Testing contesting theory: Conceptual metaphors and prosocial behavior

Objectives

This investigation was conducted to determine whether contesting orientations add predictive utility for  prosocial behavior , both in and out of sports, beyond other variables related to the component processes of moral action.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Methods

Intercollegiate US athletes (n = 2380; 56.4% male), from both individual and team sports, completed measures of contesting orientation, three moral variables (moral attentiveness, moral identity, integrity), three sport-specific variables (athletic identity, goal orientation, and fear of failure), and three outcome variables (sportspersonship,  academic honesty , and prosocial helping). Data was analyzed using both correlational and regression analyses.

Results

Regression analyses demonstrated that contesting orientations were the best predictors of sportspersonship, but were insignificant predictors of nonsport forms of prosocial behavior.

Conclusions

Consistent with contesting theory, contesting orientation are salient and potent predictors of sportspersonship, but do not predict behavior outside of contest situations.