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Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater: the Dark Triad, attitudes towards doping, and cheating behaviour among athletes

Madigan, Daniel J.; Duncan, Lindsay; Hallward, Laura; Lazuras, Lambros; Bingham, Kevin; Fairs, Lucas R.W.; Nicholls, Adam R.

Authors

Daniel J. Madigan

Lindsay Duncan

Laura Hallward

Lambros Lazuras

Kevin Bingham

Lucas R.W. Fairs

Profile image of Adam Nicholls

Professor Adam Nicholls A.Nicholls@hull.ac.uk
Professor of Psychology/ Leader of the Sport Psychology and Coaching Group



Abstract

We examined the relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), attitudes towards doping, and cheating behaviour among athletes. One-hundred and sixty-four athletes completed a completed a matrix solving task within a specific time limit. Participants were told they would receive a financial reward for the total number matrices they could solve, but only 13 of the 20 matrices were solvable. This provided the incentive and opportunity for the athletes to cheat. Following this, athletes completed two questionnaires, which assessed the Dark Triad and their attitudes towards doping. All three Dark Triad personality traits correlated positively with attitudes towards doping and cheating behaviour. Regression analyses revealed that psychopathy and narcissism positively predicted attitudes towards doping, and narcissism emerged as a positive predictor of cheating behaviour. Attitudes towards doping correlated positively with cheating behaviour. The Dark Triad appears to be important in relation to both attitudes towards doping and cheating behaviour among athletes. In addition, our findings illustrate that favourable attitudes towards doping are linked with actual cheating among athletes. National Anti-Doping Organizations, sports federations, and coaches could assess athletes’ Dark Triad scores and attitudes towards doping in order to identify who may be more likely to cheat.

Citation

Madigan, D. J., Duncan, L., Hallward, L., Lazuras, L., Bingham, K., Fairs, L. R., & Nicholls, A. R. (2020). Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater: the Dark Triad, attitudes towards doping, and cheating behaviour among athletes. European journal of sport science : the official journal of the European College of Sport Science, 20(8), 1124-1130. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2019.1694079

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 12, 2019
Online Publication Date Nov 21, 2019
Publication Date 2020
Deposit Date Nov 12, 2019
Publicly Available Date Nov 22, 2020
Journal European Journal of Sport Science
Print ISSN 1746-1391
Publisher Taylor and Francis
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 20
Issue 8
Pages 1124-1130
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2019.1694079
Keywords Machiavellianism; Narcissism; Performance enhancing drugs; Personality; Psychopathy
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3135670
Publisher URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2019.1694079
Contract Date Nov 12, 2019

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