First paragraph: In the consideration of how social and environmental influences may affect the motivation of athletes, it may be helpful to define and delineate some of these important concepts. As soon as that is established, a number of theories of the way human motivation operates, or is regulated, also become relevant. These include achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989), trichotomous (Elliot & Church, 1997) and 2x2 achievement goals (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), and social goals (Urdan & Maehr, 1995; Wentzel, 1993).