The Psychology of Doping in Sport: to examine the motivational influence exerted by a key member of an athlete’s entourage on the athlete’s attitudes towards and likely involvement in doping

The proposed project’s primary objective is to examine the motivational influence exerted by a key member of an athlete’s entourage – namely his/her coach – on the athlete’s attitudes towards and likely involvement in doping. Coaches could play an important role in teaching and reinforcing anti-doping attitudes and activities. Doping by athletes might be discouraged when coaches create a task motivational climate, where the athletes’ goal is to learn and improve. Alternatively, coaches could undermine anti-doping attitudes, when they facilitate, actively assist, and pressure athletes to engage in doping. Doping might be encouraged by coaches who create an ego motivational climate, where the athletes’ goal is to win at any cost.

The project has two key objectives.
(1) To determine whether an ego motivational climate facilitates doping and whether a task motivational climate deters doping.
(2) To examine whether motivational climate influences doping via changes in moral disengagement.