What's Wrong with Using Steroids? Exploring Whether and Why People Oppose the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs

Landy, J. F., Walco, D. K., & Bartels, D. M. (2017, May 8). What’s Wrong With Using Steroids? Exploring Whether and Why People Oppose the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000089

59 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2017 Last revised: 20 Jul 2020

See all articles by Justin Landy

Justin Landy

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Daniel Walco

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Daniel M. Bartels

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Date Written: May 8, 2017

Abstract

The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) elicits widespread normative opposition, yet little research has investigated what underlies these judgments. We examine this question comprehensively, across 13 studies. We first test the hypothesis that opposition to PED use cannot be fully accounted for by considerations of fairness. We then test the influence of 10 other potential drivers of opposition in an exploratory manner. We find that health risks for the user and rules and laws prohibiting use of anabolic steroids reliably affect normative judgments. Next, we test whether these patterns generalize to a different PED—cognitive-enhancement drugs. Finally, we sketch a framework for understanding these results, borrowing from Social Domain Theory (e.g., Turiel, 1983). We argue that PED use exemplifies a class of violations with properties of moral, conventional, and prudential offenses. This research sheds light on a widespread, but understudied, normative judgment, and illustrates the utility of exploratory methods.

Keywords: performance enhancing drugs, normative judgment, exploratory methods, social domain theory

Suggested Citation

Landy, Justin and Walco, Daniel and Bartels, Daniel M., What's Wrong with Using Steroids? Exploring Whether and Why People Oppose the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (May 8, 2017). Landy, J. F., Walco, D. K., & Bartels, D. M. (2017, May 8). What’s Wrong With Using Steroids? Exploring Whether and Why People Oppose the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000089, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2995764

Justin Landy

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Daniel Walco

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Daniel M. Bartels (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

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