There are many psychological factors that can lead to an athlete taking performance enhancing drugs. In this essay I will cover some of the basic ideas. Over the recent years, the role of psychology has become essential for the success of athletes. Sport psychologists work with athletes to help cope with immense amounts of pressure and aid with positive thinking. Yogi Berra, a baseball hall of fame champion stated that, “baseball is 90% mental and 10% physical. Also, the former Arsenal player and Dutch international player Dennis Bergkamp said that “behind every kick of a ball, there has to be a thought.” Therefore, it is evident how important psychology is and psychologists must be aware of all the psychological factors that influence performance both on off and on the pitch. It is their responsibility to make sure that they aid athletes in times of struggle and help them steer away from the possibility of taking illegal performance enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids.

One of the factors that can lead to an athlete taking drugs is the desire to succeed. Most athletes set a goal of winning. Unfortunately, some athletes believe they’ll only win if they take performance enhancing drugs, this is commonly referred to as the win at all cost mentality. If an athlete takes the drugs and then goes on to win and gets lots of publicity, the athlete experiences a positive reinforcer, so is likely to repeat the behaviour. This is known as operant conditioning, an idea presented by B.F Skinner. The theory of operant conditioning can be used to explain why athletes frequently take drugs. Some athletes develop a psychological dependence on the drugs, making them believe that they cannot succeed without them. In the case of Lance Armstrong, his drug taking was positively reinforced by the money and publicity that he achieved from his Tour de France victories. On the contrary, we can also use this theory to prevent people taking drugs, if we sufficiently punish those that take drugs, it will weaken the stimulus response bond and make them less likely to do it again. Other athletes that see about the athlete getting punished will experience vicarious reinforcement (reinforcement experienced when observing other), meaning they too are less likely to take performance enhancing drugs.

Personality can also be a factor that influences why an athlete may take drugs. Personality is defined as ‘the dynamic organisation within an individual’s psychological system that determines behaviours, characteristics and thoughts. Eysenck et al came up with the theory that there were 3 main personality types. One of these personality types was neuroticism. These are people that have poor emotional stability and are likely to take risks despite the potential consequences. Therefore, athletes who are neurotic are more likely to take risks, such as taking performance enhancing drugs.

Another factor that may lead to people taking drugs is pressure from both society and coaches. Society and coaches can have certain expectation for us, and we feel that we need to meet those expectations, many athletes fear failing to meet these expectations. They see drugs as a way of avoiding the negative consequences of not meeting those expectations, this is negative reinforcement, also part of B.F skinner’s theory of operant conditioning. However, someone’s locus of control can deter how much pressure they will feel due to expectations. This theory is often linked with authority but can also be applied to taking drugs. Someone with a high internal locus of control will stick to their own beliefs and values and they therefore will not feel as much pressure as they stick to their own values and beliefs, meaning they are much less likely to take drugs due to external pressure. Someone with a high external locus of control views their life to be influenced by factors outside of their control, so are likely to feel the external pressure from coaches and are likely to take performance enhancing drugs.

To conclude, psychology can play a major part in determining if someone takes performance enhancing drugs or not. It is essential that athletes and coaches have access to someone who they can talk to, to help handle with the immense amount of pressure they may feel, helping them stay away from drugs that can have a very negative impact on their health and career.