Abstract:
The presence of rewards has been found to undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan,
1999). This conclusion is primarily based on research conducted in non-sporting
environments. The purpose of this study was to examine perceived motivational changes
resulting from the hypothetical manipulation of a reward (i.e., athletic scholarships).
Differences in "present" motivation between scholarship and non-scholarship athletes
were also assessed. Gender, life roles, and sport experience were also examined in
relation to scholarship status. Basketball players from four Ontario (n = 70) and seven
U.S. Division I universities (n = 46) were examined. All athletes completed a set of
demographic questions, as well as questions from the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS;
Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, Tuson, Briere, & Blais, 1995) which assessed their "present"
motivation. Athletes also completed the SMS to evaluate their "perceived future"
motivation based on a hypothetical manipulation of the scholarship status. For Ontario
non-scholarship athletes, extrinsic regulation (an extrinsic motive) increased with the
introduction of a scholarship and the intrinsic motive to experience stimulation decreased.
For U.S. scholarship athletes, the intrinsic motive to accomplish things decreased when
scholarships were removed. When the two scholarship status groups were compared
across "present" levels of motivation, U.S. scholarship males reported significantly
higher levels of introjected regulation compared to Ontario non-scholarship males.
Ontario non-scholarship females reported significantly higher levels of introjected
regulation compared to U.S. scholarship females. U.S. scholarship athletes reported
significantly higher levels of external regulation compared to Ontario non-scholarship
athletes. Results offer partial support for self-determination theory. Implications for
future research are discussed.
