Cultural variation in self-assessment in athletes: towards the development of culturally-grounded approach in sports psychology

Sports psychologists have assumed that, to achieve success in sports, all athletes must motivate themselves by viewing themselves positively (self-enhancement) and objectively analyzing their weaknesses to improve their performance (self-improvement). However, cross-cultural psychologists revealed that the type of motivation varies based on culture. North Americans tend to view themselves positively, whereas East Asians are likely to see themselves objectively. If these cultural variations are applicable to athletes, exploring how culture influences motivation in athletes will help create culturally fit interventions in sports. As such, the current studies examined cultural variations in motivation by selectively focusing on motivation in athletes participating in team and open-skills sports. Overall, the results revealed cultural variations in athletes' motivation regarding their attention to positive and negative information about the self; as such, culturally fine-tuned theories for athletes are suggested.