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According to contesting theory (Shields & Bredemeier, 2011), people conceptualize competition either through a metaphor of partnership or war. These two alternate metaphors suggest differing sociomoral relationships among the participants. In the current study of intercollegiate athletes (n = 610), we investigated the two approaches to contesting in relation to formalist and consequentialist moral frameworks (Brady & Wheeler, 1996) and individualizing and binding moral foundations (Haidt, 2001). Correlational analysis indicated that the partnership approach correlated significantly with all four moral dimensions, while the war approach correlated with formalist and consequentialist frameworks and binding foundations (i.e., appeals to in-group loyalty, authority, and purity). Multiple regressions demonstrated that the best predictors of a partnership approach were formalist thinking and endorsement of individualizing moral foundations (i.e., appeal to fairness and welfare). Among our primary variables, the best predictors of a war orientation were consequentialist thinking and endorsement of binding foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have made productive use of Bandura's (1991) construct of moral disengagement (MD) to help explain why sport participants deviate from ethical ideals. In this study of intercollegiate athletes from diverse sports (N = 713), we examined MD in relation to other character-related variables: empathy, moral identity, moral attentiveness, and contesting orientations. We also examined whether moral attentiveness conforms to the pattern of "bracketed morality" found in moral reasoning (Shields & Bredemeier, 1995) and moral behavior (Kavussanu, Boardley, Sagar, & Ring, 2013). Results indicated that MD correlated positively with perceptual moral attentiveness and war contesting orientation; MD correlated negatively with empathy, moral identity, reflective moral attentiveness, and partnership contesting orientation. Results of hierarchical regression demonstrated that gender, contesting orientations, moral identity, and one form of moral attentiveness were significant predictors of MD. Finally, sport participants were found to be less morally attentive in sport than in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the centrality of competition to sports, little is known about how participants give meaning to their experience of contests. Contesting theory posits that individuals interpret contests through two alternate metaphors. Genuine competition reflects a "contest-is-partnership " metaphor. In contrast, in "decompetition" the contest is interpreted through a "contest-is-war" metaphor. In this two-study investigation, metaphor priming was used to test hypotheses derived from contesting theory. In Study 1, participants (N = 281) were primed with one or the other metaphor and then asked to make moral judgments assessing commitment to integrity in contest situations. In Study 2, following a priming activity, participants (N = 246) were asked to interpret facial expressions of athletes. Both studies provided support for contesting theory. In Study 1, participants primed with the contest-is-war metaphor accepted antisocial behavior to a greater extent than did those primed with the partnership metaphor. In Study 2, those primed with the war metaphor attributed more negative emotion to the portrayed athletes than did those primed with the partnership metaphor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To examine the factorial validity of the Contesting Orientations Scale (COS) in a large sample of intercollegiate student-athletes, as well as to extend evidence of the COS’ concurrent validity by examining its relationship to autonomous and controlled motivations in sport. The ability of contesting orientations to predict sportspersonship over and above autonomous and controlled motivations was also examined. Design Cross-sectional and correlational. Methods Five hundred and forty-four intercollegiate US athletes (57.2% male) from individual and team sports completed measures of contesting orientations, autonomous and controlled motivations, and sportspersonship. Results Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the factorial validity of the COS, while correlational results supported its concurrent construct validity, with autonomous motivation associated with higher levels of partnership orientation and controlled motivation associated with higher levels of war orientation. In addition, sequential regression analyses supported the predictive utility of contesting orientations, with partnership orientation emerging as a significant positive predictor of four – and war orientation a negative predictor of three – dimensions of sportspersonship. Mediation analyses suggested that contesting orientations may partially mediate the relationship between autonomous and controlled motivations for some dimensions of sportspersonship. Conclusions The COS is a valid and reliable measure of contesting orientations. Partnership and war contesting orientations, moreover, add significantly to the prediction of sportspersonship over and above autonomous and controlled motivations. In practice, if the goal is to promote good sportspersonship, coaches and other adults involved in competitive sport should emphasize a partnership contesting orientation in addition to more autonomous forms of motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This three-study investigation was undertaken to develop, validate, and test the Contesting Orientations Scale (COS), a new measure designed to assess individuals' tendencies to use contest-is-partnership and contest-is-war conceptual metaphors (i.e., contesting orientations) when competing (Shields & Bredemeier, 2009, 2011a). Design The research design was correlational. Following preliminary item creation and expert review, survey based studies were conducted to develop theoretically-based, psychometrically sound scales measuring contesting orientations. Method In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on a preliminary 39-item COS administered to a sample of high school athletes (N = 233). Study 2 used EFA to evaluate a revised 23- item COS with a second sample of high school athletes (N = 92) resulting in a final reduction of the measure to twelve items. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then conducted on this 12-item COS, which proved an excellent fit to the data. A new sample of college athletes (N = 238) allowed Study 3 to (a) further examine the factorial validity of the COS, including gender invariance testing, (b) assess the concurrent validity of the COS via its correlations with goal orientations, empathy, moral identity, and moral disengagement; and, (c) assess the COS's incremental predictive utility for investigations of sportspersonship. Results and conclusion Results from the sequence of studies demonstrate that the 12-item, two-scale COS has good psychometric properties as assessed through EFA and CFA, good concurrent validity, and adds significantly to existing measures in the prediction of sportspersonship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]