Citation

Priest RF, Krause JV, Beach J. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 1999; 70(2): 170-178.

Affiliation

Office of Policy, Planning, and Analysis, United States Military Academy (USMA), USA. NR0139@staff.usma.army.mil

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10380248

Abstract

Positive values for fairness in competition are supposed to undergird the behavior of athletes engaged in sport. Whether athletes' values actually develop over 4 years in a college that emphasizes character development is the focus of this study. Athletes' (N = 631) use of deontological ethics (Hahm, Beller & Stoll, 1989) in 21 sports value dilemmas were evaluated. At entrance, as well as near graduation, intercollegiate athletes' value scores were lower than intramural athletes' scores. Both groups' scores declined while they were in college. Individual-sport athletes had higher scores than team-sport athletes but manifested a greater decline over 4 years. The findings are consistent with other studies that show decreases in "sportsmanship orientation" and an increase in "professional" attitudes associated with participation in sport.

Language: en