The impact of task and ego orientation on the deviating from ethics in sports

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of athletes' task and ego orientations on deviating from ethics in sports. The population of the research consists of individuals engaged in sports in 81 provinces in Turkey, and the sample consists of 489 athletes reached by convenience sampling method. "Personal Information Form," "Sport Task and Ego Orientation Scale," and "Deviation from Ethics in Sports Scale" were used as data collection instruments in the research. Descriptive statistical methods were employed to analyze the data, along with correlation analysis to determine the relationship between variables, and regression analysis to ascertain the predictive power of task and ego orientation on deviating from ethics. Independent Samples T-Test was utilized to determine the difference between two-variable groups, and One-Way ANOVA test was used to identify differences among groups with more than two variables. Post Hoc (Scheffe) analysis was conducted to determine the source of the differences. The results of the study revealed that athletes had high task and ego orientations, and low levels of deviation from ethics in sports. Task orientations of athletes showed significant differences based on gender, being a national athlete, and educational level, while ego orientations varied significantly based on being a national athlete, earning a living from sports, educational level, and years of involvement in sports. Deviation from ethics varied significantly based on gender and educational level. A negative and low-level relationship was found between athletes' task orientations and their levels of deviation from ethics, whereas a positive and moderate-level significant relationship was found between ego orientations and deviation from ethics. Task orientations of athletes were found to have a significant negative predictive power on deviation from ethics in sports, whereas ego orientations had a significant positive predictive power on deviation from ethics in sports. It was concluded that 17% of the total variance in deviation from ethics in sports could be explained by task orientation. Keywords: Distance from morality, ego orientation, task orientation, sports.