Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Morrison, Patricia

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

The expectations to perform both academically and athletically can be overwhelming for collegiate student-athletes. As proposed by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the fulfillment of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness fosters intrinsic motivation, which is positively associated with performance and overall satisfaction. The present study surveyed 202 lower-level collegiate student-athletes to examine the relationship between SDT motivation profiles and organizational satisfaction. Results indicated no statistically significant relationship between the variables, although a trend toward significance was observed. These findings suggest that the relationship between motivation and satisfaction is more complex than initially hypothesized. Future research should continue to explore this relationship while considering the role of external influences on student-athlete experiences.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

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