Social and Moral Character of Collegiate Athletes - Is There a Difference?
Abstract
The study of character has intrigued human minds since the ancient days of the Greek philosophers. This study investigated the relationship between social and moral character of athletes. The Rudd- Stoll-Beller-Hahm Values Judgement Inventory (RSBH) was administered to male and female collegiate athletes that played competitive sports at a NCAA Division II University. A dependent samples t-test was conducted to determine if a difference exists between social and moral scores. A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to determine if there was a relationship between the social and moral scores. An ANOVA was conducted to compare social and moral character of male and female collegiate athletes who played different sports. The study revealed that athletes exhibit higher social character over moral character. There is a statistically significant difference in moral character among athletes in different sports, but the social character of athletes revealed few statistically significant results.