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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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PEERS' INFLUENCE ON EXERCISE ENJOYMENT: A SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY APPROACH |
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Juan Antonio Moreno Murcia1  ,
Maria López de San Román1, Celestina Martínez Galindo1,
Néstor Alonso1 and David González-Cutre2 |
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1University of Murcia and 2University of Almería, Spain |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2008) 7, 23 - 31 Search Google Scholar for Citing Articles |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The purpose of this research was to study the influence of motivational
climate perceived in peers and basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy
and relatedness) on self-determined motivation and enjoyment in exercise.
A sample comprised of 394 non- competitive physical exercisers, 156 women
and 238 men aged between 16 and 54 (M = 21.64, SD = 7. 18), completed the
Motivational Climate Perceived in Peers Scale, Scale of Motivational Mediators
in Physical Activity, Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2
and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. A correlation analysis between the
variables studied, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation
analysis were performed. The results showed that the task- involving peer
motivational climate positively predicted the three basic psychological
needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness). In turn, meeting the needs
for competence and relatedness positively predicted self-determined motivation,
which also positively predicted the enjoyment the exercisers had during
the activity. There were no significant associations between the ego- involving
peer motivational climate and psychological needs. A multisample analysis
indicated that the model was invariant across age and degree of exercise
involvement. This study reiterates the importance of increasing exercisers'
self-determined motivation in order to obtain more enjoyment and to be more
committed to the exercise. Therefore, it is essential to foster perceptions
of competence, autonomy and relatedness by means of a task-involving climate.
The findings provide evidence for the importance of peer motivational climate
in sports motivation.
Key words: Peer group, motivation, basic psychological needs, enjoyment. |
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