Influence of stress on athletes’ intuitive moral judgments in sports: The moderating role of self-control

We conducted two experiments to explore whether moral judgments occur intuitively in sports scenarios, and whether such judgments are influenced by stress and self-control. In Experiment 1 we verified the existence of intuitive moral judgment in sports scenarios, then in Experiment 2 we identified the moderating effect of self-control. Results of a survey with Chinese collegiate athletes showed that under the condition of low stress, there was no significant difference between individuals with strong and weak self-control regarding the accuracy rate of intuitive moral judgment in sports scenarios. Under the condition of high stress, however, individuals with strong self-control were more inclined than were those with weak self-control to intuitively make a judgment that was moral in sports scenarios. Therefore, in sports scenarios stress exerts an influence on intuitive moral judgment, and the degree to which this influence applies is moderated by individual self-control. This finding has positive implications for reducing unethical behavior among athletes in sporting contexts.