Self-reflection as an intervention in dance to influence achievement goal orientations and intrinsic motivation

Mathews, Rachel BA, MA, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Hanrahan, Stephanie J. PhD, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; and Cerin, Ester. PhD, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China 

Students (N=139) from adult salsa classes voluntarily participated in a project (with ethical approval) to determine if using structured self-reflection influences goal orientations or intrinsic motivation. Task orientation (success is improving one?s own performance) and ego orientation (success is being better than others) were measured using the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ; Duda, 1989), adapted for salsa. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI; McAuley, Duncan, & Tammen, 1989) measured four dimensions of intrinsic motivation. The classes were divided into control and intervention groups, balanced in numbers and instructional level.  The potential impact of different learning environments was controlled by using teaching rotations, with no single teacher assigned to any one cohort.  All participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the TEOSQ and IMI. The intervention group then assessed their performances in salsa for each class over 9 weeks by completing the Salsa Self-Reflection Questionnaire (SSRQ) containing descriptions of poor and good salsa performance on 18 skills/techniques. At the end of the intervention, both groups completed the SSRQ, TEOSQ and IMI. Additionally, the intervention group completed a questionnaire evaluating the self-reflection process. The majority of intervention group participants thought that the self-reflection process changed their approach to dancing. Notably, 64.3% were interested in having self-reflection forms for other dance styles. The intervention group averaged significantly higher scores on the Salsa Performance scale of the SSRQ than the control group. The intervention had no significant effect on goal orientations. A significant group X time interaction effect was found for the effort-importance dimension of the IMI. While effort-importance remained relatively stable across time in the intervention group, it significantly decreased in the control group. The results suggest that engaging in structured self-reflection is beneficial for adult dance students. Future research should target individuals with initially low levels of task orientation or intrinsic motivation.