Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour in Ice Hockey: The Role of the Team Climate, Motivation and Moral Disengagement

“Understanding why athletes play sport might help to explain how they play it” (Ntoumanis & Standage, 2009, p. 367). According to Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory (SDT; 2000, 2008; Ryan & Deci, 2002) individuals are motivated to engage in activities that will satisfy their basic psychological needs; relatedness (a feeling of connectedness and belonging with others), autonomy (feeling in control of your choices and experiencing the freedom of choice) and competence (belief about your ability in a certain setting). Basic needs satisfaction in turn, influences an athlete’s motivation (autonomous & controlled). Research has shown that an athlete’s motivation is associated with behavioural outcomes, including prosocial and antisocial variables (Hodge & Lonsdale, 2011; Ntoumanis & Standage, 2009). The purpose of this research project was to examine the team climate and the association it had with an athlete’s basic needs satisfaction (autonomy, competence and relatedness). In turn, this study explored what association these three basic psychological needs had with motivation and prosocial/antisocial behaviour in ice hockey players and whether the relationship between motivation and antisocial behaviour was mediated by mora