THE TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED COMPETENCE AND SELF-DETERMINED MOTIVATION

Although perceived competence is generally considered a determinant of motivation, little research has actually studied the relation between the two constructs on a longitudinal basis and in natural settings. T his was the purpose of the present study. Canadian male adolescent hoc key players (N = 64) in their first year at an elite level completed a questionnaire 2 weeks into the hockey season (T1) and at the end of t he regular season (T2), assessing perceived competence and self-determ ined motivation at both times. The results partially support the hypot hesis that, over time, perceived competence determines motivation (rat her than the reverse) but do not exclude the possibility that, with ti me, motivation may also influence perceptions of competence.