Creating Store Experiences That Motivate For Activity:
The effect of textual cues on motivation towards physical activity
Author: Joyce Engels (11112182)
Under the supervision of:
Dr. Alfred Zerres
MSc in Business Administration – Marketing Track Amsterdam Business School
University of Amsterdam
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This document is written by J.M.H. Engels who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.
ABSTRACT
This research aimed to gain more insight into the influence of store environmental elements in an activewear retail environment on store relevant behaviour. An experiment was conducted through the us of an online survey (N = 449) researching the effects of textual cues and the possible moderating effect of shopping motives in regards to five outcome variables: (1) intrinsic motivation, (2) positive affect for physical activity, (3) intent to engage in physical activity, (4) purchase intention, and (5) willingness to spend. The results indicated that textual performance cues lead to higher levels of intrinsic motivation for physical activity compared to textual mastery cues. No differences were found regarding levels of positive affect, intent to engage in physical activity, purchase intention, and willingness to spend. Moreover, no moderating effects of shopping motives were found.
Key words: Store Experience, Motivation, Physical Activity, Goal Achievement Theory, shopping motives
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ... II 1. INTRODUCTION ... 1 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES ... 6 2.1 MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ... 6 2.1.1 Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation ... 7 2.1.3 Theories of motivation in sport and excercise ... 8 2.2 ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY ... 8 2.2.1 Performance vs. mastery goals ... 9 2.2.2 Motivational climate ... 13 2.3 IN-STORE EXPERIENCE ... 15 2.3.1 Elements of a store experience ... 16 2.3.2 Motivating activity through store environment ... 18 2.4 SHOPPING MOTIVATION ... 20 3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ... 22 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION ... 22 3.2 CONCEPTUAL MODEL ... 23 3.2.1 Explanation of the relationships in the model ... 24 3.3 OVERVIEW OF THE HYPOTHESES ... 25 4. METHODOLOGY ... 26 4.1 RESEARCH APPROACH ... 26 4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN ... 26 4.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE ... 27 4.2.1 Photo selection ... 28 4.2.2 Textual cue selection ... 28 4.2.3 Pre-test & manipulation design ... 29 4.3 MODERATOR ... 36 4.4 DEPENDENT VARIABLES ... 36 4.5 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ... 39 4.6 SURVEY ... 40 4.7 SAMPLE & DATA COLLECTION ... 40 4.8 DATA PREPARATION ... 415.1 INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: H1 + H1B ... 43 5.2 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTENT: H2 + H2B ... 44 5.3 POSITIVE AFFECT FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: H3 + H3B ... 46 5.4 PURCHASE INTENTION: H4 + H4B ... 47 5.5 WILLINGNESS TO PAY: H5 + H5B ... 48 6. CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION ... 50 6.1 TEXTUAL PERFORMANCE AND MASTERY CUES ... 51 6.1.1 Motivation, affect, and intent towards Physical activity ... 51 6.1.2 Purchase intent and willingness to pay ... 52 6.2 SHOPPING MOTIVES ... 53 6.3 CREATING STORE EXPERIENCES THAT MOTIVATE FOR ACTIVITY ... 54 6.4 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS ... 54 6.5 STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS ... 55 6.6 FUTURE RESEARCH ... 56 7. REFERENCES ... 57 8. APPENDIX ... 62 A. PRE-TEST ... 62 Pictures pre-test ... 62 Additional statistics pre-test ... 62 B. SURVEY FINAL EXPERIMENT ... 64 C. ITEM DIVISION ... 69
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Textual cues pre-test ... 29Table 2: PAF of mastery and performance items ... 30
Table 3: Descriptive statistics of the photo conditions ... 32
Table 4: Post hoc Bonferroni comparison for photo condition ... 32
Table 5: Descriptive statistics of text conditions ... 34
Table 6: Post hoc Bonferroni comparison for text condition ... 34
Table 7: Vignettes for shopping motive as adapted from Kaltcheva & Weitz (2006) ... 36
Table 9: PAF of PA intention, PI, and intrinsic motivation ... 39
Table 10: Descriptive statistics of the final data sample ... 42
Table 11: Correlations of the variables for the final data sample ... 43
Table 12: Two-way ANOVA main effect of textual cues on Intrinsic motivation ... 44
Table 13: Two-way ANOVA interaction effect of textual cues and shopping motives on Intrinsic motivation ... 44
Table 14: Two-way ANOVA main effect of textual cues on intent to engage in PA ... 45
Table 15: Two-way ANOVA interaction effect of textual cues and shopping motives on intent to engage in physical ... 45
Table 16: Two-way ANOVA main effect of textual cues on positive affect for physical activity ... 46
Table 17: Two-way ANOVA interaction effect of textual cues and shopping motives on positive affect towards physical activity ... 47
Table 18: Two-way ANOVA main effect of textual cues on purchase intention ... 48
Table 19: Two-way ANOVA interaction effect of textual cues and shopping motives on purchase intention ... 48
Table 20: Two-way ANOVA main effect of textual cues on willingness to pay ... 49
Table 21: Two-way ANOVA interaction effect of textual cues and shopping motives on willingness to pay ... 49
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Conceptual model ... 231. INTRODUCTION
The last few decades the retail environment has become an increasingly competitive landscape. E-commerce has continued to grow pressure by this increasing competition, especially from pure online players (Nielsen, 2015), has companies looking for different ways to lure customers to their stores and maximize consumer- and brand value generated through store visits (Chang et al., 2015; Spence, Puccinelli, Grewal, & Roggeveen, 2010). Moreover, customers have also increasingly expressed a desire for more engaging experiences with brands rather than maintaining a dyadic exchange relationship. These shifts have caused retailers to focus more on offering a superior customer experience across the entire customers’ shopping journey (Chang et al., 2015). By providing a great store experience, companies attempt to elicit specific affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses from customers that are beneficial towards them, such as a higher purchase intention (Chang et al., 2015; Puccinelli et al., 2009). Due to the believe that creating exceptional online and offline experiences for customers will result in more positive bottom line performance for companies, the concept of customer experience and the related concept of store experience are considered to be one of the most important research challenges for the coming years (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). It is thus important to explore new avenues by which companies can enhance a customer’s experience in-store, to motivate for behaviors that are beneficial to them.
When walking through the stores of some of the most well known activewear retailers, such as Nike and Puma, it becomes evident that store experience is not a unitary concept. It is the results of a combination of several factors, such as displays, staff, design, atmospherics, and pricing (Bagdare, 2013). All these factors together affect how a customer experiences the store, and consequently can influence how a customer thinks, feels, and behaves in-store. Research shows that store experience has the ability to positively influence
a customers’ brand attitude, purchase intention, and loyalty to the brand (Bagdare, 2013; Baker, Parasuraman, Grewal, & Voss, 2002; Roschk, Maria, Loureiro, & Breitsohl, 2016; Turley & Milliman, 2015). The effects of store environmental elements on such company measures have thus been thoroughly examined in academic literature. However, to my knowledge, there has been no research into the possible effects of store experience elements on other ‘store relevant behavior’ occurring after a store visit. Store relevant behavior is seen as ‘behavior that is related to the core products of the company or store’. This entails that elements of a store experience might affect a customer’s motivation for behaviors related to the products the store sells. For a store that focuses on the retailing of activewear, store relevant behavior would then be the engagement in physical activity. If environmental elements in a store can indeed affect how a customer feels, thinks, and behaves in-store, then it is also reasonable to assume that it can affect how a customer feels, thinks, and behaves towards the core concept the store advocates, such as physical activity. This is an interesting avenue for research as it provides companies with the opportunity to further enhance and motivate a long-term relationship between them and their customers. Therefore, it is important to know if store elements are able to motivate for store relevant behavior, and if so, when this is the most effective.
In order to give insight into these questions, I will first look to the field of Motivational Psychology. Within this field the question of how one can foster motivation for desired behaviours in others has been prevalent for decades (Roberts, Treasure, & Conroy, 2007; Weiner, 1992). In it’s broadest term, motivation can be defined as ‘to be moved to do
something’, or what moves someone to perform a certain behavior. A big part of motivational
research focuses on how to motivate for behaviour that is not always considered to be inherently enjoyable, such as work, learning, and especially interesting for this thesis,
physical activity (Baeten, Dochy, & Struyven, 2013; Gagne & Deci, 2005; Roberts et al., 2007). This notion poses a challenge for activewear retailers. After all, their company, stores and products, promote behaviour that is not considered to be inherently enjoyable by all individuals. Therefore, it is interesting to research if store elements are able to motivate for store relevant behavior, and when this is the most effective, in the case of activewear retailing.
To research which store elements could then have the potential to affect motivation for physical activity, and under what conditions this would be the most effective, this thesis turns to a generally accepted motivational theory within sport psychology: Achievement Goal
Theory (AGT).
This theory proposes that the achievement goal an individual holds provides a cognitive structure that influences how people construe ability and define success (Nicholls, 1984). This can in turn influence an individuals affective reactions, and consequent behaviours. The goals a person holds can thus be important motivational determinants (Duda, 2001; Roberts et al., 2007). Nicholls (1984) distinguishes two achievement goals, ‘mastery’ goals and ‘performance’ goals. These two achievement goals can be linked to differences between individuals when it comes to motivation, persistence, and enjoyment in physical activity contexts (Nicholls, 1984; Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009; Roberts, 2001; Spray, Wang, Biddle, & Chatzisarantis, 2006). Moreover, subsequent research shows that the perception of goal achievement cues in the environment can influence whether a person is performance or mastery goal involved (Ames, 1992; Roberts et al., 2007). This provides a fruitful notion for this thesis. If the presence of mastery or performance cues in an environment can influence the adoption of a certain achievement goal, and can consequently enhance an individual’s motivation towards behaviour, this should also be possible within a retail context. Activewear retailers should then be able to enhance motivation for physical activity by
creating the appropriate motivational climate through their in-store communications. However, to this date, this has not yet been researched.
By reconsidering the in-store environment of some of the most prominent activewear retailers, it becomes clear different styles of communication are used. Some styles of can be interpreted as promoting performance goal involvement, while others can be interpreted as promoting mastery goal involvement. For example, Under Armour mainly uses performance-focused texts such as: “We started this thing - and now that we’re on top - everybody’s trying
to knock us off. It’s us versus them. We must protect this house”. In contrast, Asics uses a lot
of mastery cues such as “Run better, whatever your level” or “Achieve your running goals”. It would thus prove interesting to know if communication through such textual cues can influence a persons’ motivation towards physical activity, and if so, if mastery or performance goal cues are the most effective.
When researching such effects in a retail environment, one must also take factors into account that can influence the impact environmental elements has on consumers. One such factor is the shopping motivation of an individual, as this influences the extent to which textual cues are noticed and processed. It has been found that whether an individual has a utilitarian shopping motive, where shopping is a goal-directed behavior, or a hedonistic shopping motive, where shopping is recreational, influences the processing of environmental elements (van Rompay, Tanja-Dijkstra, Verhoeven, & van Es, 2012). Therefore, this thesis takes the possible moderating role of shopping motives into account and focuses on answering the following research question:
‘How do in-store textual ‘mastery’ vs. ‘performance’ goal cues influence consumers’ motivation towards physical activity behaviour, and to what extent does a hedonistic vs. utilitarian shopping motive influence this relationship.’
This thesis contributes to the literature in multiple ways. First, it provides a more thorough understanding of the way consumers’ are motivated through environments. Moreover, this thesis applies Achievement Goal Theory in a context it hasn’t been applied in before: retail. This thesis can thus provide insight in the applicability AGT concepts within new fields.
This thesis also has practical relevance. Firstly, it gives insight into new possible avenues to enhance store experience in such a way that it is beneficial to the company. If one were able to motivate a customer to perform behaviour that is at the core of the business, the likelihood of re-patronage would logically increase. After all, if one could motivate customers to engage in more physical activity, they will have a higher need for products that enable them to exercise. In this regard, it would then also promote a more long-term relationship with customers. Secondly, as the focus of the research lies in motivating for behaviour and tasks that some may not find inherently enjoyable it can also provide valuable insights for institutions outside of the retail field. Institutions that aim to motivate healthy behaviours, such as good eating habits, or quitting smoking, can use the insights to adjust their marketing communications to be more effective.
In the following chapter the theoretical background of key concepts will be discussed and hypotheses will be formulated. In the conceptual framework I will provide my conceptual model, and give a short summary of the hypotheses. Following this the research set-up and analysis in the method section will be described. Finally the results will be illustrated and a conclusion in regards to the research question will be formed. Finally, I will discuss the limitations of this research and recommendations for future research.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES
In this chapter I will elaborate on theoretical constructs. I will first define what motivation entails. Then I will expand on the notions of Achievement Goal theory (AGT). Finally, I will elaborate on store experience, environmental cues and how AGT fits in this context.
2.1 MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
A massive amount of research has been dedicated to the subject of motivation. Since motivation is such a commonly studied construct and definitions range from very broad to very specific, a major difficulty in studying this field has been the lack of consensus over what motivation is and how it should be defined (Kleinginna & Kleinginna, 1981; Roberts et al., 2007). Kleinginna & Kleinginna (1981) were one of the first researchers to put forth an effort to categorize definitions of motivations. In their meta-analysis they found that while some researchers define motivation as being internal mechanisms (physiological reactions), others emphasize the functional processes (energizing and directing towards behaviour). However, even though authors often hold different views of what motivation entails, nowadays, it can usually be agreed on that motivation is viewed as a process and not an entity. As this thesis focuses on motivating individuals to engage in specific behaviour, the functional process approach to motivation is adopted. Motivation could then be defined as “the psychological construct that energizes, directs, and regulates behaviour’” (Hatfield & Kerick, 2007). However, one can argue that the stated definition of Hatfield & Kerick (2007) is still too broad and abstract to be readily used. Therefore, it is needed to look for a more usable definition of functional process motivation to use in this thesis. Malcolm (2008) provides such a definition in the SAGE Dictionary of Sport Studies, which will be used in this thesis, namely: “Motivation is the direction and intensity of one’s effort, and how
2.1.1 INTRINSIC VS. EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Now it is clear how motivation can be defined, it is important to elaborate on what different types of motivation can be present in an individual. These different types can impact the motivational direction, intensity and sustainability towards the intended behaviour. Commonly, motivation is divided between two categories: Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic motivation can be defined as being motivated for an activity because you feel
satisfaction or enjoyment from performing the activity itself, rather than feeling satisfaction due to the consequence of that activity (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Due to this focus on the process rather than the end-goal, this type of motivation is also sometimes referred to as
process-focused motivation (Toure-Tillery & Fishbach, 2014). Applied to the context of physical
activity behaviour, an individual would be motivated to exercise because he finds the activity itself fun, rather than exercising because of an outcome of that behaviour, such as weight loss.
In contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation entails that a person is externally moved towards performing an action in order to attain a separable outcome (Ryan & Deci, 2000). An individual could then be motivated to perform certain behaviour, because he will receive an external reward for it. He could also perform the behaviour to avoid external punishment, such as social criticism (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Due to this emphasis on attaining a desired end-state, extrinsic motivation is also referred to as outcome-focused motivation (Toure-Tillery & Fishbach, 2014). In the context of physical activity an individual would be externally motivated when he engages in physical activity because he wants to reach the end goal of ‘being the best and winning a price’ or ‘losing x amount of weight’. An individual could also be externally motivated to exercise because he wants to avoid being judged or viewed as ‘lazy’ and ‘unhealthy’ by his peers.
Scholars usually consider intrinsic motivation as the most qualitative and sustained form (Ryan & Deci, 2000). However, a problem arises when one takes into account that an important assumption for intrinsic motivation to occur is that a person must find the action inherently enjoyable or interesting (Ryan & Deci, 2000). There are many tasks that are not always considered inherently enjoyable or interesting, such as working, studying, and relevant to this thesis, engaging in physical activity. Therefore, it is especially interesting to look at how one can increase motivation for these tasks. It is therefore not surprising that over the years various theories have been proposed to shed light on increasing sport and exercise motivation.
2.1.3 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION IN SPORT AND EXCERCISE
There are numerous theoretical perspectives concerning sport and exercise motivation, but for the last decades a social-cognitive perspective has been used the most. Especially the tenants of achievement goal theories have been readily applied by sport psychologists since the 1980’s (Horn, 2008). Such theories can help explain why some individuals enthusiastically approach difficult tasks and challenge, while others avoid it. Or why some persist when faced with hardship and exert consistent effort, whereas other individuals give up at the first sign off things going wrong and restrain effort (Horn, 2008). Among these theories, one of the most commonly applied theory is Nicholls (1984) Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) (Duda, 2001; Roberts, 2001).
2.2 ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY
In achievement settings, as is often the case in exercise and sport, the goals an individual holds are important motivational determinants (Duda, 2001; Roberts et al., 2007). This idea stems from educational psychology, where Nicholls (1984) advocated his views on
Achievement Goal Theory. He proposes that each individual is goal-oriented and wants to demonstrate his or her competence. The type of achievement goal an individual holds provides that person with a cognitive structure that influences how individuals define success and failure in achievement situations (Nicholls, 1984). This in turn influences an individual’s affective reactions and subsequent behaviour in those situations. For example, which task an individual chooses to do, how motivated one is towards the task and how much effort he extends (Horn, 2008). As a result, he formulated a distinction between two main goals people can strive for, ‘task’ involved goals, often referred to as mastery goals, and ‘ego’ involved goals, often referred to as performance goals (Ames, 1992; Nicholls, 1984). Even though these are the two most common terms to describe these concepts, various other terms have been used as well, such as learning goals and ability validation goals (Hulleman & Senko, 2010). For the sake of clarity, this thesis adopts the terms mastery and performance goals.
Whether an individual strives for either a mastery or a performance goal is based on individual predispositions and situational factors (Nicholls, 1984; Roberts et al., 2007). Ames (1992) builds on this notion by proposing situational factors are reflected by the ‘motivational
climate’. As such, the achievement goal an individual adopts depends on his or hers
predisposition and the perception of a mastery or performance focused motivational climate (Ames, 1992; Nicholls, 1984). These concepts of mastery goals, performance goals, and motivational climate will be expanded upon in the following sections.
2.2.1 PERFORMANCE VS. MASTERY GOALS
Both mastery and performance goals are concerned with the assessment of an individual’s own skill level, often referred to as their ability, and the pursuit of competence (Nicholls, 1984; Spray et al., 2006). However, they do so in markedly different ways.
Individuals pursuing a mastery goal mainly focus on increasing their competence. When an individual pursues a mastery goal he utilizes an undifferentiated conception of
ability, which means that effort is positively correlated with ability (Nicholls, 1984). High
effort would lead to more mastery, which would then result in higher ability (Ntoumanis, 2001). These individuals emphasize task mastery, effort, and self-improvement in the form of learning and skill development (Roberts et al., 2007; Spray et al., 2006). Applying this to a sport context, an individual would engage in physical activity because he wants to become better, or learn to perform a specific task perfectly. For example, ‘I train because I want to become better at this new technique’. As such, individuals striving for mastery goals define success and failure by using self-referential evaluations (Roberts, 2001). In other words, they compare their skills to themselves. An individual then attains success if improvement or mastery occurs (Roberts et al., 2007).
In contrast, individuals pursuing a performance goal strive for demonstrating and validating their skills. They utilize a differentiated conception of ability, which means that effort and ability are clearly distinguished from each other as causes of success or failure (Nicholls, 1984). Ability is viewed as a capacity, entailing that performance can only be increased up to the limits of an individuals capacity concerning the activity at hand (Ntoumanis, 2001). Therefore extending more effort does not necessarily lead to higher ability and success. Ability thus becomes the limit on what high effort alone can accomplish (Horn, 2008). Individuals utilizing a differentiated conception of ability emphasize winning, and demonstrating a high level of ability, often by outperforming others (Roberts et al., 2007; Spray et al., 2006). For example, ‘I exercise to beat others in a competition’. They therefore use normative standards when defining success vs. failure. In other words, the comparison of their performance is other-referenced (Roberts, 2001). Individuals pursuing a performance goal thus consider themselves to only be successful if they demonstrate superior ability
compared to others, or if they perform on the same level while extending less effort (Nicholls, 1984).
The relationship between mastery and performance goals with motivation and achievement has been a subject for extensive research over the past 25 years (Wigfield et al., 2015). Research has shown that the two achievement goals can be linked to different motivational patterns. Whereas mastery goal involvement leads to more adaptive motivational patterns and behaviours, performance goal involvement leads to more maladaptive patterns of motivation and behaviour (Duda, 2001). This is further illustrated by Roberts, et al. (2007) who found that individuals adopt a mastery goal are more prone to select difficult tasks, exert a higher level of effort, and show more persistence when facing difficulty.
Moreover, research indicates that young individuals experience more positive feelings towards physical activity if they are mastery oriented rather than performance oriented (Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009; Spray & Biddle, 1997). A review study of 98 studies, including 110 independent samples, further substantiates this claim (Biddle, Wang, Kavussanu, & Spray, 2003). In contrast, in a study conducted by Hom, Duda, & Miller (1993) among 55 young athletes from a summer basketball camp, did not find such an effect. However, they note that this might be due to the fact that the sample had a high correlation in both types of goal involvement.
Even though research thus generally agrees on the positive effects of a mastery goal orientation on motivational outcomes, there has been less consensus on the effects of a performance goal orientation. Where some studies showed positive relationship between performance goals and desirable outcomes such as interest and achievement (e.g. Greene, Miller, Crowson, Duke, & Akey, 2004), others found negative or neutral relationships (Harackiewicz, Barron, Carter, Lehto, & Elliot, 1997). Scholars proposed this inconsistency
is the result of issues on how to define performance goals. Therefore, they expanded the distinction between two types of achievement goals into four types (Elliot & McGregor, 2001; Middleton & Midgley, 1997). Both mastery and approach goals were split into an approach and avoidance variant.
A mastery-approach goal focuses on a desire to improve, while a mastery avoidance goal, focuses on a desire to avoid failing to learn (Moller & Elliot, 2006). Overall, research shows positive effects of mastery approach goals on factors such as intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, and interest, while mastery avoidance goals mainly produce negative effects (Hulleman & Senko, 2010). Performance-approach goals focus on the desire to outperform others, while performance-avoidance goals focus on the desire to avoid being worse than others (Middleton & Midgley, 1997). Performance-avoidance goals lead to higher anxiety, elf-handicapping, low achievement, and low interest (Hulleman & Senko, 2010). Performance-approach goals tend to be unrelated to such effects. However it is important to note that they also tend to be unrelated to positive outcomes associated with mastery-approach goals.
It is now commonly accepted that researchers either study all four or only focus on performance and mastery approach goals (Senko, Hulleman, & Harackiewicz, 2011). Reconsidering the definitions of mastery and performance goals as provided by Nicholls (1984) show that mastery goals were defined as increasing one’s competence, while performance goals were defined as displaying one’s competence to others. These definitions are in line with performance-approach and mastery-approach goals. This thesis adopts the definitions proposed by Nicholls (1984) and therefore focuses on the difference in effects of performance-approach and mastery-approach goals. For simplicity, these will be referred to as the shorter terms performance or mastery goals throughout this research.
In conclusion, research has demonstrated that mastery goals have been consistently linked with intrinsic motivation, interest and positive affect towards the task, while performance goals tend to be unrelated or display less positive effects (Biddle et al., 2003; Duda, 2001; Hulleman & Senko, 2010; Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009; Roberts et al., 2007). It is then important to know when an individual adopts a specific achievement goal and how this can be influenced. This is discussed in the following section.
2.2.2 MOTIVATIONAL CLIMATE
Ames (1992), extended the research of Nicholls (1984), and introduced the concept of
‘motivational climate’. Through emphasizing mastery or performance goals through
environmental cues, one can create a motivational climate that promotes the adoption of a specific achievement goal (Ames, 1992). Such environmental cues affect the adoption of an achievement goal through the concept of ability. The situational factors influence the conception of ability and therefore influence the perceived motivational climate and consequently the type of goal an individual strives for (Spray et al., 2006). If an environment emphasizes competition and the public evaluation of skills, it promotes a differentiated concept of ability, and thus a performance motivational climate is present. Individuals might then be more motivated to strive for performance goals (Ames, 1992; Spray et al., 2006). In contrast, if the context or the situation focuses on learning and individual improvement, the environment promotes a differentiated concept of ability, and thus a mastery climate is present. Individuals might then be more motivated to strive for mastery goals (Ames, 1992; Spray et al., 2006).
The notion that the perception of achievement cues in an environment can influence an individual’s propensity to pursue mastery or performance goals has been substantiated by several researches. These studies mainly focus on two social agents, coaches and parents. It is
proposed that these agents can enhance a motivational climate to reflect either mastery or performance goals (Ames, 1992; Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009; Ntoumantis & Biddle, 1999).
This notion has been substantiated by studies conducted in classroom (Liukkonen, Barkoukis, Watt, & Jaakkola, 2010; Mansfield, 2012) and sport team contexts (Ntoumantis & Biddle, 1999; Pope & Wilson, 2012). Here it is found that a coach or teacher can induce a specific achievement goal by enhancing the climate to depict mastery or performance cues. This can be done through the design of task and reward structures, but also through communication of the standards of evaluation (Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009; Ntoumantis & Biddle, 1999). By emphasizing interpersonal competition or personal improvement one can thus enhance the perceived motivational climate and consequently the tendency for individuals to strive for either mastery or performance goals (Curran, Hill, Hall, & Jowett, 2015; Ntoumantis & Biddle, 1999). This notion that one can influence a person’s goal state by enhancing communication in the environment is useful for the current research.
Overall, studies researching the effects of mastery and performance motivational climates propose that performance climates lead to detrimental effects on intrinsic motivation, while a mastery climates have a positive effect on intrinsic motivation (Ntoumantis & Biddle, 1999; Vallerand, 2007). This has been confirmed by Parish & Treasure (2003) who found the perception of a mastery climate to be positively related to more self-determined forms of motivation, namely intrinsic and identified motivation. Moreover, a mastery climate was found to be one of the most predictive factors for actual physical activity behaviour. In contrast, the perception of a performance climate was strongly related to extrinsic motivation and was unrelated to actual physical activity behaviour. A recent systematic review, where 121 independent samples were analysed, further substantiated these results (Harwood, Keegan, Smith, & Raine, 2015).
Furthermore, some studies have linked perception of mastery climates to various other beneficial outcomes. In a study conducted among 975 students, the perception of a mastery climate was found to be positively linked to interest, perceived competence, satisfaction, and the intention to engage in physical activity (Escarti & Gutierrez, 2001). More recently, a research by Atkins, Johnson, Force, & Petrie (2015) conducted among 405 adolescent boys, found confirmatory results. Moreover, this study linked a mastery climate to more positive affect towards physical exercise and higher intention for physical activity.
From the above described sections it becomes clear that research consistently links mastery climates to more adaptive motivational outcomes, such as intrinsic motivation, higher intention to exercise and more positive affect towards physical activity. However, it also becomes clear that there is a key gap in the research into motivational climates. Up until now, research has only focused on the climate created by coaches and parents. However, coaches and parents are not the only contributors to motivational climate. Instead sport heroes (Carr, Weigand, & Jones, 2000) and the media (Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009) are also proposed to be able to create and enhance motivational climates. Expanding these notions, this thesis proposes that activewear companies can also be viewed as such an actor. Through their in-store communication they should be able to influence perceived motivational climates and consequently enhance motivation for physical activity. The following section will delve into the concept of store experience and the possibility of creating performance and mastery climates in retail stores by enhancing environmental cues.
2.3 IN-STORE EXPERIENCE
The concept of customer experience is not necessarily novel. Decades ago Abbott (1955) proposed that people desire satisfying experiences instead of desiring products. Over the years experiential theorists have furthered this proposition and emphasized the importance of
the emotional aspects in consumer decision-making. A variety of terms and definitions have been used to describe this concept within retail environments. Some scholars use terms such as shopping experience or market consumption experiences, while others propose terms such as retail experiences, or simply in-store experience (Chang et al., 2015). Even though the used terms might differ, they all focus on the concept of ‘experience’. In the context of retail an experience can be defined as ‘the interaction between the customer and a company,
product or service’(Same & Larimo, 2012). This experience is influenced by customer,
brand, product and company characteristics, as well as by the context and environment in which the interaction takes place (Same & Larimo, 2012). In this thesis the term in-store experience will be adopted, and I define this as ‘the interaction between the customer and a
company, product or service, within the store environment’.
In the following sections store environmental elements and how these affect customer behaviour will be elaborated on. Finally, I will discuss how the concept of motivational climates can be applied in a store environment.
2.3.1 ELEMENTS OF A STORE EXPERIENCE
A store experience consists of many factors; one of the most researched one being the store atmosphere (Bagdare, 2013). This term has however been used interchangeably with the term store environment, and authors often fail to elaborate on whether they indicate the same concept (Bagdare, 2013). This confusion seems to stem from the definition of store atmospherics as being the physical environment of a store (Jain & Bagdare, 2007). Although this definition seems quite comprehensive, the difficulty lies in what one defines as being part of the physical environment. In this thesis the classification of Baker et al. (2002) will be adopted. They classified store atmosphere into three elements, namely: design, social, and ambient elements. Design elements are conceptualized as the visual factors present in a
conceptualized as non-visual elements, such as smell, sound, lighting, and temperature. Finally, social factors refer to interactions with employees or other customers.
Multiple studies have found that store atmospherics have a positive effect on enjoyment, purchase intention, (re-)patronage intention, and even the amount of money customers spend (Backstrom & Johansson, 2006; Bagdare, 2013; Baker et al., 2002; Hart et al., 2011; Turley & Milliman, 2000). However, a nuance should be made as inconclusive results have been found regarding purchase intention, which has not always been positively linked to music and colour (Roschk et al., 2016). This is proposed to be due to individual differences in perception of the environment (Turley & Milliman, 2000). This has been substantiated by Hussain & Ali (2015) who investigated the collective impact of various atmospheric variables at once on purchase intention. However, they did find that other factors such as scent, lighting and displays led to a positive effect on purchase intention.
Retail atmosphere can thus be used as a strategic tool for promoting specific behaviours that are desirable for companies. Surprisingly, no attention has been paid to how one can enhance motivation towards store relevant behaviour beyond direct company performance measures, while it is reasonable to assume that this is valuable for a company. After all, if an individual visits an activewear store and is more motivated to actually exercise afterwards, the likelihood of re-patronage would logically be higher.
Moreover, the concept of manipulating store atmospherics to enhance store environment is in line with the concept of motivational climate, which proposed that the presence of specific cues, especially mastery cues, in the environment could also lead to the promotion of specific positive behaviours (Ames, 1992). In this thesis, it is therefore proposed that it is possible to enhance a specific motivational climate in a retail environment through the manipulation of environment design, as a result promoting store relevant behaviour. Moreover, it is proposed that a motivational climate, which leads to more positive
affective reactions, could then influence positive behavioural outcomes such as purchase intention and purchase amount in the same way store atmospherics do. The next section will elaborate on how one could manipulate the store environment to promote a mastery or performance climate.
2.3.2 MOTIVATING ACTIVITY THROUGH STORE ENVIRONMENT
In order to determine which environmental elements could be manipulated to promote performance or mastery climates, the concepts of AGT, motivational climate, and in-store retail design are integrated.
As illustrated in Chapter 2.2, one of the ways in which coaches, parents, and peers can enhance a motivational climate is by the way they communicate standards of evaluation (Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009). They can either emphasize interpersonal competition, promoting a performance climate, or improvement, promoting a mastery climate. This is a useful notion when applied to the findings within the retail field. As shown in the previous section, the physical environments of a store can impact the behaviour of individuals (see Chapter 2.3.1). This environment includes factors such as displays and signage. Therefore, it would be possible to enhance these elements in such a way that they promote either mastery or performance goals. An interesting way to do this would be by manipulating textual cues on displays and signage, as these can be seen as way of passive communication, albeit between the environment and a customer. Moreover, looking at activewear retailers, such as Asics and Under Armour, unveils that companies already use different textual cues on their displays that could be seen as promoting either performance or mastery goals. For example, Under Armour uses texts such as: “We started this thing - and now that we’re on top - everybody’s
trying to knock us off. It’s us versus them. We must protect this house”. Asics on the other
your running goals”. Such textual cues could then promote the adoption of mastery or
performance goals, and consequently influence motivation. Therefore, it is interesting to study if such textual cues influence a persons’ motivation towards physical activity, and if so, which is the most effective.
It is then important to explore how textual cues can be constructed to promote mastery or achievement goals. As is evident from Achievement Goal Literature (Chapter 2.2) mastery oriented individuals focus on task mastery, improvement, and use self-referential evaluations, while performance oriented individuals strive to be better than other, and use normative referential evaluations (Roberts et al., 2007; Spray et al., 2006). Textual cues can then be designed in such a way that they reflect these elements, by for example emphasizing self-improvement or emphasizing interpersonal competition. In this thesis, textual mastery cues are thus conceptualized as texts that reflect self-improvement, and task mastery, while textual performance cues are conceptualized as texts that reflect winning or being better than others.
Research has shown mastery climates can consistently be linked to higher levels of intrinsic motivation, interest and positive affect for physical activity (Biddle et al., 2003; Hulleman & Senko, 2010; Roberts et al., 2007). Thus, these effects are also expected to occur when textual mastery cues are present in a retail environment. Therefore I formulate the following hypotheses:
H1: Intrinsic motivation is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present. H2: Intention to engage in physical activity is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present.
H3: Positive affect towards physical activity is higher when mastery (vs. performance cues) cues are present.
In addition, it is proposed that environments that contain textual mastery cues are perceived as more pleasurable and could thus lead to more positive outcomes on company measure such as purchase intention. Escarti & Gutierrez (2001) found that mastery climates are related to more positive affective outcomes such as satisfaction, thus making it a more pleasurable environment. Also, multiple studies revealed that store environments that are perceived as pleasant lead to desirable outcomes for companies, such as a higher purchase intention, and willingness to spend more (Backstrom & Johansson, 2006; Bagdare, 2013; Baker et al., 2002; Hart et al., 2011; Turley & Milliman, 2000). Therefore, the following hypotheses are formulated:
H4: Purchase intention will be higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present. H5: Willingness to spend is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present.
2.4 SHOPPING MOTIVATION
It is also necessary to consider factors that might impact the relationship between textual cues and motivational outcomes. One such important factor is shopping motivation. Shopping motivation can influence the extent to which environmental cues get processed by a customer (Kaltcheva & Weitz, 2006) and are therefore important to consider in the context of this thesis.
Within the retail field a distinction between task-oriented shoppers and recreational oriented shoppers is often made. These two shopping motives are commonly described as economic and recreational shopping (Bellenger & Korgankar, 1980) or utilitarian and hedonic shopping (Jones, Reynolds & Arnold, 2006). In the remainder of this thesis, the terms utilitarian and hedonistic shoppers will be used. For utilitarian shoppers, shopping is a goal directed activity that has a clear end goal. Their goal is to purchase a product/service and they derive hardly any satisfaction from the activity of shopping itself (van Rompay et al.,
2012). Moreover, such shoppers often have a certain script in mind of how their visit will advance. In contrast, hedonistic shoppers do not have a specific outcome in mind when visiting a store and thus have no specific script about how their shopping trip will play out. Instead, their motivation lies in the enjoyment of shopping and they are not necessarily focused on the outcome (i.e. purchase of a product) (van Rompay et al., 2012).
The motivation a person holds to visit a store can influence how they perceive environmental cues. Utilitarian shoppers are not interested in nonfunctional aspects of their retail environment, and therefore may experience high arousal environment as unpleasant, thus paying less attention to factors such as imagery and texts (Kaltcheva & Weitz, 2006; van Rompay et al., 2012). In contrast, for hedonistic shoppers high arousal environments might add more elements of fun to their experience by stimulating their senses, causing them to be more aware of imagery and texts (Kaltcheva & Weitz, 2006; van Rompay et al., 2012). This means that if an individual entered a store while having a hedonistic shopping motive, they are more likely to notice the textual mastery or performance cues in the store environment. In such cases we would thus not expect the relationship between textual cues and motivational outcomes to be stronger. Therefore I propose that the effect of textual cue type on motivational outcomes vary on whether the individual has a utilitarian or hedonistic shopping motive. Thus, I formulate the following hypotheses:
H1b: Intrinsic motivation is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present,
and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).
H2b: Intention to engage in physical activity is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present, and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).
H3b: Positive affect towards physical activity is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present, and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).
H4b: Purchase intention is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present, and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian). H5b: Willingness to spend is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present, and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).
3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter will give an overview of the relationships and effects between the concepts that have previously been introduced. First, the research gap and main question of this thesis will be described. Finally, an overview of my hypotheses is given.
3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION
Although the motivational effects of a retail environment on company measures such as purchase intention have been thoroughly examined (Bagdare, 2013; Turley & Milliman, 2000), to this day, there has been no research into the possible motivational effects of store environmental elements on other store relevant behaviour. However, when turning to other research fields, such as Motivational Psychology, these effects do seem possible. Achievement Goal Theory proposes that one can promote a specific performance climate by enhancing achievement cues in an individual’s environment (Ames, 1992; Nicholls, 1984). If this is possible within a sport team and school context, this should also be possible in a retail context. Interestingly, this has not been applied to such a context yet. If one researches these effects in a retail context one must take shopping motives into account as well, as these can influence the extent to which an individual processes environmental cues in a store
This thesis aims to add knowledge about the way environmental cues can influence motivation towards store relevant behaviour, and the extent to which the concept of motivational climate is applicable in a retail context, by researching the following question:
‘How do in-store textual ‘mastery’ vs. ‘performance’ cues influence consumers’ motivation towards physical activity behaviour, and to what extent does a hedonistic vs. utilitarian shopping motive influence this relationship.’
3.2 CONCEPTUAL MODEL
The conceptual model gives a visual representation of the concepts and relationships relevant for this thesis.
Figure 1: Conceptual model SHOPPING MOTIVE Utilitarian Hedonistic TEXTUAL CUES Mastery Performance PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OTHER Intrinsic motivation Intent Attitude Purchase Intention Willingness to pay H1b, H2b, H3b, H4b, H5b H1, H2, H3, H4, H5
3.2.1 EXPLANATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE MODEL
The model illustrates that textual cues are expected to have a direct effect on several motivational outcomes in regards to physical activity behaviour. A direct effect of these cues on intrinsic motivation, intent, and attitude towards physical activity is proposed. Such direct effects between mastery and performance achievement cues and motivation is evident in many researches (E.g. Ames, 1992; Biddle et al., 2003; Hulleman & Senko, 2010; Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009; Roberts et al., 2007; Spray et al., 2006).
The model also shows a direct effect of the presence of textual cues on two company measures: purchase intention and willingness to spend. Research has consistently found a link between the perceptions of a pleasant environment on behavioural outcomes such as purchase intention (Bagdare, 2013; Turley & Milliman, 2000). Moreover, motivational climate research showed that mastery climates lead to more positive affect, and mastery climates could therefore be considered more pleasant (Escarti & Gutierrez, 2001; Ntoumanis & Duda, 2009).
Finally, research indicated a moderating influence of the shopping motive an individual holds on the relationship between environmental cues and behavioural outcomes (Kaltcheva & Weitz, 2006; van Rompay et al., 2012). This moderating influence is due to the fact that individuals are more or less likely to process environmental cues, depending on whether they have a utilitarian motivation or hedonistic motivate to shop.
In this thesis I combine elements of retail research with research findings on motivational climates and AGT. I propose that motivational climates can be promoted through a retail environment by manipulating in-store communication, and thus affect motivational outcomes and important company measures. This relationship is hypothesized to be moderated by an individual’s shopping motive, as this affects an individual’s likeness to process environmental cues.
3.3 OVERVIEW OF THE HYPOTHESES
H1 ‘Intrinsic motivation is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present.’ H1b ‘Intrinsic motivation is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present,
and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive.’
H2 ‘Intention to engage in physical activity is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present.’
H2b ‘Intention to engage in physical activity is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present, and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).
H3 ‘Positive affect towards physical activity is higher when mastery (vs. performance cues) cues are present.’
H3b ‘Positive affect towards physical activity is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present, and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).’
H4 ‘Purchase intention is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present.’ H4b ‘Purchase intention is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present,
and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).’
H5 ‘Willingness to pay is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present.’ H5b ‘Willingness to pay is higher when mastery cues (vs. performance cues) are present,
and this effect is stronger if the consumer has a hedonistic shopping motive (vs. utilitarian).’
4. METHODOLOGY
In this chapter I will first elaborate on the chosen research approach, strategy and design. Then the construction of the dependent and independent variables are discussed. Finally, the sampling method and data collection is elaborated on.
4.1 RESEARCH APPROACH
For this study I adopt the positivistic view as I find this the most appropriate for the research at hand. This philosophy views the researcher as objective and holds that data collection is highly structured and often quantitative in order to enable reproduction, as is currently the case (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009). This research will use a deductive approach: it starts with a theoretical framework (see Chapter 2), from which hypotheses are formulated. The goal of the research then, is to test these hypotheses by use of quantitative data. Moreover, the aim of the current research is explanatory in nature; as I attempt to identify the extent and nature of relationships exist between variables.
4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
In order to research the proposed relationships between the variables in the conceptual model, I use an experimental approach. Within experimental approaches one deliberately manipulates aspects of the environment to observe it’s effects. Experiments have a high internal validity and are thus advantageous in determining causal effects (Saunders et al., 2009). In this study, I will deliberately manipulate the environment to contain either textual mastery or performance cues to determine the effect this has on several motivational outcomes. The study is cross-sectional, meaning it analyses data collected at a specific point in time. A longitudinal study is not possible due to the limited timeframe of an MSc Thesis.
practice and fatigue (Field & Hole, 2002). As such there is less possibility for performance in one condition to affect performance in another (Field & Hole, 2002).
Furthermore, the experiment will be conducted through a self-administered online survey. Using a survey allows for more controlled manipulation of the conditions (Field & Hole, 2002). Also, it reduces observer bias as the questions will always be presented in the same way to all respondents (Saunders et al., 2009). In the survey respondents are presented with vignettes, which can be seen as simulations of real events (Dennis et al., 2012). This also allows for more precise control of the experimental variables.
The items used in this study will be based on previously designed and validated measures. When measurements are adjusted to fit the current research context, analyses will be conducted to assess reliability and validity.
4.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
There are no guidelines as to which cues in retail environments lead to a higher perception of mastery and performance climates. It is thus of importance to conduct a pre-test in order to select the textual cues and retail photos to make sure these are an appropriate indicator for the constructs.
This pre-test will be conducted with a within-subject repeated measures design, entailing that every respondent will be exposed to all the conditions. Such a design is more sensitive than a between group design in detecting effects of experimental manipulations (Field & Hole, 2002). Moreover, as nine conditions are being tested, using a between-subject design would require exponentially more respondents. Therefore, the current design reduces the amount of participants needed. The photo conditions and text conditions were randomized, so that viewing order varied between respondents in order to reduce order effects. The selection of the used manipulations will be expanded on in the next few sections.
4.2.1 PHOTO SELECTION
In order to simulate a retail environment in the online survey, photos of the interior of activewear retail stores are used. The photos act as a vessel to represent a retail environment in which the textual cues are manipulated. Therefore, they should be as neutral as possible, which entails that they have as little propensity as possible to be either viewed as either a mastery or performance climate. This way effects are more likely to be due to the manipulation, rather than other observed factors.
Criteria were formulated for the selection of the pictures. First, the photos must contain enough room for texts to be placed in such a way that it’s noticeable by a viewer. For example, and open wall or pillar. Secondly, the products on the photo must be usable by both men and women. Thirdly, the pictures should not be taken within the country the biggest group of respondents are most likely to come from, the US and the Netherlands. As no previous research has attempted to link environmental elements in-store to mastery and performance climates, it is not clear whether elements other than the texts could also be perceived as mastery or performance inducing. Therefore, the pictures varied on the presence of clothing, shoes, or both, and the presence of mannequins and their positions. Moreover, no visual advertisements are present, as these could be perceived as performance or mastery cues. As a result of the above criteria, three pictures were selected from stores located in Hong Kong and bought from Shutterstock.com for $59. Finally, all brand indicators on the photos were removed to prevent bias due to brand attitudes and experiences. For an overview of the pictures please consult Appendix A.
4.2.2 TEXTUAL CUE SELECTION
For the purpose of this experiment, textual mastery cues are defined as cues containing skill comparison to oneself (self-referential evaluation) and cues signalling skill development.
display. Textual cues were constructed for each dimension in such a way that these definitions are reflected through the combination of words.
The cues were created in pairs, performance-mastery. Within these pairs the aim was to vary the sentences as little as possible, but just enough to communicate the specific achievement goal. The word counts of the pairs were kept equal. Also, the cues were kept as short as possible, to reduce the chance respondents misinterpret or don’t understand the texts. Furthermore, I aimed to communicate the same level of accomplishment. This entails that it would not be appropriate to compare the performance cue ‘be the best’ to the mastery cue ‘ improve your skills’, as they imply different levels of accomplishment. Instead sentences such as ‘beat your competition’ vs. ‘beat your records’ are used. Finally, textual cues from real-life activewear stores were used as inspiration in order to stay as close to reality as possible. Three sets of textual cues were constructed (see Table 1).
In regards to textual cues the goal of the pre-test is to detect whether the cues are perceived as either mastery or performance focused, and to detect which cues scores the highest on each dimension. Additionally, I aim for the highest variance between performance-mastery pairs.
Table 1: Textual cues pre-test
Performance cues Mastery cues
1. Beat your competition 2. Beat your records
3. Push yourself to be the best 4. Push your skills to the maximum 5. It’s you vs. them, get it done 6. It’s you vs. yourself, get it done
4.2.3 PRE-TEST & MANIPULATION DESIGN
To measure the extent to which the photos and texts are considered to be performance or mastery focused the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire was used (Walling, Duda, & Chi, 1993). Even though this questionnaire is aimed at practical situations
within a sport team context, some questions can be used for the case at hand. Six items were selected, three for the performance, and three for the mastery dimension, e.g. ‘To what extent does this picture indicate that doing better then others is important’ (see Appendix A). The questions were slightly adapted to fit the current context and measured on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 7 = ‘strongly agree’.
Both scales have a Cronbach's Alpha above the commonly accepted threshold of 0.7 (Field, 2013) and are thus deemed reliable with α = .806 for the 3 item mastery scale, and α = .852 for the 3 item performance scale. Principal axis factoring analysis (PAF) was conducted on the scales to assess internal validity. In this case oblique rotation is used to allow for correlation between factors as it can be assumed the factors correlate. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure verified the sampling adequacy, KMO =.701. Bartlett’s test of sphericity indicates that correlations between items are sufficiently large for PAF, χ2 (15) = 2558.965, p <.001. Two components have eigenvalues above Kaiser’s criterion of 1 (Field, 2013). Together, these explained 66.16% of the variance. Table 2 shows the factor loadings after rotation. Items clustering on the same factor suggest that factor 1 represents performance climate, and factor 2 mastery climate. Results show no high cross loadings. Therefore the scales as proposed were used.
Table 2: PAF of mastery and performance items Loadings
Variable Factor 1 Factor 2
Mastery1 .881 Mastery2 .767 Mastery3 .664 Performance1 .899 Performance2 .876 Performance3 .685 Eigenvalue 2.42 2.19 % of variance 35.35 30.81
Note: Extraction method: Principal Axis Factoring Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization
The pre-test was distributed by the use of convenience sampling techniques. Firstly, it was spread through Facebook and e-mail. Secondly, it was distributed through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) where $0.10 was paid per response. Sampling through MTurk will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.7. The survey was fully completed by 123 respondents (N=123). Removal of incomplete responses resulted in a sample of 103 respondents (N=103).
Even though viewing order was randomized within photos and texts, four one-way ANNOVA analyses were run to control for the presence of order effects. For both photos and texts a variable, ‘RandomOrder’, was created, which contained the viewing position (e.g. 1 = viewed first), irrespective of the text/photo condition.
Firstly, two one-way ANOVAs were conducted to compare the effects of photo viewing order on the performance and mastery climate scores. Homogeneity of variances was confirmed in both cases. No significant effect was found of photo viewing order on performance climate score, F(2, 306) = .03, p =.97, and mastery climate score, F (2, 306) = 1.50, p = .51. Thus, no order effects were present for photos. Secondly, two one-way ANOVAs were conducted to compare the effect of text viewing order on the performance and mastery climate scores. Homogeneity of variances was confirmed in both cases. No significant effect was found of text viewing order on performance climate score, F(5, 612) = .26, p =.98, and mastery climate score, F(5, 612) = 1.65, p = .15. Thus, no order effects were present for texts.
Following this, two General Linear Model (GLM) repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to compare photo conditions with mastery and performance climate scores. This analysis enables comparison within-subjects, as is necessary due to the fact every subject was exposed to all conditions (Field, 2013). First, photo conditions were compared to
<.05. Since ε > .75, the Huynh-Feldt correction was applied to produce a valid F-ratio (Field, 2013). A significant effect of photo condition on performance climate score was found, F (1.861, 189.852) = 23.78, p <.001. Secondly, photo conditions were compared to mastery climate scores. Mauchly’s test indicated a violation of sphericity, χ2 (2) = 40.91 p <.001. Since ε > .75, the Huynh-Feldt correction was applied. A significant effect of photo condition on mastery climate score was found, F(1.518, 154.810) = 39.61, p <.001. For both ANOVAs post-hoc analyses with Bonferroni correction was applied. Results of the post hoc analyses are illustrated in Table 3 and 4.
Table 3: Descriptive statistics of the photo conditions
Performance Mastery
IV N M SD N M SD
Photo
1 - clothing 103 4.00 1.54 103 4.63 1.43
2 - shoes 103 3.10 1.43 103 3.70 1.53
3 - clothing & shoes 103 3.91 1.45 103 4.77 1.29
Note: Based on unstandardized and non-centralized items
Table 4: Post hoc Bonferroni comparison for photo condition
Performance Mastery
95% CI
95% CI
Photo
comparison Mean Diff SD Bound Lower Bound Mean Diff SD Upper Bound Lower Bound Upper
1 2 .90*** .16 .51 1.30 .92*** .15 .55 1.30
3 .09 .12 -.21 .39 -.14 .09 -.345 .07
2 3 -81*** .14 -1.16 -.46 -1.06*** .14 -1.40 -.72
Note:,p<.001***
Both picture 1 (M = 4.00, SD = 1.54) and picture 3 (M = 3.91, SD = 1.45) score significantly higher on performance climate compared to picture 2 (M= 3.10, SD = 1.43) (p < .001). When looking at mastery climate, results show that both picture 1 (M = 4.63, SD = 1.43) and picture 3 (M = 4.77, SD = 1.49) score significantly higher on mastery climate compared to picture 2 (M= 3.70, SD = 1.53) (p < .001). Picture 1 and 2 thus score higher on both
