The Influence of Climate on Flourishing and Motivational Outcomes for U.S. Masters Swimmers.

The climate in which older adults exercise and participate in sport may play a role in promoting a lifetime commitment to exercising. However, little research has examined the relationship of caring (C) and task-involving (TI) climates, motivation, and well-being with respect to older adult athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Masters swimmers' perceptions of the climate, effort, enjoyment, and flourishing as well as explore the mediating effects of effort and enjoyment on the relationship between climate and flourishing. U.S. Masters swimmers (n = 294; Mage = 63.57 years; 84.40% White) with 1-80 years of swimming experience (M = 34.54 years) participating in coach-led programs completed an online survey. The results of latent variable, multiple-mediator analyses via structural equation modeling revealed two important contributions to the literature: (1) when Masters swimmers perceived that they were in C and TI climates, they were more likely to report higher levels of effort and greater enjoyment and flourishing; (2) the Masters swimmers' effort levels directly influenced their flourishing, mediating the relationship between climates and flourishing. This research has important implications for practice and policy, as U.S. Masters Swimming appears to be a fruitful avenue for promoting an enjoyable physical activity that can be experienced throughout a lifetime.

The Influence of Instructor Behaviors and the Perceived Motivational Climate on Undergraduate Students' Experiences in College STEM Laboratories.

Biology laboratory instructors play a key role in creating an optimal environment where college students try hard and enjoy their classroom experiences. This study used achievement goal perspective theory to examine the influence of instructor behaviors on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students' perceptions of the motivational climate (caring, task, ego) and their adaptive (i.e., effort, enjoyment, performance self-esteem, and social self-esteem) and maladaptive (i.e., shame) experiences in the biology laboratory setting. Students (N = 563; women, 65%; men, 35%) enrolled in biology laboratory courses voluntarily completed a survey during the final week of the semester. Results of two structural equation modeling analyses across gender and racial identities made two important contributions to the STEM higher education literature: 1) when instructors engaged in effective teaching behaviors, students were more likely to perceive a caring/task-involving climate and, in turn, report adaptive motivational responses (i.e., increased effort, enjoyment, self-esteem; decreased shame); and 2) neither gender nor race moderated the measurement of the latent parameters. This research has important pedagogical implications, as teaching assistants could be trained to engage in these effective behaviors to optimize students' STEM learning experiences.