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For 30 years I have been interested in achievement motivation and factors that influence children’s motivation to move and learn to move. This work has been grounded in achievement goal theory, which explains what motivates individuals by how success is perceived and competence is valued (Nicholls, 1989). According to this theory, behavioral outcomes are related to goal-oriented behaviors described as task (e.g., competence and success are self-referenced) or ego (e.g., competence and success are based on the reference of others). A task-oriented goal perspective has been associated with increased enjoyment and intrinsic motivation inmovement-related activities such as sport and physical activity. Achievement goal theory also proposes that environments can be structured to emphasize factors that determine one’s goal involvement and subsequent cognitions, affect, and behaviors. In this review, I discuss mastery motivational climates and the research we have conducted related to this topic over the years.

Numerous interventions have been designed to modify children's physical activity and eating behaviors. While early research centered on the individual as the target of intervention, more recent work targets change in the environment. These studies have consistently supported the importance of environmental contributors to both physical activity and eating behavior, but little research has considered those who are responsible for implementing environmental change. For example, if we expect school environments to support activity and healthy eating, we must consider the motivation of school administrators to affect change. This review will present examples of an ecological approach to behavior change along with recent data to support this approach.

One of the primary dilemmas surrounding the topic of early sport specialization is whether the practice develops talent or creates long-term psychological problems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue using psychosocial and developmental frameworks. This review begins with an overview of several developmentallybased constructs (e.g., biological maturation, perceived competence, body image, self-identity, motivational orientation) that are relevant to the sport domain. These developmental progressions are then used to address some potential implications for children who begin intensive training and competition at an early age. Next, some socioenvironmental factors are explored, with specific links made to the early sport specialization process. Finally, the paper ends with four recommendations for future research on the topic.

The 2012 Academy meeting focused on research related to increasing levels of physical activity and promoting persistence. Speakers agreed that answers would be hard to come by but that progress was possible. Emphases for potential solutions ranged from the cellular to the cultural, from neural mechanisms to symbolic processes, from particle physics to philosophy. Strategies for intervention were diverse and refected a series of dynamical tensions—behavioral and nonbehavioral, cognitive and noncognitive, traditional and nontra-ditional, environmental and motivational, and finally medical in contrast to educational. It is likely, given the complexities inherent in increasing movement behaviors and assuring persistence, that various blends of solutions emerging from multiple points on the disciplinary landscape and honoring truths that run across these strategic tensions will be needed.