Week 1: Existing Research
Hello everyone! Welcome back to my senior project blog! This week, I have been doing background research and working on my survey. So, today, I am going to discuss existing research on the relationship between type of motivation and performance anxiety.
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Research suggests that intrinsic motivation may be associated with lower levels of performance anxiety. People who are intrinsically motivated might engage in an activity because they genuinely enjoy it, which might allow them to feel more relaxed and less anxious when performing.
On the contrary, research suggests that extrinsic motivation may be associated with higher levels of performance anxiety. People who are extrinsically motivated are usually driven by external rewards, such as grades and social recognition. So, the fear of failure and pressure to perform well for external validation, which can come with extrinsic motivation, can lead to increased anxiety.
Achievement Goal Theory
Achievement goal theory is a framework that explains how people are motivated to achieve goals. It can also be used to explain the connections between motivation and anxiety.
Research has shown that intrinsic motivation is associated with mastery goal orientation — a mindset that focuses on learning and improving skills through hard work. People with this mindset participate in an activity because they have a desire to learn, grow, or master a skill. So, they are too focused on learning to care about external validation. They may also view failure as a learning opportunity, which may lead to a reduced fear of failure and lower performance anxiety.
Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is associated with performance goal orientation — a mindset that focuses on comparing oneself to others and demonstrating competence. This mindset often involves a lot of competition, where people develop the need to become better than others, which can lead to increased levels of performance anxiety.
Gaps in Existing Research
While intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have been studied in general populations (e.g., athletes, students), there is limited research on how they specifically relate to performance anxiety in musicians. But the unique pressures musicians face—such as live performances and intense competition—make this an interesting and important area to explore. There is also little research on the relationship between type of motivation and performance anxiety that take demographic factors, such as age and type of training, into consideration, especially among musicians.
What’s Next?
I hope to bridge these gaps in my research. Through my own study, I hope I can discover things that can benefit both current and future performers. I can’t wait to share what I find!
Thank you so much for reading! Stay tuned for next week, where I’ll discuss the background of my survey.
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