Correlations between the factors characteristic of competitive sports and the dark triad

Abstract

IntroductionIn recent years, athletes' problem behaviors-violence, delinquency, and drug dependence, among others-have been increasing (e.g., Anderson, Albrecht, McKeag, Hough, & McGrew, 1991; Pappas, McKenry, & Catlett, 2004). Such tendencies are not only considered athletes' personal problems; they also have a significant effect on society at large because athletes are regarded as public role models. The dark triad consists of normal personality traits that tend to cause problem behaviors: Machiavellianism, characterized by manipulation and exploitation of others; psychopathy, characterized by interpersonal and emotional qualities such as selfishness and remorselessness, and behavioral features such as impulsivity; and narcissism, characterized by the search for status and fame and by competitive, aggressive attitudes toward others (Jonason & Webster, 2010; Tamura, Oshio, Tanaka, Masui, & Jonason, 2015). To date, only a few studies have been conducted internationally on the dark triad's role in competitive sports. One of them has reported that people participating in competitive sports have higher scores for the dark triad than nonparticipants (Strout & Carter, 2015). From an evolutionary perspective, the dark triad is considered to express socially maladaptive responses. However, in specific settings and occupations, it could have adaptive functions (Jonason, Li, Webster, & Schmitt, 2009; Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Conducting research on athletes with high dark triad scores to understand the triad's multiple functions in sports would be useful. Furthermore, in order to provide appropriate psychological support to future athletes, researchers should investigate the dark triad's adaptive and maladaptive effects on athletes, including development of athletic abilities, psychological effects like inhibition of problem behaviors, and adaptation to groups.Therefore, this study investigated correlations among the dark triad and gender (male/female), type of athletic event (record-style events/game-style events), and competitive level (low-competitive group/highcompetitive group). Previous studies have indicated that the dark triad is more adaptive in interpersonal settings (e.g., Furnham, Richards, & Paulhus, 2013; Jonason et al., 2009; Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Thus, we compared game-style athletic events, such as football, baseball, and badminton, in which athletes with high dark triad characteristics are expected to show evolutionary advantage, and record-style athletic events, such as trackand-field sports, gymnastics, and swimming, in which personal records are important.Material and MethodsParticipants and Period of StudyIn a survey conducted from August 2015 to January 2016, participants were 506 Japanese students (217 male and 289 female, mean age = 19.9, SD = 0.8) enrolled in physical education universities in Tokyo. The total number of events performed by participants was 42, including record-style events, such as track and field, swimming, gymnastics, and speed skating (n = 22, performed by 142 participants) and game-style events, such as baseball, basketball, football, and badminton (n = 20, performed by 364 participants). Athletes' competitive levels were as follows: international leagues (n = 26), national leagues (n = 175), regional leagues (n = 281), and less than regional leagues (n = 24).ProceduresQuestionnaires were administered using the collective survey method. The survey was conducted before the beginning of lecture classes conducted by this study's third author. The study followed the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki: The survey was conducted anonymously, responses were entirely voluntary, and prior to the survey, participants were provided information about the survey's purpose and about protection of personal information. Furthermore, approval by the ethics committee of the third author's institutional affiliation was obtained before commencing the study. …