Moral Reasoning of Division III and Division I Athletes: Is There a Difference?

N

22

Athletes; College Athletics; College Students; Competition; Ethics; Higher Education; Moral Development; Moral Values; Sport Psychology; Student Attitudes; Student Subcultures; Student Surveys

This study sought to examine the potentially corrupting influences of media attention, money, and the accompanying stress on the moral reasoning of student athletes at both Division I and Division III National College Athletics Association (NCAA) schools. Subjects were 718 nonathletes and 277 randomly selected athletes at a Division I school and 206 nonathletes and 387 athletes at 8 Division III schools. All subjects completed the Hahm-Beller Values Choice Inventory in the Sport Milieu. Scores of nonathletes at both Division I and Division III schools were significantly higher than those of athletes in both Divisions. Results are found to indicate that perhaps it is not money, national prestige, coaches' salaries, or glamor that affects the moral reasoning of athletes, but how competitive activity is viewed. Perhaps the culprit for deficient moral reasoning among student athletes is the exclusionary, selfish, rule-bound perception of competition and the practice of objectifying opponents, dissociating self from personal responsibility, and perceiving sport as a means to personal gain. Sports participation and competition as it is now taught and modeled, in and of itself, may negatively impact moral reasoning, and the involvement of national media and corporate sponsors may not significantly increase this effect. (Contains 29 references.) (PB)

1995

ED382618