A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Motivational Climate in Dance
in Journal of Sport and Exercise PsychologyClick name to view affiliation
The present study examined the relationship between dance-related perfectionism and perceptions of motivational climate in dance over time. In doing so, three possibilities were tested: (a) perfectionism affects perceptions of the motivational climate, (b) perceptions of the motivational climate affect perfectionism, and (c) the relationship is reciprocal. Two hundred seventy-one young dancers (M = 14.21 years old, SD = 1.96) from UK Centres for Advanced Training completed questionnaires twice, approximately 6 months apart. Cross-lagged analysis indicated that perfectionistic concerns led to increased perceptions of an ego-involving climate and decreased perceptions of a task-involving climate over time. In addition, perceptions of a task-involving climate led to increased perfectionistic strivings over time. The findings suggest that perfectionistic concerns may color perceptions of training/performing environments so that mistakes are deemed unacceptable and only superior performance is valued. They also suggest that perceptions of a task-involving climate in training/performing environments may encourage striving for excellence and perfection without promoting excessive concerns regarding their attainment.
Sanna M. Nordin-Bates is with the Department of Performance and Training, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. Andrew P. Hill is with the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, England. Jennifer Cumming is with the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England. Imogen J. Aujla is with the Department of Performing Arts and English, University of Bedfordshire, Bedford, England. Emma Redding is with the Department of Dance Science, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, England. Address author correspondence to Sanna M. Nordin-Bates at sanna.nordin-bates@gih.se.
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