Values Development Through Physical Activity: Promoting Sportsmanlike Behaviors, Perceptions, and Moral Reasoning Thomas Wandzilak, Tim Carroll, and Charles J. Ansorge University of Nebraska-Lincoln This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a values-related model in producing changes in the moral reasoning, sportsmanship percep- tions, and behaviors of male junior high school basketball players. The Defin- ing Issues Test (DIT) and the Action-Choice Test for Competitive Sports Situations (ACT) were administered during the first and last weeks of a 9-week basketball season. In addition, behaviors of three players from the experi- ment (n=10) and control (n=10) groups were systematically observed throughout the season. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the ef- fects of the model on the responses to both the DIT and ACT variables. Results revealed no difference @>.05) between the groups for either dependent vari- able. However, comparison of pre- and postseason mean scores from each of the instruments and analysis of the behavior patterns of the players ob- served suggest that, for the experiment group, a sportsmanlike pattern was emerging. The development of values such as sportsmanship, fair play, and honesty through physical activity has been a major objective of physical educators and coaches for many years. Unfortunately, little evidence exists to support a posi- tive relationship between sports participation and values development. Literature reviews completed in this area reveal a negative correlation between the length of one's involvement in sport and the generation of sportsmanlike values (Coak- ley, 1982; Kroll, 1975; Stevenson, 1975). It has also been determined that nonath- letes are more sportsmanlike than their athletic peers (Allison, 1981; Bovyer, 1968; Kistler, 1957; Lakie, 1964; Richardson, 1962). A variety of factors have contributed to the difficulties encountered by in- vestigators interested in values development through sport. These include (a) va- lidity and measurement problems resulting from an inability to define the term values (Raths, Merrill, & Simons, 1978), (b) similar definition problems associated Request reprints from Thomas Wandzilak, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0143.
Transcript
Values Development Through Physical Activity: Promoting Sportsmanlike Behaviors, Perceptions,
and Moral Reasoning
Thomas Wandzilak, Tim Carroll, and Charles J. Ansorge University of Nebraska-Lincoln
This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a values-related model in producing changes in the moral reasoning, sportsmanship percep- tions, and behaviors of male junior high school basketball players. The Defin- ing Issues Test (DIT) and the Action-Choice Test for Competitive Sports Situations (ACT) were administered during the first and last weeks of a 9-week basketball season. In addition, behaviors of three players from the experi- ment (n=10) and control (n=10) groups were systematically observed throughout the season. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the ef- fects of the model on the responses to both the DIT and ACT variables. Results revealed no difference @>.05) between the groups for either dependent vari- able. However, comparison of pre- and postseason mean scores from each of the instruments and analysis of the behavior patterns of the players ob- served suggest that, for the experiment group, a sportsmanlike pattern was emerging.
The development of values such as sportsmanship, fair play, and honesty through physical activity has been a major objective of physical educators and coaches for many years. Unfortunately, little evidence exists to support a posi- tive relationship between sports participation and values development. Literature reviews completed in this area reveal a negative correlation between the length of one's involvement in sport and the generation of sportsmanlike values (Coak- ley, 1982; Kroll, 1975; Stevenson, 1975). It has also been determined that nonath- letes are more sportsmanlike than their athletic peers (Allison, 1981; Bovyer, 1968; Kistler, 1957; Lakie, 1964; Richardson, 1962).
A variety of factors have contributed to the difficulties encountered by in- vestigators interested in values development through sport. These include (a) va- lidity and measurement problems resulting from an inability to define the term values (Raths, Merrill, & Simons, 1978), (b) similar definition problems associated
Request reprints from Thomas Wandzilak, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0143.
14 WANDZILAK, CARROLL, and ANSORGE
with specific sports-related terms such as sportsmanship (Kroll, 1975; Sieden- top, 1976), (c) educators' inability to design, implement, and determine the ef- fectiveness of systematic strategies that promote sportsmanlike behavior (Wandzilak, 1985) and social interaction (Giebink & McKenzie, 1985), and (d) a failure to utilize a theoretical base in the construction of models to bring about values (Romance, Weiss, & Bockoven, 1986).
Recently, however, a few investigators have initiated lines of research ad- dressing these issues. They have applied concepts from moral reasoning, social learning theory, and operant psychology with some promising results. Work com- pleted by Bredemeier and Shields in 1983 (cited in Shields & Bredemeier, 1984) and Hall (1981) utilized Haan's (1977) interpretation of Kohlberg's moral develop- ment theory (Kohlberg, 1969, 1971). Bredemeier and Shields and Hall deter- mined that athletes use lower-stage reasoning in sports settings compared to reasoning utilized in real-life situations. It seems that athletes operationalize separate systems for making general and sports-related decisions. Work by Nuc- ci (1982) on moral reasoning and social convention supports this concept of separate systems. Nucci has determined that values decisions are based on whether the individual interprets the issue at hand as being one that maintains norms or whether it is concerned with justice or morality. Since athletes function at lower stages of moral reasoning (Bredemeier & Shields, 1983; Hall, 1981), which are based on social convention and norm maintenance concepts, it appears that in- struction in sports settings fails to utilize or generate higher stage thinking that includes justice and truth.
On the basis of these findings, it is clear that if physical activity is to con- tribute to values development, then strategies that employ moral reasoning be- yond social convention must be used. In response to this need, a number of inter- vention techniques have been designed and implemented in a variety of sports settings. Horrocks (1977, 1979, 1980) has applied the concepts of Kohlberg's moral reasoning to physical activity. Through the use of intervention and super- ordinate goals, Horrocks was able to find a positive correlation between socially accepted play patterns and moral reasoning. Weiss, Bredemeier, Shields, and Shewchuk (1984) and Romance (1984) have identified improvements in cognitive- developmental levels through interventions using either moral development or social learning strategies.
Romance et al. (1986) have applied Haan's concepts to physical education settings by designing and implementing an intervention model with 5th grade stu- dents for an &week period. Analyses of pre- and posttest interviews of experi- mental and control groups revealed significant improvements in all moral reasoning measures for the former group only.
In an effort to alter the behaviors of participants, Giebink and McKenzie (1985) used three intervention strategies to determine their effect on the sports- manlike actions of preadolescent males in a physical education and recreation setting. The results indicate that the interventions were more effective in a soft- ball setting than they were in basketball. However, the most successful interven- tion in both settings was a point system that used reinforcers when warranted.
In response to these studies, Wandzilak (1985) designed a model based on concepts from moral development and social learning theory that attempts to alter one's reasoning, perception of sportsmanship, and behavior. To date no study
VALUES DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 15
has analyzed these dependent variables simultaneously. In order to meet this need, a study was conducted to determine the ability of a season-long intervention model to alter the values-related behaviors, perceptions, and moral reasoning of male junior high school basketball players.
Method
Subjects and Design
Subjects for this study were two teams of male junior high school basket- ball players, with one team designated the experiment group (n= 10) and the other serving as the control group (n= 10). The schools were in the same city school system. During the first and last weeks of the 9-week season, the Defining Issues Test @IT) and the Action-Choice Test for Competitive Sports Situations (ACT) were administered to all subjects. The "P" scores, which are percentage represen- tations of moral stage development in the DIT, were used to determine the par- ticipants' moral reasoning (Rest, 1979). The ACT was concerned with providing data on each subject's perceptions of sportsmanship (Haskins & Hartman, 1960).
In addition, 3 subjects from each of the two teams were systematically observed twice per week throughout the season in practices and once per week in game situations for sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behaviors. Sportsman- like behaviors consisted of positive interaction with teammates, officials, coaches, and opponents. They included providing verbal and/or nonverbal support, en- couragement or praise, shaking hands, assisting someone who had fallen, or say- ing "nice shot" or "nice play." Unsportsmanlike behaviors were considered to be negative social interactions and included arguing, retaliating, abusive language, and fighting or demonstrating displeasure with an official, opponent, teammate, or coach. One observer was trained in the use of an interval recording system to collect data on the subjects' behavior. The observer was equipped with a tape recorder, earphone, cueing tape, and coding sheet for each observation period. A 6-second observe, 6-second record format was utilized.
Intervention Process
The model designed by Wandzilak (1985) provided the structure for the intervention used with the experiment group. A typical practice devoted 15 minutes to the discussion of the issues and dilemmas relevant to basketball. On the first day of the intervention, participants were asked to define sportsmanship. At the end of practice they were to cite examples of good and bad sportsmanship. Dur- ing the first 2 weeks of the intervention period, one decision-making task or dilem- ma was discussed each day.
Tasks and dilemmas included selecting team captains, choosing starting line- ups, designing a disciplinary code with appropriate penalties, and discussing a variety of problems the coach had encountered with past teams.' Each task and dilemma was accompanied by guidelines on what factors the participants might
'Specific examples of tasks and dilemmas may be obtained from Thomas Wandzilak, School of HPER, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0143.
16 WANDZILAK, CARROLL, and ANSORGE
want to consider in making their decisions. In addition to these discussions, the coach attempted to be a sportsmanlike role model. He tried to exemplify behaviors that the players could emulate. Each practice also concluded with the coach provid- ing feedback on player behavior. The control group maintained its normal prac- tice and game regimen. No special instructions were given by the coach to his players.
Results
An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine the effects of the model on the responses from both the DIT and the ACT. The .05 level was selected to denote statistical significance. Results revealed no difference be- tween the groups for either the ACT, F(1,18)=3.56, p>.05, or DIT, F(l, 18)=.15, p>.05, variables.
Although the intervention did not produce the desired significant difference between the groups for either dependent variable, it was still of interest to exa- mine whether it was effective at initiating any alterations in moral reasoning or sportsmanship perceptions. In order to determine if any trend existed, a compar- ison of pre- and postseason mean scores from each of the instruments was com- pleted (Table 1). The findings indicated that subjects in the experiment group were making progress toward improving their moral reasoning and sportsman- ship. A similar comparison of the control group scores reveals a pattern of de- terioration in moral reasoning and sportsmanship as the season progressed.
Figures 1,2, and 3 present data on the 3 subjects observed from the experi- mental group, and the top portion of Figure 4 provides a composite picture for actions of these participants. The baseline period depicts a trend in which, after the first day of practice, the sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behaviors oc- curred at the same rate, but the frequency of their occurrence decreased steadily.
The first week of the intervention appeared to be a period of adjustment during which sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behaviors again occurred at the same rate. The second week brought about a change in this pattern whereby the number of sportsmanlike behaviors increased while the frequency of unsports- manlike acts continued to decrease. This pattern was maintained throughout the remainder of the season. Participation in games limited the occurrence of sports-
Table 1
Mean Comparisons of Participants' Scores for the Deflnining Issues Test (DIT) and the Action Choice Test (ACT)
Experimental group Control group
Test Pretest M Posttest M Change Pretest M Posnest M Change
Figure 3 - Sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behavior patterns of subject #3- experimental group.
manlike acts and had little effect on the number of unsportsmanlike behaviors exhibited by the subjects. However, even in game situations the number of sports- manlike behaviors occurred at twice the rate of unsportsmanlike acts.
For the control group, the bottom portion of Figure 4 presents a similar pattern of decreasing sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behaviors during the initial phase of data collection. However, as the season progressed, the trend was toward decreasing sportsmanlike behaviors while the number of unsportsman- like acts increased. By the end of the season the greatest number of unsportsman- like behaviors were observed in games, and their occurrence usually outnumbered the frequency of sportsmanlike acts, regardless of whether data collection was completed in practice or in games.
Discussion
The two distinct behavior patterns exhibited by the experiment and control groups provide evidence to support the belief that the intervention was effective in altering sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike actions of participants in a junior high school basketball program. The comparison of pre- and postseason mean scores from the DIT and ACT instruments suggests that changes in sportsman- ship perceptions and moral reasoning have been initiated.
Although no statistical difference was found from pre- to postseason for either of the ACT or DIT variables, it appears that a number of factors contribut- ed to these findings. The small number of subjects in this study made it difficult
20 WANDZILAK, CARROLL, and ANSORGE
to detect a significant difference between the group means. The relatively short 9-week season further limited the possibility of large alterations. Work complet- ed by Colby, Kohlberg, Gibbs, and Lieberman (1983) indicates that altering moral reasoning levels is a slow, gradual process and the length of the season might have been insufficient to cause any change.
The pattern of behaviors and responses observed in the control group is consistent with the literature in which it has been determined that sportsmanship decreases with experience in athletics (Allison, 1981; Stevenson, 1975) and, more specifically, as the season progresses (Potter & Wandzilak, 1981). It is clear that competitive sport places the participant in a conflict situation in which winning has taken on greater importance than sportsmanship, fair play, and moral reason- ing. However, it does appear that when concepts from moral reasoning and model- ing from social learning theory are combined in an intervention process, it is possible to alter behavior patterns.
This investigation is one of the first to examine changes in sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behavior, sportsmanship perceptions, and moral reasoning in a sports setting. The relationship among these variables is still unclear. Although behavior change occurred quickly, additional research should be completed to determine if these alterations are enduring in nature. In order for long-term changes to occur, it is still unknown if alterations in behavior must also be accompanied by changes in moral reasoning and/or attitudes toward sportsmanship.
This study expands on the work of Weiss et al. (1984), which found that moral reasoning and social learning theory are successful in producing changes in moral reasoning skills when they are used independently. It is also in agree- ment with the work of Giebink and McKenzie (1985), which supports the develop- ment of sportsmanlike behaviors through physical activity. In order for values development to occur, educators, including coaches and physical educators, must be proactive in their involvement by designing and implementing appropriate learn- ing experiences. Without this commitment, values such as sportsmanship will continue to deteriorate and the long-term effects could affect the future of inter- scholastic and intercollegiate sport.
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