The need for competence

Competence is one of the three basic needs in self-determination theory: the experience of being effective and able to achieve things that matter. It is satisfied through tasks of optimal difficulty and informative feedback. Chronic failure or unreachable standards frustrate this need.

Competence grows when an athlete sees measurable progress and gets constructive feedback. A shortfall in it feeds fear of making mistakes and leads to loss of motivation. Perfectionists are especially vulnerable, since any less-than-perfect attempt reads as a failure (perfectionism in sport).

How well the need for competence is met is measured by subscales of the basic needs questionnaires, and related constructs by the sport confidence scales in our assessment set. Low values often come with fear of mistakes. It is best to discuss the profile with a sport psychologist.

The key is progressive, reachable goals on the principle of optimal challenge: not too easy, not too hard. Focusing on process and personal progress rather than comparison with others helps, as does recording small wins. Suitable goal-setting and feedback practices are in our collection of exercises.

Competence is part of the basic psychological needs in self-determination theory, alongside the need for autonomy. Frustrating it feeds amotivation, fear of making mistakes and loss of motivation. Restoring a sense of progress is the basic step back toward motivation.