The present study used Self-Determination Theory to study motivation for physical training (PT) in ARMY ROTC cadets (n=139). Results found that length of participation in ROTC lowered cadets’ intrinsic motivation, which then resulted in lower levels of enjoyment for PT. Application of results for future training is discussed

Frederick, Christina

Gatrost, Kyle

Rice, Stephen

Richards, Grace

Ruskin, Keith

English

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Publications 6-2021 Motivation for Physical Training in Army ROTC Cadets Christina Frederick Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, christina.frederick@erau.edu Stephen Rice Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Stephen.Rice2@erau.edu Grace Richards University of Chicago Keith Ruskin University of Chicago Kyle Gatrost Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.erau.edu/publication  Part of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, and the Military and Veterans Studies Commons Scholarly Commons Citation Frederick, C., Rice, S., Richards, G., Ruskin, K., & Gatrost, K. (2021). Motivation for Physical Training in Army ROTC Cadets. Academia Letters, (). https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1130 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact commons@erau.edu. ACADEMIA LettersMotivation for Physical Training in Army ROTC CadetsChristina Frederick, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityStephen Rice, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityGrace Richards, University of ChicagoKeith Ruskin, University of ChicagoKyle Gatrost, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityChristina Frederick, Department of Human Factors, Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversityAbstractThe present study used Self-Determination Theory to study motivation for physicaltraining (PT) in ARMY ROTC cadets (n=139). Results found that length of participationin ROTC lowered cadets’ intrinsic motivation, which then resulted in lower levels ofenjoyment for PT. Application of results for future training is discussed.Keywords: intrinsic motivation, ARMY ROTC, self-determination theoryDeclarationsFunding: No external funding was obtained to support this research.Conflicts of interest/Competing interests: There are no conflicts of interest or competinginterests for any of the study’s authors.Ethics approval: This study was approved by the IRB at Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversity, #19-007Consent to participate: A consent form was completed by all participants, as required andapproved by the IRB project #19-007Academia Letters, June 2021Corresponding Author: Christina Frederick, frederic@erau.eduCitation: Frederick, C., Rice, S., Richards, G., Ruskin, K., Gatrost, K., , , Frederick, C. (2021). Motivation forPhysical Training in Army ROTC Cadets. Academia Letters, Article 1130.https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1130.1©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0Consent to Publish: All authors provided consent for publication. This work has not beenpublished elsewhere in part or whole.Availability of data and material: Data and materials are available upon request from thefirst author.IntroductionThe Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a college-based program that provides un-dergraduate education, physical and leadership training to cadets across all branches of themilitary. The Army ROTC program provides various levels of financial support for collegeto its participants (goarmy.com, 2021b) in return for service after graduation. The ARMYROTC program is the largest of the programs (goarmy.com, 2021a) and provides over 40% ofits commissioned officers. More than 20,000 men and women are currently enrolled in ArmyROTC programs at 273 institutions, and 20% of ROTC cadets are women.While in ROTC, students participate in regular college coursework, Army ROTC-requiredcoursework and leadership training, and engage in required physical training (PT). Cadets arerequired to pass the Army ROTC fitness test in their freshman year of college, and to maintainfitness and weight throughout their ROTC career (Army Regulation 600-9, 2013). The PTcomponent of ROTC is important in building a healthy and fit corps, and requires as muchdedication and commitment as coursework. PT includes 3 times a week mandatory groupsessions focusing on cardio and strength training. These sessions last 1.5-2 hours, and occurin the early morning hours in order to lessen conflicts with classes.Although the PT program is a key component of ROTC participation, it has been infre-quently studied, and little is known about cadet motivation for PT. Fischer (2015) examineda small group of ARMY cadets, assessing their motivation across a five-month period. Sheconcluded that cadet motivation included both task focused and ego-involved functioning asa means to improve performance. In earlier work, Fischer (2014) focused on Army ROTC PTtraining as an effective means to enhance the dimensions of resiliency and selfless service,both of which are desirable in Army service.The present study uses Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to examine motivation in ArmyROTC cadets. SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2000) defines extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation and dis-cussed antecedents and results of individuals acting in these two motivational states. Specifi-cally, higher levels of intrinsic motivation lead to greater engagement, enjoyment and vitality,while extrinsic motivational states tend to discourage long term participation and enjoyment(Ryan & Deci, 2017). The present study tests a model that examines how the length of ROTCparticipation influences intrinsic motivation and perceived enjoyment of ROTC PT training.Academia Letters, June 2021Corresponding Author: Christina Frederick, frederic@erau.eduCitation: Frederick, C., Rice, S., Richards, G., Ruskin, K., Gatrost, K., , , Frederick, C. (2021). Motivation forPhysical Training in Army ROTC Cadets. Academia Letters, Article 1130.https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1130.2©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0It is predicted that due to the highly structured and required aspects of PT training that overtime cadets may experience a decrease in intrinsic motivation, which then results in a lowerlevel of enjoyment.MethodParticipants in the study were 161 Army ROTC cadets participating in a program at a Univer-sity in the southeastern United States. Thirty cadets were female and 131 male with a meanage of 19.68 years. The cadets completed a survey packet at the end of a PT session, contain-ing information about age, gender and years of ROTC participation. Intrinsic motivation wasmeasured using the Self-Regulation Scale for Physical Activity, a valid and reliable assess-ment of motivational style (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Enjoyment was measured using the ENJOYScale, a multi-dimensional measure of enjoyment resulting from engagement in an activity(Davidson, 2018).ResultsA bivariate correlation matrix was conducted to determine possible variables for mediation.This analysis resulted in using Length of Service as the independent variable and the En-joyment scale as the dependent variable, with Intrinsic Motivation as the mediating variable.Length of Service correlated negatively with Enjoyment (r = -.19) and Intrinsic Motivation (r= -.32), while Intrinsic Motivation correlated positively with Enjoyment (r = .50).Mediation Analysis. The standardized regression coefficient between Length and Enjoy-ment was statistically significant, as was the relationship between Intrinsic and Enjoyment.The significance of this indirect effect was tested using bootstrapping procedures (Hayes,2013) with 10,000 bootstrapped samples. The bootstrapped 95% confidence interval rangedfrom -.078 to -.018. Thus, the indirect effect was statistically significant and there was medi-ation for Intrinsic Motivation. There was no mediation for Identified.DiscussionPT is a critical component of the ROTC training experience. Identifying potential motiva-tors for PT may help to improve the experience for participants, while making the programmore effective. The purpose of the current study was to determine variables that mediate therelationship between length of service in ROTC and their enjoyment of PT.Academia Letters, June 2021Corresponding Author: Christina Frederick, frederic@erau.eduCitation: Frederick, C., Rice, S., Richards, G., Ruskin, K., Gatrost, K., , , Frederick, C. (2021). Motivation forPhysical Training in Army ROTC Cadets. Academia Letters, Article 1130.https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1130.3©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0We found that Length of Service correlated negatively with Enjoyment in PT. This rela-tionship was mediated by Intrinsic Motivation, which correlated negatively with Length ofService, but positively with Enjoyment. These data support the hypothesis that the longerROTC cadets are in the service, the less they enjoy PT. The mediational causal model showsthat this effect is caused by lowered Intrinsic Motivation over time. Thus, the longer they arein the program, the lower their intrinsic motivation, which in turns causes less enjoyment inPT.These findings show that Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2000) canbe successfully used to examine motivation in Army ROTC cadets. The military should beaware that their ROTC cadets are losing intrinsic motivation over time, which is decreasingtheir enjoyment of PT. Intrinsic motivation and enjoyment have both been shown to relate tolong term adherence in activities, such as exercise. (Ryan & Deci, 2000, Ryan et al., 1998).So, while enjoyment may not be a primary goal of PT, decreases in it would not bode well forfitness activity adherence in the long term. Further research should consider ways to addressthis problem.ReferencesDavidson, S. (2018). A Multi-dimensional model of enjoyment: Development and validationof an enjoyment scale (ENJOY). Retrieved from: https://commons.erau.edu/edt/381/ onMay 24, 2021.Fischer, M.V. (2015). Motivational climate in United States Army Reserve Officer TrainingCorps physical training: Implications for leadership development, retention, and interven-tion. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 1595-1602.Fischer, M.V. (2014). Resiliency and selfless service development in Army ROTC physicaltraining: A qualitative investigation. LSU Digital Commons. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/122/, on May 24, 2021.Goarmy.com (2021a). Legacy and value. Retrieved from: https://www.goarmy.com/rotc/legacy-and-value.html, on May 24, 2021.Goarmy.com (2021b). Army ROTC program. Retrieved from: https://www.goarmy.com/rotc/courses-and-colleges/curriculum.html, on May 24, 2021.Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analy-sis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.Academia Letters, June 2021Corresponding Author: Christina Frederick, frederic@erau.eduCitation: Frederick, C., Rice, S., Richards, G., Ruskin, K., Gatrost, K., , , Frederick, C. (2021). Motivation forPhysical Training in Army ROTC Cadets. Academia Letters, Article 1130.https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1130.4©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L.(2017). Self-determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs inMotivation, Development, and Wellness. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsicmotivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.Ryan, R.M., Frederick, C.M., Lepes, D., Rubio, N & Sheldon, K. (1998). Intrinsic motivationand exercise adherence. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 28, 335-354.U.S. Army (2013). Army Regulation 600-9, The Army Body Composition Program.Academia Letters, June 2021Corresponding Author: Christina Frederick, frederic@erau.eduCitation: Frederick, C., Rice, S., Richards, G., Ruskin, K., Gatrost, K., , , Frederick, C. (2021). Motivation forPhysical Training in Army ROTC Cadets. Academia Letters, Article 1130.https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1130.5©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Motivation for Physical Training in Army ROTC Cadets

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