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- Title
Cognitive dissonance in athletic hazing: The roles of commitment and athletic identity.
- Authors
Hinkle Smith, Shelby L.; Stellino, Megan Babkes
- Abstract
Media attention paid to hazing incidents on university and high school sport teams brings to light the atrocious activities that athletes are being forced to engage in order to gain "membership" on a team. Research has shown that hazing activities can include anything from the athletes being yelled at to sexual abuse (Bryshun & Young, 1997; Crandall, 2003; Hoover, 1999; Hoover & Pollard, 2000). Understanding whether athletes are comfortable with their hazing experience or report positive feelings to rationalize their behavior in what may have been an experience of dissonance is an important topic in the social psychology of sport. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss findings from research that explored (1) the nature of hazing in sport, (2) the psychosocial impact of hazing on the athlete, (3) how the nature of a hazing incident impacts an athlete's commitment to sport, and (4) how the nature of a hazing incident impacts an athlete's strength of athletic identity. Questionnaires were collected from 284 graduate and undergraduate students to recruit the primary participant pool of athletes who had been hazed. All hazed athletes (n = 83) reported information pertaining to their sport participation along with a self-rating of the severity of their hazing. Each athlete wrote a description of their hazing experience. Interviews were conducted with 14 hazed athletes. Data was analyzed using Festinger's (1957) theory of cognitive dissonance as a lens for interpretation. This presentation highlights the analyses of the written narratives, interviews, and self-rating of hazing severity. Findings revealed that the hazed athletes downplayed, rationalized, and justified their hazing experiences, suggesting that some athletes experienced cognitive dissonance as a result of their hazing experience. The athletes' commitment to sport and athletic identity emerged as factors that contributed to the acceptance of their hazing experience. Results will be discussed in terms of dissonance theory, athletic identity, and the anthropological literature on rites of passage.
- Publication
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 2007, Vol 29, pS169
- ISSN
0895-2779
- Publication type
Academic Journal