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Performance and a Belief of Free Will
What is the relationship between athletic performance and an athlete's belief of free will?
Does a greater belief in one's ability to control their own behaviour and define their own outcomes influence what they can achieve?
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How does a coach placing greater responsibility on the athlete for their own performance influence the athlete's attitude and motivation?
The presence or absence of free will has been a critical point of contention in psychological, biological, sociological and theological studies for hundreds of years. On the extreme sides of the debate, there are those who believe in complete free will, arguing that every action we take is the result of a series of choices that an individual makes (Libet, 1999). Conversely, others argue in support of a deterministic view where all actions taken are the unavoidable result of previous causes (Klein, 1990). An important component in this discussion is the understanding of whether there is any value for an individual to believe in free will. If one views all of their actions as the unavoidable consequences of past events, does that negate personal responsibility and make an individual less likely to engage in conscious decision making? Understanding the benefits of the belief of self-determinism is important in explaining why it is a commonly held view that we have unimpeded choices over our own actions and what advantages that affords. This article will analyse published works on the topic to contend that the belief of free will is important in assisting people to engage in conscious thought to allow for greater regulation of their behaviour. This provides benefits in the improved physical performance, higher feelings of self-worth and increased pro-social behaviour.
There have been numerous studies that have demonstrated that altering the level of personal responsibility that a person believes to have will alter the way that person actually behaves. In a study by Henderlong and Lepper (2002), it was suggested that children would improve their performance in tasks after receiving sincere praise for their competency or effort in previous attempts. In contrast, children who would receive feedback suggesting that they succeeded exclusively as a result of external factors such as the performance of others or the ease of the test would fail to improve their performance in subsequent tests. It is believed that this phenomenon occurs as a result of undermining the child’s intrinsic motivation and perseverance by removing the feeling of control that the child has on the outcome of the test. Therefore when the child encounters a similar test or challenge in the future, they may be less likely to be motivated or persevere with the challenge as they believe their success or failure is out of their control, determined by external factors.
Mueller and Dweck (1998) observed a similar outcome in a study where children who were praised for their hard work performed greater and reported higher levels of enjoyment in difficult tasks compared to children who were told their success was only a result of their natural abilities outside of their control. This study demonstrates how attributing responsibility to children in how they perform in a test can influence their future motivation in a similar task. For coaches, it is important to consider this effect when offering praise to their athletes after a good performance. By reinforcing the qualities that allowed athletes to achieve success such as their determination and hard work you can atrribute the success of the athlete to factors within their control and support their ongoing motivation to compete and perform at a high level.
In the context of the debate between free will and determinism, if by attributing greater responsibility to an individual we are able to improve their performance or behaviours, advocating a worldview that suggests we have no responsibility for our actions and no mechanism to alter our behaviour may lead to individuals losing their intrinsic motivation for improvement (Vobs & Schooler, 2008). This shows how believing in the responsibility for one’s own actions can improve the motivation and performance of individuals compared with those who believe they are unable to control their outcomes.
Belief of free will has also been shown to be strongly correlated with higher levels of performance in adults. University students and full time employees self-report significantly higher levels of satisfaction and are rated as better employees by direct supervisors over a range of metrics relevant for sport, including effort and consistency (Stillman et al., 2010). It is believed that this is caused by greater executive function in those who believe in free will compared to those who do not, suggesting that belief of free will alone has the ability to improve the nature of our internal mental processes. This study also demonstrated that the belief or rejection of free will was a better indicator of an individual’s career success in a range of fields, including sport, than their conscientiousness, which has traditionally been used as the best predictor of job performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1992). This demonstrates how believing in free will can improve one’s ability to complete tasks and lead to greater satisfaction in a wide range of activities in their life.
Belief of Free Will and Social Interaction
The way an individual interacts with others has also been demonstrated to be influenced by their views on free will. In a study conducted by Baumeister, Masicampo, and DeWall (2009), people who believed in free will were more likely to offer assistance and less likely to act aggressively towards others. Furthermore, those who showed strong disbelief in free will showed a greater reluctance to help others compared to those who were classified as sceptical of free will, suggesting that there may be a linear relationship between free will belief and helpfulness (Baumeister et al., 2009). Those who believe in free will are also significantly more likely to be described as a positive social influence by colleagues in a workplace compared to those who show no belief in free will (Stillman et al., 2010). This demonstrates that belief in free will may assist in establishing positive social interactions within a community. For coaches, this information supports giving athletes a sense of responsibility to assist the development of a supportive and helpful squad environment.
These findings also provide evidence that conflict with the view that differences in behaviour between those who believe in free will and those who do not, can be uniquely explained by a lack of action from those who believe strongly in determinism (Dewall et al., 2007; Nahmias et al., 2005). The aggressive behaviour in Baumeister (2008) study required additional effort to carry out and is therefore suggestive that determinism may correlate with a feeling of lower worth for the wellbeing towards others. This shows how belief of free will can facilitate team interaction, and may serve as an important component of building an effective team of individuals who are able to support each other.
Belief of Free Will and Sporting Performance
Although the effects of the belief of free will has been well studied in an academic setting, there have been fewer studies that have looked at the effects specifically in the sporting environment. Yu. Gou and Xu (2008) assessed the role of free will in semiprofessional athletes and supported a balance between free will and rationality. They argued that the athlete must have a belief in their own ability to influence their behaviors and that free will is a requirement for 'sporting will.' However, they consider rationality an equally important trait for successful sports people. Rationality can assist athletes create realistic goals and cope emotionally with defeats and other setbacks. The lesson from their study for coaches is to encourage your athletes to take responsibility for their own training, performances and ambitions, but to also help them understand that in competitions not everything will be in their control. It is therefore up to the athlete to take control of elements they are able to control (their own preparation and performance) but also accept results are influenced by external factors.
