The relationship between motivation and the state of flow in sports
a narrative and systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5016/bjsphd.v2i2.20395Keywords:
Motivation; Flow; Sport; Athletes; ReviewAbstract
This study aimed to highlight, based on the theoretical assumptions of the Motivation and Action, Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the relationship of each with the development and facilitation of flow states through a systematic-narrative review. Searches were conducted in the PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar databases, extracting 200,660 studies which, after applying the adopted inclusion and exclusion criteria, were reduced to 15. The results showed a predominance of SDT as the theory researched in relation to flow, accounting for 9 of the 15 manuscripts. One article considered both SDT and AGT as theoretical perspectives. AGT had 4 publications. The Motivation and Action theory was considered, based on its dimension of effort to perform the task, in 3 of the 15 articles. This study points to the need to understand the multidimensional, complex, and dynamic aspect of motivation in its relationship with flow. There is a scarcity of studies that integrate and interrelate theoretical perspectives on motivation with flow states.
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