Comparative Analysis on the Motivation for Dancing of Male and
Female Students
Regina Adriano Baligad and Jonar Tumali Martin
Physical Education Department, College of Education, Angeles University Foundation, Mc Arthur Hi-way, Angeles City,
Philippines
Keywords: Motives, dance, incentive theory, physical education.
Abstract: It has been noted in recent research that motivation plays an important role in leisure activities such as
dance. Currently, there are a significantly smaller number of boys in the dance world than girls and there are
several aspects to dance that could contribute to boys’ and girls’ motivation to continue striving in the dance
world. The purpose of this study is to analyse the motives of male and female students towards dancing.
This descriptive research was participated by 261 (male=130, female 131; mean age=15.86) grade 10
students from 3 major public schools in Angeles City who answered the Motives for Dance Questionnaire.
Result found out that emotional factor was the primary reason for dancing while social factor was the least.
Females are more physically, emotionally, and artistically motivated. They are also more intrinsically and
extrinsically motivated to dance compared to male respondents. Data showed that there was no significant
difference in most of the motivational factors except for emotional factor. The result of the study may be
used as basis for dance teachers in the promotion of dance participation among the youth.
1 INTRODUCTION
In 2012, the Department of Education (DepEd) of
the Republic of the Philippines implemented the K
to 12 Basic Education Program. The physical
education curriculum, which includes ‘Rhythms and
Dance’, is based on the principle “Move to Learn,
Learn to Move” with the main objective of
achieving lifelong fitness (DepEd, 2012). In line
with this, the dance curriculum was designed with
the following content: creative movements, dance
improvisation, dance composition, and dance fusion
(DepEd, 2013).
Alongside the content included in the dance
curriculum, learners are expected to: demonstrate an
understanding of the principles regarding the
relation of the body to the mind and soul by creating
body movements for non-competitive, success-
oriented, and creative experiences; demonstrate an
understanding of improvisational approaches that
lead to composition and dance making; showcase
ideas about a local topic through movement in a two
to five-minute dance study using improvisational
tools as facilitated by the teacher; demonstrate
understanding of choreographic devices such as use
of body shapes and effort like the body in space and
design and the body in time; create an overall stage
of a 10-minute dance with music to convey a part of
the learner’s chosen story and showcase it in class;
demonstrate an understanding of creativity and
artistry in fusing two different genres such as
Philippine folk dance and popular dance by creating
a five-minute dance piece that fuses Philippine
dance with a popular, western dance form. A
showcase of dance studies will be facilitated by the
teacher (DepEd, 2013).
Motivation plays an important role in leisure
activities, including dancing. In some recent
research on professional dancing, motivation is
highly given focus. However, it is not only a
determinant in professional dancing but also in
recreational art. Motivation in leisure dancing will
help to discover the possible differential influences
of mastery against performance motivation.
According to Parks and Guay (2009), motivation is
the force that energizes an individual to induce
action and to both conscious and unconscious
decision making. On a different note, Filippou
(2015b) defines motivation as an attempt to
influence others to do their will through the
possibility of gain and rewards.
Motivation drives people to perform and achieve
things they would not normally perform. Motivation
may be intrinsic or extrinsic. Due to unnecessary
354
Baligad, R. and Martin, J.
Comparative Analysis on the Motivation for Dancing of Male and Female Students.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education (ICSSHPE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 354-358
ISBN: 978-989-758-317-9
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

extrinsic motivation the intrinsically motivated
behavior may be decreased (Criss, 2011).
Individuals can be intrinsically motivated by
showing their enjoyment in self-expression and
freedom of movement, while extrinsic motivation is
boosted by joining competitions to gain recognition.
Thus, intrinsic motivation leads to better enjoyment
and improvement of one’s dancing skills (Heath,
1999).
Motivational theories have been devised to study
how a range of factors influence an individual’s
motivation (Anselme, Davidson, P., Popa, A. M.,
Giazzon, M., Liley, M., & Ploux, L 2010). The
incentive theory of motivation refers to the expected
incentive given to an individual where in these
rewards are aligned with his preferences (Robinson,
Moeller, & Ode, 2010). Such incentives range from
intrinsic motivation which bonds to goals within to
extrinsic motivation which bonds to external
incentives (Leidl, 2009).
At present, there are a significantly smaller
number of male dancers than female. As stated by
O'Neill (2011), dance is more appealing to girls than
boys. Although dance has a lot of benefits like
strengthening of the body and mind and
enhancement of self-confidence and self-expression.
Boys are restricted to expressing their art only in
accepted male roles. Thus, dance instructors and
trainers are responsible in motivating trainees to
succeed (Leidl, 2009) with gender not a determining
factor. There is a scarce literature on the motives for
dancing between male and female. With
aforementioned factors in consideration, this study
aims to assess the motives in dancing between male
and female adolescent grade 10 students in Angeles
City.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Study Design and Participants
The researchers made use of descriptive-
comparative survey type as a design for this study. A
convenience sample of 261 (male=130, female 131;
mean age=15.86) grade 10 students answered the
survey instrument.
2.2 Research Instrument
In this study, the researchers adopted the Motivation
for Dance Questionnaire. Respondents has four
choices: “Not At All,” “A Little Bit,” “Well,” and
“Very Well.” Every factor has 10 each, so all in all
there are 40 statements. Within those factors, there
are also five intrinsic motivations and five extrinsic
motivations. So there are twenty intrinsic items and
twenty extrinsic items. Respondents were not
informed on the order of the categories to reserve
validity. The responses per item were scored as
follows: “Not at all = 1”, “A little bit = 2”, “Well =
3”, and “Very well = 4”.
2.3 Procedure
Researchers asked permission from the Department
of Education Office in Angeles City to conduct a
research among grade 10 students. After the letters
were distributed, participants were approached
during their vacant time. Participants were given a
consent form and they were requested to sign a
written consent showing that they voluntarily
participate in the study. They were also given a brief
discussion about the study and its purpose that
match the explanation of the permission slip.
2.4 Data Collection and Analysis
In the process of collecting the needed information,
survey questionnaires were used to measure the
students’ motivation. Mean and standard deviation
were used for the descriptive statistics and
Independent t-test was used for the test of difference.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The main thrust of this investigation is to provide
characteristics as to the level of motivation among
Grade 10 students in Angeles City relative to the
following aspects: physical, emotional, social, and
artistic. Moreover, the respondents were also based
on the two types of motivation, intrinsic and
extrinsic.
3.1 Description of the Factors in Dancing
Table 1 provided the overall descriptive analysis of
the factors determining the motivation of the
student-respondents in dancing. Findings revealed
that the emotional factor (x ̅=23.39) earned the
highest rating while the lowest is social factor
(x ̅=17.28).
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents’ Factors
in Dancing.
Factors
x ̅
SD
Descriptive
Rating
Social
17.28
5.78
Low
Comparative Analysis on the Motivation for Dancing of Male and Female Students
355

Physical
21.85
7.53
Moderate
Emotional
23.39
8.72
Moderate
Artistic
20.36
8.03
Moderate
The current study supported what Plato had
concealed. He contended that dance trains the mind
and soul to differentiate forms of actions, feelings,
and ideas. Aristotle, on the other hand, ranked dance
among the educational activities that cultivate the
mind.
On the other hand, literature posits that social
involvement in dance is also beneficial to students.
Dance students often work collaboratively in groups
to compose movement phrases. Hence, H‟Doubler
believed strongly in the relationship between
physical technique and emotional expression as the
basis for dance education.
3.2 Description of the Motives in Dancing
of the Respondents
Gleaning through the type of motivation, it can be
noted that the intrinsic motivation is more apparent
among the respondents compared to extrinsic
motivation.
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents’
Motivation in Dancing.
Types of
Motivation
x ̅
SD
Descriptive
Rating
Intrinsic
41.97
14.18
Moderate
Extrinsic
40.91
13.72
Moderate
According to Cameron and Pierce (1994),
intrinsic motivation is maintained when a person
receives reinforcement like verbal praise. Positive
reinforcement may also increase motivation. It is a
good sign that respondents have higher intrinsic
motivation than extrinsic motivation. It shows that
they involve themselves in dance because of
pleasure and fulfillment (Standage et al., 2003).
3.3 Comparative Analysis of Motivation
in Dancing
As the primary objective of this paper is to identify
the difference between male and female student-
respondents in terms of their motivation in dancing,
the foregoing table summarizes the descriptive
statistics of their motivation in dancing.
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics of the Student-
Respondents’ Factors in Dancing – Across Gender.
Mean SD Descriptive Rating Mean SD Descriptive Rating
Social 17.25 5.39 Low 17.32 6.15 Low
Physical 22.45 7.26 Moderate 21.25 7.77 Moderate
Emotional 24.61 8.68 Moderate 22.16 8.63 Moderate
Artistic 20.5 7.57 Moderate 20.21 8.5 Moderate
Factors
Female
Male
3.3.1 Categories
a. Social
A comparison of the student-respondents’
motivation in dancing relative to social factor
revealed that male student-respondents
(x ̅=17.32) have higher rating than female
student-respondents (x ̅=17.25). The
socialization in music, arts, academic subjects
and other fields of expertise are almost the same
in sports. Researchers of sport socialization agree
with the general findings that sport involvement
is greater among males than females
(Greendorfer & Lewko, 1978). Although girls
receive less encouragement than boys to engage
in sport, as seen in a highly male-centered
activity, in dance the situation may be the
opposite. Socialization into dance differs
according to dance forms. Ballet dancers in
particular socialize into dance as early as
childhood while in later years in social dance,
folk dance, and competitive ballroom dance
(Nieminen, 1998).
b. Physical
A comparison of the student-respondents’
motivation in dancing relative to physical factors
revealed that female student-respondents
(x ̅=22.45) have higher rating than male student-
respondents (x ̅=21.25).
Based on the research of O’Neill (2011), for
girls, dance is important as a type of regular
physical activity for adolescents. He found out
that it contributed to an overall moderate-
vigorous physical involvement, making it more
favorable more than walking, jogging, and
running. Dance may potentially play a critical
role in reaching the public health objective in the
21st century, helping adolescents attain an
adequate level of physical activity.
c. Emotional
A comparison of the student-respondents’
motivation in dancing relative to emotional
factors revealed that female student-respondents
(x ̅=24.61) have higher rating than male student-
respondents (x ̅=22.16).
ICSSHPE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education
356

The basic form of human emotional
expression is dance as stated by Krantz and
Merker (2006). Thompson (1994) depicts
emotional regulation as the internal and external
procedure through which a person becomes
conscious of emotional response in aiming goals.
Sevdalis and Keller (2011) added that dancers'
emotional regulation skills have been discussed
as "embodied". In literature, the terms
embodiment and "embodied knowledge" clarify
the body's emotional feedback system where the
motor system is linked to the cognitive-affective
system (SheetKs-Johnstone, 1999; Koch &
Fuchs, 2011).
d. Artistic
A comparison of the student-respondents’
motivation in dancing relative to artistic factors
revealed that female student-respondents
(x ̅=20.50) have higher rating than male student-
respondents (x ̅=20.21).
As stated by Sanderson (2008), the
knowledge gained from participation in the arts
is different from language and mathematics. She
added that failure in holistic development among
learners is due to the neglect in providing more
opportunities for artistic learning. Involvement in
the arts instructs the emotion, supplying an
emotional and imaginative education through its
alternative way of thinking.
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of the Student-Respondents’ Motivation in Dancing – Across Gender.
Mean SD Descriptive Rating Mean SD Descriptive Rating
Intrinsic 42.98 13.26 Moderate 40.95 15.02 Moderate
Extrinsic 41.83 13.01 Moderate 39.98 14.4 Moderate
Female
Male
Types of Motivations
e. Motives Intrinsic Motivation
A comparison of the student-respondents’
motivation in dancing relative to intrinsic
motivation revealed that female student-
respondents (x ̅=42.98) have higher rating than
male student-respondents (x ̅=40.95).
Female students reportedly have higher
intrinsic motivation than male students in
learning English.
Extrinsic Motivation
A comparison of the student-respondents’
motivation in dancing relative to extrinsic
motivation revealed that female student-
respondents (x ̅=41.83) have higher rating than
male student-respondents (x ̅=39.98). women
have higher scores than men for extrinsic
motives related to physical attractiveness and
appearance.
3.4 Test of Difference in Motivation in
Dancing Across Gender
Although differences as to the aspects and type of
motivation arise between student-respondents across
gender, further analysis was employed to validate if
such difference is material or statistically significant.
Table 5 presents the summary of the statistical
treatment. While social, physical, and artistic
aspects showed no significant difference, emotional
aspect, on the other hand, reflected a significant
difference in term of motivation in dancing across
gender. Moreover, the type of motivation – as to
intrinsic and extrinsic – revealed no significant
difference between the two groups.
Table 5: Statistical Analysis: Independent t-Test.
Factors & Motivation Mean Difference p-value Interpretation
Social Factor 0.06 0.9295 Not Significant
Physical Factor 1.2 0.197 Not Significant
Emotional Factor 2.45 0.0230* Significant
Artistic Factor 0.3 0.7665 Not Significant
Intrinsic Motivation 2.03 0.2462 Not Significant
Extrinsic Motivation 1.85 0.2777 Not Significant
*p-value < 0.05 alpha level of significance
4 CONCLUSION
This study revealed that respondents’ emotional
factor is the primary reason for dancing while social
factor is the least. Respondents’ are intrinsically
motivated in dancing. However, female respondents
are more physically, emotionally, and artistically
motivated. Similarly, they are also more intrinsically
and extrinsically motivated to dance compared to
male respondents. Lastly, there is no significant
difference in terms of aspects and types of
motivation, except for emotional aspect. This means
that male and female dancers differ when it comes to
emotionality. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.
Based on the conclusions of the study, it is
recommended that the respondents should be given
opportunity to explore the values and impact of
socialization in dancing. Correspondingly, dance
Comparative Analysis on the Motivation for Dancing of Male and Female Students
357

teacher or instructor should provide a group activity
to ensure balance among the dancer’s perspectives
and finally, the result of the study may be used as
basis to explore other factors and motives that
influence dance participation among the youth.
REFERENCES
Anselme, K., Davidson, P., Popa, A. M., Giazzon, M.,
Liley, M., Ploux, L. 2010. The interaction of cells and
bacteria with surfaces structured at the nanometre
scale. Acta biomaterialia, 6(10), 3824-3846.
Criss, E. 2011. Dance All Night Motivation in Education.
Music Educators Journal, 97(3), 666.
DepEd. 2013. K to 12 Senior HIgh School Arts and Design
Specialized Subject Apprenticeship and Exploration in
Performing Arts (Dance). Retrieved 2017, from
www.deped.gov.ph:
www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/arts
Filippou, 2015b; Mavridis, Filippou, Rokka, Bousiou, &
Mavridis, (2004), Filippou (2014); Pitsi & Filippou,
(2014), Traditional Dance as Recreational Activity:
Teenager’s Motives Participation
Greendorfer, S. L., Lewko, J. H. 1978. Role of family
members in sport socialization of children. The
Research Quarterly, 49, 146-152.
Heath, C. 1999. On the Social Psychology of Agency
Relationships: Lay Theories of Motivation
Overemphasize Extrinsic Incentives. Organizational
Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 78(1), 25-
62.
Cameron, J. W., David P. 1994. Reinforcement, Reward,
and Intrinsic Motivation: A Meta-Analysis. SAGE
journals. Vol 64, Issue 3, pp. 363 – 423.
Koch S. C., Fuchs T. 2011. Embodied art therapies. Arts
Psychother. 38 276–280. 10.1016/j.aip.2011.08.007.
Krantz G., Madison G., Merker B. 2006. Melodic intervals
as reflected in body movements. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci.
999 374–376.
Leidl, 2009, Motivation and emotion (Book):
Understanding and improving our motivational and
emotional lives using psychological science.
Leidl, D. 2009. Motivation in Sport:Bridging Historical
and Contemporary Theory Through a Qualitative
Approach. International Journal of Sports Science &
Coaching, 4(2), 155-17.
Nieminen, P. 1998. Four dance subcultures. A Study of
Non-Professional Dancers’ Socialization,
Participation Motives, Attitudes and Stereotypes.
Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. 165 p.
O'Neill, J. R., Pate, R. R., Liese, A. D. 2011. Descriptive
epidemiology of dance participation in adolescents.
Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport, 82(3), 373-
380.
Parks L 7 Guay R. 2009. Personality, values, and
motivation. James Madison University, Harrisonburg,
VA 22807, United States University of Iowa, Iowa
City, IA 52242, United States.
Robinson, M, D., Moeller, S, K., Ode, S. 2010.
Extraversion and Reward-Related Processing: Probing
Incentive Motivation in Affective Priming Tasks.
Emotion, 10(5), 615-625. DOI: 10.1037/a0019173.
Sanderson, P. 2008. The arts, social inclusion and social
class: The case of dance. British Educational Research
Journal, 34(4), 467-490.
Sevdalis V., Keller P. E. 2011. Captured by motion:
dance, action understanding, and social cognition.
Brain Cogn. 77 231–236.
10.1016/j.bandc.2011.08.005.
Sheets-Johnstone M. 1999. Emotion and movement: a
beginning empirical-phenomenological analyses of
their relationship. J. Conscious. Stud. 6 259–277.
Standage M, Duda JL, Ntoumanis N. 2003. Predicting
motivational regulations in physical education: The
interplay between dispositional goal orientations,
motivational climate and perceived competence. J
Sport Sci. 2003;21: 631–647.
Thompson R. A. (ed.). 1994. Emotion regulation: a theme
in search of definition, in The Development of Emotion
Regulation: Biological and Behavioural
Considerations Vol. 59 25–52.
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-
21/17865100_10208373518…oh=521310ef529736340
d32f7a8104c8e32&oe=58F67F13&dl=1 17/04/2017,
9F11 AM Page 8 of 9
ICSSHPE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education
358