The present paper attempts to specify motivational inclinations prevailing in the structure of motivation of recreational activities in two selected forms of physical recreation (tennis and sailing). It also aims to answer the question about the reason for individual differences in the structure of motivation of recreation activities. For that purpose R. Winiarski’s Questionnaire on Motivation of Active Recreation Behavior was used. The study was carried out among 143 adults engaged in the above forms of physical recreation. It was found that the variation in motivation was not determined by the form of undertaken recreational activity or the sex of people undertaking it. Also, it turned out that various forms of recreational activity were undertaken almost to the same extent, depending on the type of motivation; and that at different ages, with different training history or at different levels of advancement, various reasons, in line with the specificity of a given type of physical recreation, decide about undertaking this form of recreation.

The development of modern society and its technological progress, apart from their unquestionable advantages, have also their drawbacks. The speed of life of contemporary man, the variety of social roles to play and the resulting duties lead to constant haste, tension and stress. The civilizational progress has contributed to a large extent to the reduction or complete elimination of physical effort of an individual. In this context the significance of leisure activities is growing.

The ways of fighting the harmful effects of modern civilization include active spending of free time. One of the various forms of active leisure by undertaken by modern people is undoubtedly physical recreation – a unique type of voluntary activity the aim of which is first of all systematic, effective regeneration of physical and mental powers of a person, as well as extension of the scope of his or her interests and motor and social abilities [9]. Nowadays, one can notice a more comprehensive approach to recreation, understood not only as restoration of physical and psychophysical fitness, but as striving for improvement or even perfection [2].

Studying any human activity we have to remember that people live and develop in a specific social and cultural environment. Thus, any activities undertaken by humans possess a psychosocial aspect, as they are determined by mutually linked inborn and acquired properties of a body on the one hand; and biological, social and cultural conditions of the environment on the other hand. These interactions are bilateral.

This study attempts to analyze one of personal features of a subject which is a major factor in a recreational situation, that is, motivation. This feature seems to be one of the most significant features related to the mental make-up of a person engaged in physical recreation, as it directly affects realization of a task and achievement of a goal, and the significance of regularity in undertaking recreational activity is a known fact.

In psychology we most often encounter the notion of motivation understood as all factors stimulating into action, affecting its direction and intensity. This process is made of singular motives which should be understood as experiences, each stimulating a person into action, inhibiting him or her, and favoring or hindering his or her performance [6]. Reykowski [5]defines the motivation process as a process of regulation which controls the activities of a person in such a way that they lead to a specific effect. The term motive refers to a specific internal state characterized by the feeling of lack of fulfillment and of readiness to undertake an activity, which is motivational tension. Psychologists dealing with motivation agree that motivation processes have a directing and stimulating function in controlling an activity. However, in spite of many studies in the area and attempts at formulating a theory of motivation, it is difficult to adopt one generally accepted definition [1].

The reason for a person’s activity is always a specific need [3]. Through activities in their free time people may satisfy a number of their needs that are unique states of tension requiring a relief. Such tension resulting from a long-term unsatisfied need may lead to unpleasant states of anger, irritability, increased anxiety, or sometimes depression and sadness. Only the contact with a specific object, activity or situation relieves the tension by satisfying the need.

Two types of structures which are the sources of needs can be distinguished in people. One of them is a biological structure determined by heredity – it is responsible for what we call biological needs (e.g. need of oxygen, food, water, rest, security). Structures of the other type are formed throughout life and are the basis for creating social, mental, and cultural needs (e.g. need of assistance, happiness, cognition, play).

An activity undertaken in one’s free time gives a possibility of satisfying many needs, in particular:

The willingness to satisfy these needs leads to the appearance and directing of a motivation process. The subjective value of needs, as felt by a particular individual, determines their significance and the order of their satisfaction. On the basis of the system of needs and values a number of motivational inclinations are developed, which express potential readiness for activities, the aim of which is the fulfillment of human needs.

People undertaking various, apparently identical types of activity, do not have to be guided by identical motives. The direction and strength of motivation depend, on the one hand, on the attractiveness of the goal (its usefulness); and, on the other hand, on the possibility (subjective probability) of its achievement. Therefore, if the usefulness of the goal or the conviction of the possibility of its achievement is zero, motivation then also equals zero. The strength of motivation is the greatest on the average level of task difficulty [4].

Motivation can be divided into two types: external and internal. By undertaking recreational activity we are dealing with internal motivation, in which the motive is in ourselves, and the activity itself (without an external prize) gives us pleasure. Here a person is motivated when expecting satisfaction, pleasure from the opportunity to do something that is of interest to him or her, with a possibility to contact others not to obtain a prize, recognition or material gratification. One type of motivation does not exclude the other. Internal motivation should be valued higher than external motivation especially that relying on the latter may be unreliable. Usually, we do more willingly and much better what gives us pleasure, what we like, what we can decide about ourselves. Then we are also ready to make sacrifices or bear costs. A case of negative significance of external motivation is that by directing the activity of an individual to obtain a prize or avoid punishment, it decreases cognitive curiosity or direct interest in a given area of activity. We should then work on developing internal motivation; it is particularly important in undertaking physical recreation activity, as only the feeling of constant need and pleasure allows for a long-term, regular effort related to the possibility of achieving an increase in the quality of life.

In order to establish the motives of undertaking selected forms of recreational activity R. Winiarski’s Questionnaire on Motivation of Active Recreational Behavior (MNAZR) has been used [8]. It contains 49 statements on which the subjects are supposed to take a stance, by ticking only one of the five options listed on the sheet. The questionnaire includes 7 scales corresponding to seven categories of motivational inclinations (activity-related – Ac, cathartic – K, health-related – H, emotional – E, social – S, ambition-related – Am, and cognitive – C). Each scale includes in turn 7 statements, the order of which has been established using a table of random numbers.

These seven motivational inclinations do not exhaust all possibilities of needs satisfied by recreational activity; however, various studies have confirmed [7] that they cover the most frequent needs. This study was aimed to provide answers to the following questions:

The following hypotheses were put forward:

Hypothesis One: There is a significant relation between motives for physical recreation and the form of undertaken recreation.

Hypothesis Two: There are significant differences in the assessment of individual motives for a given form of physical recreation.

Hypothesis Three: There is no relation between motives for undertaking a given form of physical recreation and the sex of its participants.

Hypothesis Four: There is a relation between the motives for undertaking a given form of physical recreation and age, history of training and the level of advancement of its participants.

Subjects

The study covered a group of adults (aged 18 and over) representing two forms of physical recreational activity: tennis (N=68; men – 41; women – 27) and sailing (N=75; men – 47; women – 28). The subjects’ average age was 28 years for tennis (the oldest woman was 48, the oldest man was 60), and 33 years for sailing (the oldest woman was 56, the oldest man – 87). Taking into consideration the history of practicing a given form of recreation the groups were relatively similar; most subjects had played tennis and sailed for more than 10 years. Slightly smaller but almost symmetrical groups were subjects with a medium and short training history (Fig. 1). As for the subjects’ level of advancement, the largest group consisted of people at the medium advancement level; in other groups the numbers were similar, with a slightly higher number of beginners (Fig. 2).

Figure 1. History of doing a given form of recreation by the subjects

Figure 2. The level of advancement of the subjects in a given form of recreation

The study was carried out in 2003 and 2004 in Poland, in locations where people undertaking the above forms of physical recreation can be met (tennis courts, bodies of water), in similar conditions, after the subjects had been familiarized with the aim of the study and the necessary instructions and explanations had been given to them.

In the discussion of the results of the study related to the motivation of people undertaking the selected forms of recreational activity, the collected data was characterized in terms of intensity of a given feature in individual forms of physical recreation, taking account of the sex and in total for the whole group. In the description defined in this way, basic statistical parameters were used: mean value, median, standard deviation and coefficient of variation.

The next step of the analysis included establishing the significance of differences in motivation, depending on sex and the form of undertaken recreational activity (Student’s t-test). On the basis of a single factor analysis of variance a difference in intensity of individual motives in the analyzed forms of physical recreation was established. In order to determine the correlation between age, history, and the level of advancement and motivation Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was calculated.

As it is shown in Tables 1 and 2, the highest mean values were obtained on the Ac-26.5 activity scale for subjects playing tennis, and on the social scale S-28.0 for subjects practicing sailing. After translating them into values on the Sten scale the highest results were observed on the following scales: activity and health scales (Sten 7.2) for tennis, and social (Sten 7.6) and emotional (Sten 7.4) scales for sailing, which also had top point values. However, differences in the motivation structure in men and women playing tennis were noted. In female tennis players the health scale had the highest value; in male tennis players it was the activity scale.

Table 1. General structure of motivation of people playing recreational tennis

Table 2. General structure of motivation of people doing recreational sailing

The differences are, however, insignificant. In the case of sailing, there are no differences in the motivation structure between the sexes (in both cases the highest values are noted on the social and emotional scales). Both for subjects playing tennis and subjects practicing sailing the lowest values were noted on the ambition scale (Fig. 3, 4).

Figure 3. Structure of motivation of people playing recreational tennis

Figure 4. Structure of motivation of people doing recreational sailing

The slight differences between mean values and median values indicate that the distribution of results on individual scales is characterised by a slight deviation, and there are no observations which would overstate or understate mean values. The calculated coefficient of variation adopts values indicating average diversity of variables on individual scales.

It was proved, however, that differences in motivation to undertake specific forms of recreation between people of different sex who undertake it were not statistically significant (Table 3).

Similarly, there are no statistically significant differences in individual motives for undertaking recreational activity between the groups of tennis players and sailors. This applies to both men and women (Table 4).

The single factor analysis of variance that was carried out (Tables 5 and 6) leads to a conclusion that in the group practicing recreational tennis and sailing there are no statistically significant differences in the assessment of individual motives for doing a given form of recreation.

The examination of correlations revealed that there was a relation between some motives for undertaking a given form of recreation and age, history of training, and the level of advancement of its participants (Tables 7, 8, 9).

Table 3. Student’s t-test – comparison whether there are statistically significant differences between sexes in individual types of motives, in the groups of tennis players and sailors

Table 4. Student’s t-test – comparison whether in the groups of tennis players and sailors there are statistically significant differences in individual types of motives

Table 5. Single factor analysis of variance – comparison if in the group of tennis players there are statistically significant differences in the assessment of motives for undertaking this form of activity

Table 6. Single factor analysis of variance – comparison if in the group of sailors there are statistically significant differences in the assessment of motives for undertaking this form of activity

Table 7. Correlation between the motivation and the age of people doing selected forms of physical recreation

Table 8. Correlation between the motivation and history of people doing selected forms of physical recreation

Table 9. Correlation between motivation and degree of advancement of people doing selected forms of physical recreation

Among the tennis players the relation between motivation and age was noted for the following motives: activity-related, cathartic, and health-related motives. Here we have a positive correlation which proves that this motivation increases with age. In the case of sailors the correlation between the motives for sailing and the age were related to emotional, social and cognitive motives. We have here a negative correlation which proves that the contribution of the above motives to the decision to do sailing lowers with age.

In the analysis of the relation between motivation and training history (Table 8) and the advancement level (Table 9) of a given form of physical recreation, we noted a relation for the same motives in the case of tennis players, i.e. for the activity-related, cathartic, social and ambition-related motives. The contribution of these motives increases with the history and advancement level. In the case of people who practice sailing there is no relation between motivation and history. The only statistically significant correlation was observed in the case of advancement level and health- and ambition-related motives. These are positive relations.

People who play recreational tennis do it because they need exercise. This applies in particular to men; women do it mainly for health, and mental and physical well-being. People, who do sailing, sail because of their need to meet new people, make new friends and experience excitement, which will allow them to relieve suppressed emotions. The prevalence of these motives should not be surprising, in particular, in the context of scientific, technical and civilizational progress where physical activity has been largely restricted and cultural conditions enforce the processes of self-control and restraining energy. Obtaining the lowest values on the ambition scale could be attributed to the fact that only adults were studied, who apparently had smaller needs of competition than children and youths, boosting their self-esteem or testing their strengths in their free time outside professional and family life. Taking into account the statistical criterion it should be noted that various forms of recreational activity are undertaken almost to the same extent due to each type of motivation. Both the form of recreation and the sex differentiate motivation to a very small extent.

The relation between motivation and age is particularly interesting, as in the case of tennis players we observe an increase in the intensity of all motives with age; whereas in the case of sailors – on the contrary – a fall, except for the health-related motive, which could be explained by a more frequent occurrence of health complaints in older people, and thus by paying more attention to the health needs of their own bodies. While the statistically significant correlation of the health-related and cathartic motives with age in the group of tennis players is not controversial, and it is obvious that the older the person, the more often he or she will undertake recreation in order to escape from everyday duties. This favors rest and relaxation as with age the immunity to stress decreases, the activity-related motive may be surprising. The biological need of exercise lowers with age. Perhaps tennis as a game requiring very extensive physical involvement attracts people who contradict this rule, people to whom exercise and physical involvement gives an opportunity to forget and lose touch with everyday life, people who are characterized by better general physical activity, not only recreational, as well as people with a high awareness of the great significance and influence of physical exercise on the functioning of the body and delaying of ageing effects.

Similar relations between motivation and history and the level of advancement are noted for the tennis players, which may be due to the fact that the longer the history, the higher the level of advancement of people playing recreational tennis. Tennis is a technically difficult sport; it requires relatively long training in order to master individual shots, and only then it can earn recognition. Thus, with history and advancement the contribution of ambition-related and social motives increases, which allows to build up one’s self-esteem in the eyes of others and to become popular.

Completely different relations of motives and age are noted for people practicing sailing. In sailors we can notice a general drop in the intensity of all types of motives with age, except for a health-related motive already discussed above where relations with emotional, social and cognitive motives are statistically significant. This may be explained by the fact that the older people are, the less they expose themselves to danger; the more they value their lives, the less they risk; and emotions in sailing are related mainly to risky sailing in difficult weather or water conditions. With time sailing becomes not only fulfillment of interests, a way to spend free time, but also a certain lifestyle in peace, with the focus on the contact with nature. The need to meet new people and new things, the need of competition and new experiences disappears. In recreational sailing a longer history does not necessarily accompany better advancement. Very often mastering basic sailing skills is fully satisfactory. Only a higher level of advancement results in activation of the ambition-related motive related to the possibility of getting recognition and prestige.

Conclusions:

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