My post was one of the 3 that Dan deleted in the other thread. I can't remember what I said exactly, but I'll paraphrase...
Not talking about the recent cheating scandal in the W40-44 AG, but viewing it more broadly... First, the disclaimer: This is all just my opinion based on my experience and education for dealing with people in business, fitness training, and coaching regarding human behavior and motivations. I'm not a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist, and don't diagnose or treat anything. I just need to be able to recognize some dysfunctions so I can refer clients for the appropriate level of care.
Even though the issue was talked down in the other threads as irrelevant, I think understanding the psychology of cheaters is important for developing effective defenses against cheating. Someone asked how cheaters deal with the risk of getting caught cutting the course. My guess is there are many ways that cheaters' minds play tricks on themselves to deal with it. Most of us can't fathom intentionally planning out and executing a strategy to cut a course. People who do are obviously going to have a different perspective on the matter.
I've encountered people in business and other sports who view getting away with cheating as part of the challenge. If they can win by breaking the rules (or laws or contract terms in business) without getting caught, it's actually more satisfying than if they had achieved their goals within the rules. These people aren't easily deterred by greater penalties, such as 10 minute time penalties and additional running distances for drafting. For them, getting away with it is the objective. It's not unethical to them. From their perspective, those of us who choose to follow the rules are foolish and naive. This is their approach to most things in life. They're not constrained by rules. Only by what they can physically achieve. The way to stop these people from cheating is to have a foolproof system for catching them in the act.
Other's are sucked into a bad vortex where they did well, feel pressure to do better, cheat "a little" one time to keep face, get away with it, feel more pressure to perform, cheat again, etc...They end up in too deep to back out, and don't know what do do.
I'm sure there are many other motivations and issues that lead people to cheat, but these are the two that I've witnessed.
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Don Larkin
Reach For More
http://www.reachformore.fit/ USAT Lvl1 Coach, NSCA-CPT, NASM-CPT, BS Exercise Science