Pre- to Post-Season Changes in the Intrinsic Motivation of First Year College Athletes: Relationships with Coaching Behavior and Scholarship Status

Abstract

This study examined whether the intrinsic motivation levels of first-year college athletes changed from pre- to post-season as a function of their scholarship status or their perceptions of their coaches' behavior. Division I college athletes ( N = 72) completed questionnaires assessing their intrinsic motivation at the beginning and end of their first year of participation. They also reported their scholarship status and their perceptions of their coaches' behaviors over the season. Contrary to predictions, results revealed that neither scholarship status nor time affected the athletes' level of intrinsic motivation. Strong support for the relationship between athletes' perceptions of their coaches' behavior and changes in athletes' level of intrinsic motivation over the season, however, emerged. Increases in athletes' level of intrinsic motivation were associated with athletes' perceptions that their coaches exhibited high frequencies of training and instruction behavior, and low frequencies of autocratic behavior and social support. Results are discussed in relation to cognitive evaluation theory and previous research on intrinsic motivation.