of my teacher or the good players. 34. I try to work harder than other people to perform well in sports. 35. I take P.E. class more seriously than others. 36. I have been told by others that I am an all-around player who is able to do well in everything. 37. If I learn to be able to perform well in sports, it will be useful in the future. 38. I often get nervous when I perform sports in public. 39. I don't want to participate in games or competitions because I am afraid of making mistakes or losing the game. 40. I have never broken the rules or regulations before. 41. During P.E. class, I try to figure out how to do well. 42. Even if I cannot perform well in sports, I never give up but continue my efforts to the very end. 43. 1 obey the teacher's or coach's advice without resisting. 44. I feel confident that I can perform well in many sports. 45. I think that improvement must occur if I practice sports. 46. When I practice sports, I am apt to become more tense than other people. 47. Even if I make only one mistake during a game, I feel that I want a teammate to come in and replace me. 48. I am never out of breath no matter how long I keep running. 49. When I practice sports, I try to imitate the skills of the good players as often as I can. 50. I can endure any hard training if it will help me to perform well. 51. When I exercise, I follow the regulations or the rules exactly. 52. In sports, I always have a sense of superiority that I am a better player than others. 53. Physical education is just as important as any other subject. 54. In public, I get tense and can't perform as well as I usually do. 55. When I participate in a sports competition, I sometimes want to escape because I am afraid of losing the game. 56. I never laugh when an opponent loses. 57. Before I practice a sport again, I think over why I did not perform well before. 58. I practice patiently until I can perform well. 59. I always take warm-ups seriously before practice. 60. I think that I have the qualities necessary for performing well in sports. 61. If I can eventually perform better than others in sports, it will be useful in the future. 62. I am poor at performing in public. 63. When it comes to performing, I often hesitate because I am afraid of making mistakes. 64. When my opponents lose the game, I always try to say something that will give them comfort.