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It is now widely accepted that aggressive play is an important component of team sports (Mintah, Huddleston, & Doody, 1999: Ryan, Williams, & Wimer, 1990; Silva, 1983; Stephens, 2001). Despite the lack of consensus in the definition of sport aggression, an often accepted one is behavior which occurs outside the rules of the considered activity and with the intent to harm (Tenenbaum, Stewart, Singer, & Duda, 1997). Two types of aggression have been distinguished: instrumental and hostile aggression. The former is non-emotional and more focused on the aspects of the games (for instance in handball, holding back with arm or clothes). The latter is an emotional response usually involving frustration or anger, which is an end in itself; the main objective is the resultant pain or suffering of the victim (for instance, hit or insult an opponent, Tenenbaum et al., 1997).
The socio-cognitive theory of achievement motivation (Nicholls, 1989) suggested making a distinction between the dispositional (goal orientations) and the situational variables (motivational climate). In sport context, the influence of dispositional variables on affective and cognitive components of behaviors has been well documented, particularly for studies dealing with the motivation-aggression relationships (Duda, Olson, & Templin, 1991; Dunn & Dunn, 1999; Rascle, Coulomb, & Pfister, 1998: Roberts & Ommundsen, 2000; Treasure, Carpenter, & Power, 2000). Studies previously cited have produced evidence that a high ego and/or a low task-oriented goal perspective is related to unacceptable achievement strategies such as the use of aggression. Ego-goal orientation refers to goals through which individuals want to prove their competence compared with others or with socially defined standards. Ego-oriented athletes are likely any means as feasible to achieve success by means of achieving a winning outcome (Nicholls, 1989). Task-goal orientation is concerned with demonstrating mastery at the task: this assessment is self-referenced. Duda et al. (1991) were the first to note that ego orientation was positively related to the endorsement of unsportsmanlike acts and cheating. Treasure et al. (2000) found that a high ego/moderate task orientation was positively related to aggression and financial remuneration as significant purposes of rugby. Roberts and Ommundsen (2000) revealed that when children aged between 12 and 14 years who played competitive soccer were high in task orientation, they reported less likelihood to engage in inappropriate behaviors. Similarly. Dunn and Dunn (1999) noted that task-oriented athletes were higher in reported sportpersonship.
To date and as suggested by authors (Mugno & Feltz, 1985; Savin-Williams, 1982), direct observation method has rarely been implemented in studying aggression in team sports. Without reviewing sport aggression measurements, one of the primary concerns in using self-report measures with an operational definition that includes the intentional aspect is to avoid the social desirability response set (Stephens, 1998). Furthermore, because of the inability to observe underlying intent, observed aggression measures could be based on operational definitions that exclude the intentional aspect of the aggression. In that perspective, Rascle et al. (1998) noted a positive correlation between measures of ego orientation and observed aggression; players classified as highly ego-oriented displayed more instrumental aggression than lower ego-oriented ones. All these findings are in concert with Nicholl's (1989) prediction that an high ego/low task goal orientation should correspond with a lack of concern about justice and fairness.
Even if the influence of dispositional variables on the motivation-aggression relationships in team-sports is widely accepted today, Biddle (2001) considers that "individual differences are sometimes difficult to influence directly, and it may not be cost effective to try to do so" (p. 115). For instance, Stephens and Bredemeier (1996) showed that participants' (aged 9 to 14) perceptions of their coaches' attitude in terms of ego-goal orientation were more efficient predictors than their own level of orientation towards that same type of goals as for their tendency to cheat or aggress an opponent. Nevertheless, the aim of the present study is not to determine which of dispositional or situational variables are the best predictor of the use (or perception of legitimacy) of aggression, but to examine the relationships between perceived motivational climate and observed aggression as a function of competitive level in youth male French handball.
Perceived Motivational Climate and Aggression
In the sport field, a growing body of literature exists to suggest that situational variables, particularly the motivational atmosphere created by the coach, play an important role in the constitution of athlete's perceptions of the motivational climate. As a consequence, they are relevant to the quality of athlete's motivation and the nature of their behaviors (Kavussanu & Roberts, 1996; Treasure, 1997; Walling, Duda, & Chi, 1993).
As Roberts and Treasure (1994) highlighted, "the type of task, nature of authority, rewards, organization of groups and assessment conditions are the elements constituting the structure of the achievement context" (p. 164). These elements determine an achievement motivational climate that can be mastery or performance-oriented (Ames & Ames, 1984). A mastery-oriented climate gives more value to the learning process than to its consequences. Assessment is...
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