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Article Review 1

Feb. 4, 2013

Medic, N., Mack, D. E., Wilson, P. M., & Starkes, J. L. (2007). The effects of athletic scholarships on motivation in sport. Journal of Sport Behavior, 30, 292-306.

Purpose

This article had one point and that was to see what effect athletic scholarships had on motivation levels of scholarship athletes and non-scholarship athletes. The authors looked at the current motivation levels of the athletes as well as perceived motivational levels under opposite conditions (scholarship athletes no longer getting scholarships and the opportunity for non-scholarship athletes to get scholarships). The authors also looked at the difference in motivation between genders.

Research Questions

  • How does scholarships affect the level of motivation in collegiate basketball players?
  • Is motivation different between genders of scholarship athletes?

Methods

  • Subjects: Male (71) and female (45) intercollegiate basketball players from ages 18-24 years. Non-scholarship athletes (70) from Canada and Division I scholarship athletes (46) from the United States.
  • Authors used the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) to evaluate motivation levels for the athletes.

- SMS uses seven different subscales to measure three types of Intrinsic Motivation (to know, to accomplish, to experience satisfaction), three types of Extrinsic Motivation (external, introjected, and identified regulation), and amotivation.

  • Athlete responses were assessed using a 7-point Likert scale (1=does not correspond at all and 7=corresponds exactly).
  • Athletes answered questions on demographic and current motivation, then were asked to answer questions when the scholarship scenario was flipped.
  • Permission was received from coaches then the surveys were sent with specific instructions.

Results & Discussion

  • Scholarship males (M=4.76) showed higher rates of introjected regulation than did scholarship females (M=3.26).
  • Scholarship males (M=4.83) also showed higher rates of external regulation than did scholarship females (M=3.6), non-scholarship males (M=3.75), and non-scholarship females (M=3.62).
  • When non-scholarship athletes perceived the opportunity to get a scholarship, the results showed that IM to experience stimulation would decrease, IM to accomplish would decrease, and external regulation would increase.
  • When scholarship athletes had the perception that their scholarship would no longer be available, results showed that IM to experience stimulation and IM to accomplish decreased.

Application

The results in this article will support my claim/hypothesis that external motivators decrease Intrinsic Motivation. It might also be a good idea to use the SMS instrument to evaluate motivational levels of my participants.