Moral disengagement in sport

Abstract

Historically, theories of morality have focused predominantly on moral cognition at the expense of moral action. One theory that considers moral action as well as moral cognition is Bandura's (1991) Social Cognitive Theory of Moral Thought and Action. One aspect of this theory that has recently proved particularly popular with researchers investigating sport morality is that of moral disengagement. Moral disengagement is a collective term for eight psychosocial mechanisms that selectively inhibit moral standards from preventing reprehensible conduct by disengaging self-reproof when one engages in conduct that contravenes one's moral standards. In this review, research examining moral disengagement in the sport context is discussed. Research in this area can be grouped into two broad categories: (a) moral disengagement and behaviours that occur during sport participation; and (b) moral disengagement and doping in sport. The present review considers work addressing both categories. Within each category, the main findings of pertinent studies are discussed, and strengths and weaknesses of these studies are identified. The review concludes with directions for future research.