Motivation for Participation in Campus Recreation Based on Activity Type

Abstract

In this study, we examined differences in leisure motivation on the basis of the type of campus recreational activity in which a student was engaged. Specifically, campus recreational activities included aquatics, group fitness, intramural sports, informal sports, and informal fitness. The Leisure Motivation Scale (Beard and Ragheb, 1983) was completed by subjects after they engaged in a campus recreation activity. A 95% confidence level was established a priori, but a Bonferroni adjustment resulted in α ≤ .0015. Results from an analysis of variance indicated differences between activity type. Subjects engaged in informal sports were less motivated by competency/mastery factors than those engaged in other campus recreation activities. In addition, stimulus avoidance was a less predominant motivator in subjects participating in intramural sports than in those involved in other types of programs. These results suggest that students engaged in different activities are motivated by different factors and have implications for campus recreation programmers and marketers as they design programs.

“It Made Me Want to be that Spark”: A Case Study of the Experiences of College Student Group Exercise Instructors

“…The LMS was developed by Beard and Ragheb (1983) and organizes participant motivation into the following four categories: intellectual, social, competency/mastery, and stimulus avoidance. Beggs et al (2014) found that competency/mastery factors were the strongest motivators for participants in all activity areas. Their findings support literature from Kanters and Forrester (1997), and Beggs and Elkins (2010) that demonstrates campus recreation participation may be driven by a desire for competition and achievement.…”

“…Research has indicated that socialization is an important motivator for college students participating in campus recreation activities (Artinger et al, 2006;Beggs and Elkins, 2010). Beggs, Nicholson, Elkins, and Dunleavy (2014) found that beyond personal mastery, socialization was the next highest motivator for a group of 300 campus recreation students that they surveyed. These findings supported the notion that campus recreation centers have value beyond a place to exercise on college campuses.…”

A look at the bright side of dance: Analysis of the relationship between dance experience, experience quality, satisfaction and word of mouth

“…Avoiding stimulus evaluates motivation to participate in leisure activities to avoid daily activities. Avoiding social contact is related to recreational activities to relax and rest [11]. In the relevant literature there are various studies investigating motivation to participate in recreational activity.…”

Motivational Differences of Swimming Participants in the Campus Environment

“…These studies have stressed the importance of moving away from simple investigations of exercise-based activities for noncollegiate athletes and athletic motivations of varsity sport participants, and toward more inclusive research of sport at all levels (Kilpatrick, Herbert, & Bartholomew, 2005). Within the campus recreational sport environment in particular, motivation has been investigated in reference to the holistic health benefits of such participation (Artinger et al, 2006), utilizing a variety of theoretical frameworks (Cooper, Schuett, & Phillips, 2012), and investigating differences in motivation for different activity types (Beggs, Nicholson, Elkins, & Dunleavy, 2014). All of these studies have built upon the previous knowledge of sport participant motivation within the campus environment, and this study seeks to build upon that foundation through the specific measurement of motivations of swimming participants in this environment.…”