Study of moral and prosocial norms in sport

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PhD, Associate Professor M.S. Belov1, 2
Dr. Psych., Associate Professor P.A. Kislyakov2, 3
PhD O.A. Silaeva2
1Ivanovo State Power University named after V.I. Lenin, Ivanovo
2Russian State Social University, Moscow
3Federal State Institution "Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia", Moscow

Objective of the study was to reveal the attitude of athletes to the adoption of prosocial and moral norms in sports in the conditions of competitive activity.
Methods and structure of the study. To study and clarify the problem under study among Russian athletes, focus group interviews were conducted (7 groups of 8 people). The test contingent consisted of 56 qualified athletes and amateur athletes - members of the All-Russian, regional, student sports teams from the cities of Moscow and Ivanovo.
Results and conclusions. In the studied sample, half of the respondents consider honesty and respect for the opponent to be the personal qualities of an ideal athlete, along with purposefulness and resistance to stress. For 80% of athletes, it is important to play fair, to show respect and nobility to opponents, along with the desire to win the competition. Fair play is more associated with following the rules, less with helping behavior in sports. Among the forms of providing assistance and receiving assistance from opponents, the respondents most often named assistance with sports equipment or equipment, assistance with water, accompanying the injured, and moral support. At the same time, athletes do not expect help from rivals. Almost all respondents come across sports content on social networks that talks about examples of helping behavior and nobility in sports, but they themselves do not create or distribute such content. The need for professional training of coaches in the field of sports ethics indicated by the respondents and the fact that the coach is more often a model of moral norms in sports indicates the importance of creating a moral atmosphere based on the principles of fair play in a sports team or national team.

Keywords: moral norms, prosocial norms, sports behavior, helping behavior, fair play, sports psychology.

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