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The Main Aspects Of Intrinsic Motivation For An Athlete

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Motivation is crucial for an athlete in order to want to win. It is hard to want to win if you have no motivation. The main aspect of motivation in terms of the self-determination theory is intrinsic motivation. The self-determination theory can be defined as “a highly appropriate conceptual framework from which to study sport persistence and dropout” (Calvo, Cervelló, Jiménez, Iglesias, & Moreno Murcia, 2010). Intrinsic Motivation can be defined as “an athlete taking up playing a sport just for the enjoyment of playing a sport” (Pelletier, Tuson, Fortier, Vallerand, & Briére, 1995). It is important to realize that the self-determination theory affects an athlete’s motivation intrinsically (internally) because the self-determination theory uses factors like “autonomy” and “competence” to motivate an athlete to play better in their sport. Most athletes, now and in the past, find it easier to motivate themselves intrinsically if they enjoy the sport or have fun while playing the sport (Ryan & Deci, 1985).
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Intrinsic Motivation has been experimented on for years and in order to prove its validity. Regarding athletics, intrinsic motivation is defined as “an athlete taking up playing a sport just for the enjoyment of playing a sport” (Pelletier et al., 1995). In an article published by Ryan & Deci, the two argue that through their research, it was proven that having intrinsic motivation will help engage an athlete because of the feeling of competence that arises
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