The greater uniformity in scores among elite players was true for all of the motives that discriminated the athletes from the general population with the exception of Social Contact. In other words, for all but one of the motives that discriminate the two groups, the players’ scores were tightly bunched around the mean. The importance of this finding is that a player whose score does not fall within the narrow distribution of scores for a given motive will be much more of an outlier. For example, if a player scores as having a weak need for Family, that player will be viewed as different by most of the other players on the team.
Not surprisingly, Physical Activity was the motive that most strongly discriminated the elite basketball players from the general population. The players’ average score for Physical Activity was 12.95 points higher than the average score for the general population, thus indicating that the athletes enjoy and value muscle exercise much more than does a typical individual.
The motive of Acceptance also strongly discriminated the two groups. Compared to the general population, on average the athletes scored 7.99 points lower for Acceptance, which suggests that the elite players are much more self-confident than is a typical individual.
Compared to the general population, the elite players had significantly higher average scores on Idealism, Family, Honor, and Curiosity as well as significantly lower average scores for Independence and Social Contact. Given that basketball is a team sport, it makes sense that elite basketball players express a weak need for the motive of Independence. Rather than seeking a high level of self-reliance, these players value being able to depend on others. In basketball jargon, they are comfortable passing the ball to the open player, trusting him to make the shot.
Table 2 shows how the elite players compare to the general population in terms of variability of scores for the eight motives that discriminated the two groups. For example, the players’ standard deviation for the Acceptance motive differed significantly from that of the general population, thus indicating much less variability in their scores for this motive.