A comparative analysis of the motivations for avoiding failure among gifted female boxers with masculine and androgynous traits

Problem and objective. This article reveals the links connecting individual features of the motivations for avoiding failure among female boxers with masculine and androgynous psychological gender to motivational elements in the personality of sportswomen. A group of female boxers are characterised according to their psychological gender. An analysis of pedagogical theory and practice has led to the conclusion that aspects of motivation in sport relating to gender have clearly been studied insufficiently, although there have been repeated attempts to identify the specifics of sports motivation among sportsmen of different genders. The objective of the article is to reveal the features of motivation to avoid failure among gifted female boxers with masculine and androgynous traits. The research methodology consists in the analysis and summary of research work dedicated to the problem of sports motivation and in empirical research methods. Results. It is revealed that the extent to which sportswomen with androgynous traits and with masculine traits display motivation to avoid failure is different. A low level of motivation to avoid failure is present in 100 % of a group of sportswomen with masculine traits, whereas this figure stands at 34 % for sportswomen with androgynous traits. Among the group of sportswomen with the traits of an androgynous psychological gender, the largest category comprises those with a medium level of motivation to avoid failure (57 %). A high level of motivation to avoid failure is observed in a third group of androgynous sportswomen, the smallest group at just 7 %. Conclusion. Since motivation to avoid failure is considered to be a personality factor, it is necessary to examine it taking into account such individual personality traits as psychological gender. Research into the individual and typological traits of female boxers leads to questions demanding psychological, theoretical and empirical investigations. In particular, there is no data regarding the relative levels of motivation to strive towards success and motivation to avoid failure, or on the manifestation of motivation at various stages of a sporting career taking into account psychological gender.