The specificity hypothesis in physical education: Investigating differentiation of motivational regulations across activities and their links to self-concept

This study tested and extended the Specificity Hypothesis to the physical domain (i.e., in physical education), examining how motivational regulations, as depicted by Self-Determination Theory, differ across various physical activities (i.e., football, athletics, and gymnastics). Using a sample of secondary school students, we measured autonomous (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation) and controlled (positive and negative introjected and external regulation) motivations across these activities. Findings broadly supported the Specificity Hypothesis, indicating that autonomous motivations exhibit greater activity-specificity than controlled motivations. Additionally, football demonstrated the highest specificity, followed by gymnastics and athletics, offering a new research avenue for the Specificity Hypothesis. Additional analyses showed that the pattern of correlations between students’ self-concept and motivation closely aligned with the specificity pattern of motivational regulations found, with football yielding the strongest correlations, followed by gymnastics and athletics. This study contributes to recent developments related to the Specificity Hypothesis and enhances our understanding of how motivation varies across different activities, providing actionable insights for educators seeking to foster motivation in physical education. Discussion on why differences in activity-specificity for autonomous and controlled motivation occur offers various directions for further research on the development of specificity in physical education contexts.