The Impact the Task vs. Ego Mindset Has on an Athlete’s Effort
The task vs. ego mindset is a mindset orientation that some very smart psychologist identified in the 1980s (Ames-1984, Dweck-1986, and Nicholls-1989). The core idea of these mindsets is that an athlete has the tendency to approach goals with two perspectives:
- Task Mindset: Focus is on things one has control over. In addition, goal motivation comes from personal improvement and learning.
- Ego Mindset: Focus is on comparing oneself to others. In addition, goal motivation comes from outperforming others and the outcome of events.
Although most athletes have some combination of both mindsets, one tends to dominate over the other. Moreover, this tendency then impacts the amount of effort an athlete is willing to give.
Those athletes who have a dominant task mindset gain the most motivation from competing with themselves. It doesn’t matter if they will get recognition, win a prize, or score more points than an opponent as long as they make progress, learn, or achieve a personal best. Therefore, task mindset athletes tend to give maximum effort more often and more consistently since they can control the terms of progress, learning, and personal records.
On the other hand, those with an ego mindset get their motivation from outcomes. So, once the outcome they want is out of their reach, they have less motivation to continue to give their maximum effort. Thus, ego mindset athletes allow external factors to dictate their effort and as a result effort is inconsistent and situational.