Overcoming the Overjustification Effect

Words by Taylor Thomas

Article Originally Featured on TrainingPeaks

Coach Taylor is the Founder of TEC and a lifetime endurance athlete. For more information on coaching services, or to schedule a free orientation call with an expert coach click below. 

Motivation is a key component of any athlete’s success. It’s what pushes individuals to pursue big goals, step outside of their comfort zone, or for that matter, choose to work with a coach. Although, motivation can be a tricky thing, and where it’s derived from is important. The Overjustification Effect highlights what can happen when an athlete’s motivations aren’t balanced, and external factors begin to weigh too heavily in their decisions to continue to push forward. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and in what capacity each is represented, is important to pay attention to in order to help maintain an athlete’s longevity in endurance sports.

What is the Overjustification Effect? 

Before we can understand how to help our athletes balance their motivations, and potentially avoid any pitfalls that may come as a result of the Overjustification Effect, let’s first define what it is. The Overjustification Effect occurs when an expected external incentive, like money, awards, prizes, and acclaim from peers decreases someone’s intrinsic motivation to perform. So, why is this something that we need to be aware of? If we’ve learned anything from 2020 it’s that we’re not guaranteed anything. Races, events, and podiums can go away at any time, and all we’re left with is our internal drive to pursue our full potential. While it’s good to be competitive and thrive with the help of external motivators, they can’t be the only thing that pushes athletes to excel. The end goal should be to help athletes find the balance that works for them. Some athletes are naturally intrinsically motivated, while others may need help defining what it is about training that excites or motivates them outside of race day. It’s our job as coaches to identify habits and behaviors that may be detrimental, and then initiate the conversation around how and why balanced motivation is important for long-term growth. 

Identifying Behaviors

In order to attempt to help our athletes achieve the right balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, it’s helpful to be able to understand and identify what behaviors are most often associated with these two areas of motivation. The Association for Applied Sports Psychology defines the two areas of motivation in the following ways. Intrinsic motivation is typically exhibited when athletes participate in sport for enjoyment and satisfaction. Their focus is on things such as skills development, long-term growth, and sustainability. They find their “wins” in things that aren’t as outwardly facing, but rather realize that progress is a process that’s to be enjoyed. Athletes that are more extrinsically motivated tend to derive motivation from more social sources and/or material rewards. They focus on competitive or performance-based outcomes and are looking for short-term gratification and quantitative affirmation over other more sustainable factors. It’s more than likely that any given athlete displays aspects of both of these types of behaviors. What’s important to keep your eye on is if and when the scale begins to tip completely in one direction. If the drive to train begins to fall away outside of race season then it’s a good time to help an athlete identify their “Why”. Work together to highlight what and why they train when there’s no spotlight on them, or positive affirmation coming in the form of social media likes, peak performances, or Kudos. What’s uncovered in these conversations will be what ultimately facilitates the athlete’s ability to thrive season after season through the inevitable highs and lows of training. 

Why Does it Matter? 

So why is it important to keep an eye out for these behaviors, or initiative often tough conversations with athletes about how to navigate these different motivations? The reason is that they are behaviors and can be changed completely independent from performances or metrics. Coaches work hard to help athletes build fitness, hit new metrics, raise FTP’s, hit faster paces, etc. but the body is a complex machine, and fitness gains are not linear. A coach’s value is found over and above their ability to simply make an athlete “more fit”. These behaviors can be addressed outside of competition and may have more of an impact on an athlete’s ability to excel than FTP ever will. Behaviors, and an athlete’s mindset, are powerful tools for performance because they can be controlled, they’re not rooted in physiology, they’re independent of a race calendar, and they don’t have to align with training periodization. They can be identified and addressed at any time. Helping athletes to achieve the balance that’s best for them will strengthen their overall performance. Athletes that feel they are in control of their behaviors and are exhibiting the ones they desire are more likely to enjoy the benefits of their own actions and skills when the opportunities present themselves. Ie. race day performances and completing challenging workouts. 

Motivation is a powerful tool for performance. It plays a part in everything from getting out of bed in the morning to showing up and giving 100% during a workout. However, like most things in life, motivation needs to be balanced. The Overjustification Effect shows us that too much emphasis on extrinsic motivation can lead to a decrease in the overall motivation to perform. A coach’s role is to guide athletes in a way that sets them up for long-term success. In order to do this, they must understand where an athlete derives their motivation, what behaviors they display in relation to their performance, and how to help them navigate these things to reach their full potential.